Bernie Sanders Accused of 'Sexist' Attack on Liz Cheney
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is being accused of sexism after he dismissed Rep. Liz Cheney as “daughter of Dick Cheney.”
Fox News reports that Sanders’ attack came after a Liz Cheney speech on Thursday in which the Wyoming Republican blasted socialism as a “fraud” and promised to fight against it.
“Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, yesterday attacked ‘the fraud of socialism,'” Sanders tweeted on Friday.
“Really? I wasn’t aware that it was ‘socialism’ that lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and got us into a horrific war that we should never have started,” he wrote.
Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, yesterday attacked “the fraud of socialism.” Really? I wasn’t aware that it was “socialism” that lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and got us into a horrific war that we should never have started.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 4, 2019
Some saw Sanders’ referring to Cheney in relation to her father as sexist.
Sanders was also criticized for responding to Cheney’s father’s actions rather than her own.
In a mocking response, Cheney reiterated her opinion of socialism and derided Sanders’ attempt to shift attention to her father.
“Yes, @SenSanders, son of Eli Sanders, socialism is a fraud,” she wrote.
“It steals power from the people & gives it to the government, crushes human freedom & initiative & devastates economies (ask the Venezuelans). BTW – Your Dick Cheney history is as defective as your economic policy,” she continued.
Yes, @SenSanders, son of Eli Sanders, socialism is a fraud. It steals power from the people & gives it to the government, crushes human freedom & initiative & devastates economies (ask the Venezuelans). BTW – Your Dick Cheney history is as defective as your economic policy. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/8xjOVE3Tpu
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) January 4, 2019
Others joined in the criticism of Sanders’ statement.
“Liberals: lol there are like NO conservative women in Congress,” wrote Twitter user Lyndsey Fifield. “Also liberals: hey there’s a conservative woman in Congress… let’s infantilize her by identifying her as the kid of a more important man and then hold her accountable for his policies.”
Liberals: lol there are like NO conservative women in Congress
Also liberals: hey there’s a conservative woman in Congress… let’s infantilize her by identifying her as the kid of a more important man and then hold her accountable for his policies lol https://t.co/6hCDUJV1ZT
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) January 4, 2019
What does Liz’s father have to do with the question, Bernie?
— RJ Di Nitto (@rjdn04) January 5, 2019
I don’t understand the tweet. I think it says, “Dick Cheney was bad so socialism is good.” It’s not even a fallacy, it’s nonsense. I don’t think someone is immune to criticism just because I’d vote for them.
— Hank Green 🔜 PodCon!! (@hankgreen) January 5, 2019
Nice try, Bernie, but that was several presidents ago. Do try to keep up. The truth is that Socialism always has been and always will be a fraud. Even you don’t believe in it, or you would practice what you preach. You cannot vote to change the laws of human nature.
— Discarded Virtues (@DiscardedVirtue) January 5, 2019
The sexism charge against Sanders might be coming at a critical time, since he was just tacitly accused in a New York Times story of ignoring sexual harassment complaints within his staff during his 2016 presidential campaign.
FOX NEWS: Bernie Sanders accused of ‘sexist’ attack on Liz Cheney soon after saying he was too ‘busy’ to address alleged misconduct by his staff https://t.co/cYG1meCpyA pic.twitter.com/EZzEZ1yln5
— Sara Sbean (@SaraSbean) January 5, 2019
The Times reported that Sanders’ defense against the allegations has been that he was “a little bit busy” at the time.
Amidst the controversy, The Guardian reports that Sanders is playing with the idea of making another bid for presidency in 2020.
If he does, he’s not doing himself any favor with women voters — on either side of the aisle.
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