FILE 2018, photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about his
new book, 'Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance' in
Washington. (AP)
More than two dozen people who worked on
Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign have called for a meeting with the senator
and his top aides — saying there’s been talk in recent weeks about a
“predatory culture” that developed while he was running.
The former staff members sent Sanders and his principal campaign committee a letter, which was published online Sunday by POLITICO, citing an “untenable and dangerous dynamic” that they hope to “pre-empt” in the “upcoming presidential cycle.”
The
men and women requested a meeting in person “to discuss the issue of
sexual violence and harassment” — but didn’t describe any specific
incidents or accusations.
“In recent weeks there has been an
ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person, about the
untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign,”
their letter says. “We the undersigned request a meeting with Senator
Sanders and his leadership team … for the purpose of planning to
mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle — both in the
primary and potential general election campaigns for 2019 and 2020.”
Specifically,
the staffers said they hope to establish “a follow-up plan for
implementing concrete sexual harassment policies and procedures.”
“It
is critically important that Senator Sanders attend this meeting to
understand the full scope of the issue from 2016 and how the campaign
plans to move forward,” their letter continues.
Some of the
signers told POLITICO that they hope the proposed meeting wouldn’t
bolster the longstanding “Bernie Bro” argument, but instead serve as a
leading example of what campaigns should do in the wake of the #MeToo
movement.
“This letter is just a start,” explained one organizer.
“We are addressing what happened on the Bernie campaign but as people
that work in this space we see that all campaigns are extremely
dangerous to women and marginalized people and we are attempting to fix
that.”
The signers who spoke to POLITICO insisted that their call
for action wasn’t just about Sanders, but the senator’s campaign
committee welcomed it anyway.
“We thank the signers of the letter
for their willingness to engage in this incredibly important
discussion,” they said in response. “We always welcome hearing the
experiences and views of our former staff. We also value their right to
come to us in a private way so their confidences and privacy are
respected. And we will honor this principle with respect to this private
letter.”
