For someone who has been so infallibly consistent with his voting record, Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken a lot of flack.
From poor debate moderation by CNN to Elizabeth Warren’s hot microphone incident, his morals and ethics have been challenged. Sanders has been fighting for minority rights since he entered politics. But the media has distorted his rhetoric with quotes he denies ever having said and biased sourcing.
The questions he was asked during the Iowa debate were deliberately negative, such as asking about a CNN report about a conversation accusing Sanders of sexism that used exclusively Warren staffers as sources. The report said he told Warren, in a private conversation, that a woman would not be able to be elected.
The report was used as concrete evidence that he made the comment. But with biased sourcing, the very foundation on which the report was built isn’t stable. When asked whether he said the comment, he denied it. But immediately after that denial, Warren was asked how the comment made her feel in the moment.
The moderators took the comment as solid fact when it was only speculation. That speculation damages Sanders’ campaign. The question being asked at all proves the media’s bias against Sanders.
When discussing his Medicare for All plan, Sanders has been repeatedly asked how he would “keep your plans from bankrupting the country?” His answer is simple — taxing the rich. If he keeps being asked that question, despite his simple answer, it will spread the rhetoric that his Medicare for All plan is not only expensive, but unnecessary. But that plan is the one that will cover the 30 million Americans who are currently uninsured.
Hillary Clinton has joined in the fight against Sanders as well. In reference to the senator, Clinton said this week that “nobody likes him,” talking about political elites. But that energy was nowhere to be found when he was campaigning for her in 2016. His campaign rallies for her gave former Sanders supporters reason to engage with her politically.
“‘If Bernie didn’t push so hard for us to vote for Hillary Clinton, I wouldn’t vote,’” Benjamin Roy, 44, said in a Wall Street Journal report from the 2016 election. “But he said, repeatedly, ‘I don’t like Hillary Clinton.’”
That hypocrisy toward Sanders and more progressive policies are dangerous. It’s assertions like those that will inevitably elect Trump once again.
Shelby Campbell is a junior studying strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Shelby know by tweeting her @bloodbuzzohioan.
