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HOUSTON – This was not a milestone in the Bernie Sanders campaign: the forum was open to women of color and offered the irascible Vermont senator an opportunity to network with many voters who did not accepted his last candidacy for the presidency, in 2016.
But when Sanders spoke at the She the People presidential forum last week, he did not really win the crowd.
He went through big political proposals, spoke with his iconic abruptness among the moans of the public, while the moderators repeatedly urged him to address more specifically the women of color in the crowd. Why, they asked, should they support him?
"Look at my record," said Sanders, waving his finger for emphasis, "and look at what I've been campaigning for."
Several participants later described Sanders as "restless," "frustrated," and apparently poorly prepared.
"He was still the same idiot as he is," said Marsha Jones, 58, who runs a reproductive health organization in Dallas. "Sure he could just work on his – if he was a doctor, they would say his way of doing things at the bedside – that would probably help him a lot."
Sanders, 77, has never been too concerned about "sympathy", a vague term often used by candidates, to ask if their personality and behavior can win voters. In fact, for many voters, his harshness testifies to his authenticity and his deep attachment to his convictions.
"In a way, he has always taken possession of it and makes it an effective way to communicate how dissatisfied he is," said Jennifer Lawless, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia.
But with a record-breaking number of women Democratic presidential nominees, some party people feel that Sanders has not been subjected to the same personality-based critiques that candidates, such as Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Elizabeth Warren, whose current campaign distributed a point-by-point memo explaining how she could win, insisting that she could communicate with voters on a personal level.
"It should be held to the same standards as us," said Quiana Dickenson, political director of the Democratic Party of Arizona.
For the time being, Sanders, who is an independent, remains near the top of the polls in a crowded Democratic primary, and has outstripped his rivals in the first quarter of this year. But his 2016 campaign showed that Sanders had failed to convince many black voters, especially women. And as they are supposed to provide vital support to all Democratic nominees, complaints about Sanders' ability to bond with women of color at the Houston forum could be a worrying sign that he might also have a problem "sympathy", at least among some voters.
"I think he has his positions and his politics and that he thinks that's enough and that it bothers me," said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, who watched the Houston forum. "With women of color, we scream it – we must know that people will be able to listen to us."
She added, "He does not show up to welcome people who are not already in his base."
A single event in front of a crowd that does not support much does not indicate, of course, the dynamics of an entire campaign; Later in the day, for example, Sanders was greeted by a diverse crowd that found much to love at a rally in downtown Houston. His campaign revealed that Sanders is striving to win a broad coalition of voters.
"We welcome these constructive comments, and we will work to hear them and to be clearer on a platform that addresses these concerns," said Ro Khanna, a California congressman who runs the Sanders campaign. "I think it's a matter of making sure that its platform is inclusive and broad and resonates with the right messages."
Khanna said Sanders had addressed many issues of concern to color voters, such as the wealth gap, criminal justice and police abuse. At the forum, Sanders said that he had dedicated his life to the fight against racism and sexism.
On Friday, his Senate office also tweeted that Sanders had signed a bill from Senator Kamala Harris, one of his Democratic presidential rivals, aimed at reducing racial disparities in maternal care, an issue that was raised at the forum from Houston.
Sanders took further steps to broaden his appeal, including becoming the first candidate to support a pledge promoted by Indivisible, a progressive group, to rally behind the party's candidate. This could allay concerns over Sanders 'commitment to the Democratic Party and dispel persistent discontent after his long battle with Hillary Clinton in the first election of 2016 – a fact that some allies fuel Sanders' aversion to more than every aspect of his personality.
But Sanders has long favored politics to personality, and he has repressed the efforts of advisers to make it more accessible. His favorite campaign event is the big rally, anchored by long speeches about economic justice in front of large, supportive crowds. He organizes fewer small events than the other candidates, where he could exchange small discussions with voters.
Recent polls suggest that, even though he remains a strong candidate, his favorability rating among all voters has dropped since his giant campaign in 2016, according to CNN. Among the Democrats, he ranks in the middle of the bunch of favourability measures, according to FiveThirtyEight.com, which follows a political poll; He pointed out that Sanders had relatively high unfavorable odds in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist, said that Sanders would need new voters to like him. even if his base is sufficient to win his nomination, he will need the elector's enthusiasm to participate in general elections. But if his performance in Houston last week is an indication, some voters are simply shocked by the way he conveys his message.
"It was," Thank you for everything you did, but we see other candidates who have the charisma, "said Jaclyn Boyes, an Indivisible activist who attended the Houston forum.
Sanders was one of eight candidates to speak. After the forum, many women interviewed said that they thought Warren and Harris had forged closer ties with the crowd. some congratulated Beto O'Rourke, the only other Caucasian candidate to speak, for giving them the impression that he was there to learn from them.
Part of Sanders' problem could be trust. Seven minutes into his speech, the Houston public mocked his promise to support the Democratic candidate if he did not win.
"He did not do it last time," said 59-year-old Bridgett Mitchell, who is responsible for human resources. (Sanders waited weeks after Clinton won her candidacy before endorsing her and campaigning for her.)
Sanders spoke at length about key themes such as the freedom of public colleges, universal health care and minimum wage increases that have earned him a base of dedicated supporters and which, Sanders says, will help all voters. But many people in the audience have called for it to address issues of particular interest to women of color.
He widely denounced racial and sexual discrimination, but reacted strongly when moderators, Joy Reid and Aimee Allison, urged him to explain why black women, in particular, should support him. "Black women will be an integral part of our campaign and our administration, agree?" Said Sanders, about the skeptical cries of the crowd.
And while the councilors urged Sanders to build on his personal story to better connect with voters, his mention of being in the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington as evidence of his commitment to fighting white supremacy aroused only moans.
"I had the impression that he was frustrated," said Deirdra Reed, a 40-year-old education policy organizer, who went to the forum. Houston from Tennessee. "I thought, I do not want to rely on your story. I want to know how we are progressing as a country. "
Later on Wednesday, Sanders found a much more friendly crowd of about 1,000 people at the rally in downtown Houston. He had no problem getting involved and directing crowd calling and response songs about paying off student debt and paying Amazon taxes.
Friendly? Here he seemed loved.
"
He jumps right to the finger so we can understand, "said Katrina Acevedo, a 30-year-old educator, praising Sanders' ability to connect with voters" who see him as he sees it. "
Jess Bidgood can be reached at [email protected].
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