Enough with this lie!

You think there wasn't a backlash against him for what he did?

I did but I was in the minority.

Sanders thought it would be "too much too soon." In other words, he bowed to political pressure. You do not dispute that. You can't. It's all on the video.

He decided to be a decent human and stop assholery at the moment it occured
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/09/watch-bernie-sanders-calls-out-congress-for-blatant-homophobia-in-1995-footage-video/

Last edited Tue Oct 27, 2015, 06:22 AM - Edit history (1)

Here is what he said in that video from 2006:

32 Years Before Marriage Equality, Bernie Sanders Fought For Gay Rights



But these are only very recent developments. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may be champions of same-sex marriage now, but you don’t have to go far back to find a time when they weren’t. And hey, we’re happy to have their evolved support.

Not only did Sanders vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, signed into law by then-president Bill Clinton — an unpopular position then — a look back at Sanders’ political career shows consistent support of the gay rights movement. Even when it was more than just unpopular, it was downright controversial.

“In our democratic society, it is the responsibility of government to safeguard civil liberties and civil rights — especially the freedom of speech and expression,” Sanders wrote later in a memo. “In a free society, we must all be committed to the mutual respect of each others lifestyle.”

...

“It is my very strong view that a society which proclaims human freedom as its goal, as the United States does, must work unceasingly to end discrimination against all people. I am happy to say that this past year, in Burlington, we have made some important progress by adopting an ordinance which prohibits discrimination in housing. This law will give legal protection not only to welfare recipients, and families with children, the elderly and the handicapped — but to the gay community as well.”

http://www.queerty.com/32-years-before-marriage-equality-bernie-sanders-fought-for-gay-rights-20150719

At least that's what he told Rachel Maddow Monday night.

Video at the link (he talks about it right at the beginning of the 5-minute video):

http://on.msnbc.com/1kJGcje

I also lived it, Vermont was torn apart after the decision, our governor wouldn't even sign the civil union bill in public.

The religious right hauled in the big guns to intimidate Vermonters - including Randall Terry.

Wanting to wait until the rift had healed is not the same thing as being opposed to same sex marriage because of a belief in the sanctity of "traditional" marriage.

Something that Hillary stated over and over.

And this was 2006.

So his holier than though stance is hypocritical. All politicians bow to political pressure, and Sanders is no different, as his little rationalization demonstrates.

He didn't lie about his record - he has supported lgbt rights for decades.

Hillary is the one who is trying to revise history.

...like Hillary.

Did you watch the video at the link I provided?

Which part of it was hypocritical?

Yet political tactical reasons are why he opposed the push for same sex marriage in 2006.

You keep posting the same thing over and over. I'm not going to let you waste any more of my time. Bye bye.

Did you listen to her speech?

opposing SSM for political expediency.

She asked him about why, 10 years after he voted no on DOMA, he had expressed his opposition to the push for same sex marriage in Vermont. He basically said it was too much too soon for the people of Vermont. She asked him that after a commercial break, but I notice all the videos Sanders supporters have been posting cut off before that break and before she asks him that question. Here's the link to the video of the segment after that commercial break:

http://on.msnbc.com/1kJGcje

The part where he talks about it is right at the beginning of the video, where he rationalizes why he said "Not right now, not after what we went through" at that time. He said he thought "things need to calm down before we go further." This after he carried on about how he always took the "tough votes." And yes, Rachel pointed out his hypocrisy, noting that is the type of political calculation he is criticizing Clinton about with regard to DOMA.

A Slate article also reported his opposition to same sex marriage:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/10/05/bernie_sanders_on_marriage_equality_he_s_no_longtime_champion.html

During those years, the vast majority of Americans were against same-sex marriage, and they had to evolve in order to accept and embrace that civil right for the LGBT community. National Democrats and that one socialist did what their constituents wanted them to do.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.): “I rise in strong opposition to this ill-named “Defense of Marriage Act” and I do so on the basis of conscience, Constitution and constituency.”

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii): “I understand some of the people who are sponsoring this bill are on their second or third marriages. I wonder which one they are defending.”

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.): “Whether senators are for or against same-sex marriage, there are ample reasons to vote against this bill because it represents an unconstitutional exercise of congressional power.”

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.): “I recognize that my views are likely to be in the minority as well as unpopular, but this isn’t the first time I’ve come to the well to stand up for what I believe in, and it won’t be the last.”

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.): “Let us not take part in this assault on lesbian and gay Americans and their families.”

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.): “Discrimination is discrimination, and it is wrong.”

Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Mich.): “I rise in opposition to this bill and I oppose it with both my head and my heart.”

Sen. Charles Robb (D-Va.): “I feel very strongly that this legislation is fundamentally wrong, and feeling as I do it would not be true to my conscience or my oath of office if I fail to speak out against it.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif): “To me, this is ugly politics. To me, it is about dividing us instead of bringing us together. To me, it is about scapegoating. To me, it is a diversion from what we should be doing.”

Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.): “These couples are not hurting us with their actions, in fact they may be helping us by showing us that love can indeed conquer prejudice and hatred.”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.): “The arguments against gay and lesbian marriage are essentially the same argument that we used to hear against black-white marriages.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.): “This bill isn’t conservative. It’s Big Brother to the core. My judgment is this is a subject that the federal government ought not stick its nose into.”

