WASHINGTON — As a presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has often defended his vote for a controversial 1994 crime bill as a hold-your-nose compromise that included measures popular within the Democratic Party, such as a ban on assault weapons. As a result, Sanders’ support for the massive anti-crime package hasn’t come under the same level of scrutiny that has at times stuck to other Democratic candidates.
But he also declared it to be a good compromise at a time when the nation faced a national crack cocaine epidemic and increasing violent crime, including surging homicide rates. On the issues surrounding criminal justice reform in the current campaign, frontrunner Joe Biden has received the most attention from critics for having championed the 1994 bill as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time. In the 2016 campaign, it was Hillary Clinton who bore the brunt of activists’ anger for publicly supporting the bill as First Lady.
Sanders struggled to gain traction with African American voters during his 2016 campaign, something that continues today. Eddie Glaude Jr., chair of Princeton University’s African American Studies Department, told NBC News that Sanders would benefit from a more direct conversation with the community.
Sanders is a phony boisterous Communist
I seem to remember that a big majority of the public supported the crime bill in 1994. 'Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time' was most people's attitude. Has that attitude changed in 25 years? I DOUBT IT.
The little blurb from the intern that wrote this is misleading, but we can only expect so much.
That was actually a pretty decent take from Heidi Przybyla. I expected her to bash Sanders and do clean up for Biden but that wasn't the case. This is, in fact, the kind of work to mitigate the bad parts of a bill and maximize the benefits as much as you can that Sanders does.
Old Bernie Sanders, caught on door bell camera, stealing his neighbors newspaper, which is a crime, so this is proof of , five fingers discount of free. Look it up, he’s crooked.
:johncusack more.
Uh oh it’s Bernie’s turn hahah
Shut up and do some REAL substance news (Fox News spot has already been taken)
Get out of the room!!
You only report negatively about him and just act like no one is going to notice. Everyone notices A. You are less popular than him, you being his enemy makes him look good. B. One way or another this will help to re-elect trump— which is ratings for you all— oh now I get it...
figures MSNBC backs the dude who pushes the copyright laws it wants...hell Biden pushed Spot beams for satellite so people couldn't watch out of market t.v. stations...he pushed the DMCA Patriot act.................. NAFTA . Tpp .........crime bill....
For everyone who does not already know. Bernie spike out against this bill in 1994. Watch here:
Holy effing hell. Trump commits about 2 felonies a week, $hits on the Constitution daily, and has betrayed the integrity of the office at home and abroad, yet you’re bringing up a vote Bernie made 25 years ago? You know, right around the time Trump was raping E Jean Carroll. FFS.
Terrible article. Uses quotes out of context. Fails to mention that Sanders only voted for the bill because he supported the Violence Against Women portion.
With 25 Democrat primary candidates, the food fight commences. And it going to be fun to watch. passthepopcorn
And the alternative is________( old joe the unifier ), or ( Trumpy 🍊 the Wannabe Dictator)
Oh really. So it only took u guys 3 years to talk about that.hmm
Only people who bought into his bullshit story that he only voted for it - for whatever his bullshit fauxgressive excuse was - didnt know this. Rest of us know he is gasp A COP.
we been knew. y'all just took his word for it, in 2016.
I knew his record in 2014. The fact that the media didn't do its job and report on information that was easily available, is 100% on the media. He literally ran campaigns on being 'tough on crime' ffs and cited this vote as an example. But you know....emails 😑
Trash article with barely full sentences quoted from Bernie lol
Bernie and Biden both voted for mass incarceration in the 1990s and a lot of blacks got long sentences for petty crimes because of it.
That's curious, because I've read this is the statement he delivered on the floor of congress at the time: (H/T EuroYankeeBlog )
Weird that it was ‘commonly assumed’ that Bernie didn’t support the bill he signed. If only there were some news organizations in 2016 who could have been vettingbernie but I’m sure you were all busy investigating why Hillary ate some hot sauce or caught a cold or something.
Why did Hillary get so much shit for this? She was the first lady. She had no vote. Bernie voted for it. Where was the media then?
Weird that it would be assumed. If only there were some news organizations in 2016 who could have been vettingbernie but I’m sure they were all busy investing why Hillary ate some hot sauce or caught a cold or something.
This article is approximately 4 yrs too late
Trump has raped many women but NBC News has different priorities
SelenaCoppock Was this really your best photo, ?
Shaun King should be all over this, right?
ManMet80 So why not report on it? is hitting new lows as far as credibility goes.
Wha? NRA loving, immigration hating, gun industry protecting, bored with race and reproductive rights Bernster is a hypocrite?
He didn't dodge anything, you refused to ask him while you were attacking Hillary who had no vote.
NBC STEPPING UP the PROPAGANDA, the NBC oligarch owners must be REALLY RUNNING SCARED of what will happen to them and the rest of the 1% if SenSanders wins, they might just have to start paying their fair share! OMG how AWFUL that would be for the 1%!
The corporate-controlled news media is out to destroy Bernie by reporting his voting record! TheRealInjustice
Liberal media propaganda and bias
NeverBernie
Actually, there's a video of him clearly speaking out against many of the Bill's provisions. NBC bullshit alert!
Yall should have been doing stories like this I 2015... but emails tho right? 🤨
I'm still waiting on Bernie supporters to justify his support of his state shipping toxic waste to small towns in Texas and helping to cover that up.
Dudes, it wasn't that hard to figure out if you had actually vetted him. He had it on his website and ran that he was tough on crime, siting that bill, when he ran for the senate. You were too busy letting your misogyny get in the way and propping up a mediocre white man.
Oh so you're awake now? Where was this diligence in vetting this fraud in 2016? But her emails, amirite? Sanders supported the bill and voted for the bill, yet, the hysteria was laid at the feet of a woman who could not vote for the bill and this fraud was absolved.
Why are you reposting a story from the last primary? OH THAT'S RIGHT, nobody bothered writing stories like this during the last primary. Maybe if you'd had, we'd have the rightful president in the Oval right now.
He also voted to expand the prisons & 12 years later he was bragging about this vote during his Senate campaign. Bernie has always been a shameless hypocrite.
Gee, maybe that’s because the media did get him AT ALL in 2016. 🙄
he’s just as a narcissist as donny ...
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