What Are You Even Doing, Sanders? Today's Edition.

[Content Note: Violence; harassment; misogyny.]

Yesterday, Bernie Sanders predicted that the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia will be "messy."
The Vermont senator said he will "condemn any and all forms of violence" but his campaign was bringing in newcomers to the process and first-time attendees of political conventions. He said the Democratic Party could choose to be more inclusive.

"I think if they make the right choice and open the doors to working-class people and young people and create the kind of dynamism that the Democratic Party needs, it's going to be messy," Sanders said. "Democracy is not always nice and quiet and gentle but that is where the Democratic Party should go."

The Vermont senator said he will "condemn any and all forms of violence" but his campaign was bringing in newcomers to the process and first-time attendees of political conventions. He said the Democratic Party could choose to be more inclusive.
First of all, there shouldn't be a "but" after "will condemn any and all forms of violence."

Secondly, what he needs to do is explicitly tell his supporters not to engage in violence, instead of promising to condemn any that happens.

Third, be describing everything that's happened so far as "vigorous debate," he's eliding every bit of harassment, every incident of targeted and doxxing superdelegates, the misogynist epithets hurled at Senator Barbara Boxer and other Clinton supporters, every threat of violence, every death threat, every rape threat, every bit of vile invective many of his supporters have been lobbing primarily at women for nearly a year.

None of those things constitute "vigorous debate."

Today, Sanders insists that the "messiness" to which he referred was not meant to suggest violence, and that his words were taken out of context.
"The media often takes words out of context. The context of that was that democracy is messy. That people will have vigorous debate on the issues," Sanders told NBC News' Kristen Welker in an interview aired Tuesday on "Today." Asked whether the convention itself will be messy, Sanders replied, "Well of course it will be. But everything — that's what democracy is about."

Sanders also bristled at the suggestion that his staying in the race would hurt Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump, snapping, "I guess if we take your assumption, and Clinton supporters' assumption, that that is the logical conclusion, we should go back to a monarchy and not have any election at all."
For what is probably the thousandth time: The issue is not Sanders staying in the race and competing. It's the way he's campaigning, continuing to primarily direct his attacks at Clinton, who is going to be the Democratic nominee.

He has said a number of times that he will not be a spoiler and that he will "do everything I can to make sure that someone like Donald Trump does not become president of the United States."

Okay. So when does that start happening? When do we get to see evidence of this great campaign he'll wage to stop a radical rightwing presidency?

Because I'm seeing a whole lot of attacks on Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party from a man who refuses to concede that he's lost, and not a whole lot of effort to do whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump.

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