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.): “Why do you want to destroy the love they hold in their hearts? Why do you want to crush their hopes, their dreams, their unions, their aspirations? We are talking about human beings, people like you.”

Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.): “Why shouldn’t my partner of 13 years be entitled to the same health insurance and survivor’s benefits that individuals around here, my colleagues with second and third wives are able to give to them?”

Rep. Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii): “It seems to be quite apparent that our court system is going to yield a decision which will validate same-sex marriage.”

Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.): “We are going to prevail, Mr. Chairman. And we’re going to prevail just as every other component of the Civil Rights movement in this country has prevailed.”

Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.): “I hope that every person on this floor who is going to look at and vote on this bill considers for a moment what the judgment of history might be if 50 years from now their grandchildren look at their debates and look at their words in support of this mean-spirited legislation, and consider the judgment that will be cast upon them then.”
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/speaking-out-who-opposed-doma-during-1996-de

Senator Moseley-Braun was especially pointed in her full comments and in this excerpt.

Those who were wrong were just wrong. Those who were right were simply correct.

I'm just saying that all of them finished in the bottom half of the race. I don't think any of them risked anything to lead when they could have.

Bernie was never opposed to a push for same sex marriage in Vermont.

Maybe go watch the interview he did with Rachel last night. Your facts are simply wrong. All he said was that he wanted to wait. He explains why he felt the timing was wrong in the interview.


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show



Here is a repost to address another issue with your OP.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=719687

Motown_Johnny (18,823 posts)

23. Gay men were trying to get married as early as 1970,

and Bernie was for abolishing all laws regarding sexual behavior specifically mentioning adultery and homosexuality. I will admit a tiny little bit of a gray area in the phrasing, but not much. Knowing that gay men had already been trying to establish their right for marriage equality, and specifically mentioning that all laws dealing with homosexuality be abolished does seem to add up to being for marriage equality as early as the early 1970s.

http://gaymarriage.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000030

^snip^


"On May 18, 1970, two University of Minnesota students, Richard John 'Jack' Baker and James Michael McConnell applied to Hennepin County District Court clerk Gerald Nelson for a marriage license. He denied the application, because the applicants both were men.

Baker and McConnell sued Nelson, claiming Minnesota law on marriage made no mention of gender. The trial court was not impressed with the argument, agreeing with Nelson. The state Supreme Court agreed with the lower court. When Baker-McConnell went to the U.S. Supreme Court, the couple was rebuffed again...

Baker v. Nelson has been used in other states as precedent to block efforts at marriage equality


http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/bernie-sanders-was-full-gay-equality-40-years-ago

^snip^

In a letter he published in the early 1970’s, when he was a candidate for governor of Vermont from the Liberty Union Party, Sanders invoked freedom to call for the abolition of all laws related to homosexuality:









Now, how about this.... Try to name a leader in our party who is WORSE than Hillary on this issue. Good luck with that.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail

And that's all politicians, not one party or the other. On progressive issues, even Dems often are pushed by a sea change in the public, rather than 'leading' the change. It's why Bernie told us we need to be a 'movement'. We have to make the changes we want acceptable to the majority of Americans, desired by the majority of Americans. Only when we have overwhelming support can we even begin to pressure enough politicians into voting for the things we need. And even then, only as long as it doesn't inconvenience them.

His comments around 2006-2009 were not "against" gay marriage. At one point (maybe more) after civil unions had been the subject of a lot of controversy, he said because of the overheated environment, it would be best to give the issue some time to cool down for a bit before taking nxt steps.

One can agree or disagree with that, bit he was not saying "marriage is between a man and a woman" or anything like that, which most politicians were saying.

he will be called anti-gay and only true pro-gay pols will be the clintons

Sanders had a chance to lead, but like most other people, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and many others, he didn't take it.

1)He wasn't saying gay marriage was wrong and that he believed marriage was between a man and a woman

2)As long as he's not singled out as being worse than the others for not standing up and being a leader of it.

marriage equality'. It's really something to see. The fact that so much is written about DOMA here without any mention at all of AIDS shocks me. The Clinton supporters should certainly be talking about that, but they don't. No one mentions ENDA either.
The year DOMA was distracting the GOP was the year AIDS in America turned the corner, death rates began to fall drastically and a decade of increasing fatalities came to an end. Reagan , often defended on DU by people who don't like the Clintons at all, did nothing about AIDS for 7 years then Bush did not much for 6 more. Bill Clinton did as much as possible and that, that was what it was all about. Hundreds of thousands had died in the US in the 10 years before.

Those who voted for and signed DOMA did the wrong thing. Those who spoke and voted against it did the right thing. And yet that is far from the whole story, and people really should know the story.

People on DU who defend Reagan yet attack Clinton can go fuck themselves. But Bernie has my support in part because he did not vote for that piece of shit. People on DU who praise Wellstone and other DOMA voters while wailing about Clinton are hypocrites exploiting the issue. Obama's 'ardent supporters' often have Joe Biden avatars, he voted for DOMA too.

Oh well.

Fortunately, people seem to have come to their senses.