Loser SC Democrats Trash Sanders, AP Pretends It's News (Updated Below)

No Good Deed Dept. - This week, some Democratic Establishment figures in South Carolina decided to bitch about a planned trip to their state by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Meg Kinnard of the Associated Press decided to pretend as if this was a real news story, write it up and send it out to the world.

The tone of Kinnard's piece is reflected in its headline, "South Carolina Democrats: Better If Sanders 'Got Lost'". These Democrats "say [Sanders'] visit isn’t wanted or helpful to their candidates in advance of next month's election," that his "left-leaning, progressive message doesn't resonate" in the state. "I just think it's extremely selfish of Bernie Sanders to think he could walk into South Carolina without an invitation from a candidate and think he's going to be welcomed with open arms," sniped Amanda Loveday, who had served as executive director of the state Dem party. "It's hard for me to think of an actual, legitimate Democratic candidate who would stand on stage with him here." Former Democratic state representative Boyd Brown insisted, in the words of the article, that "Sanders' messaging is too extreme":

"'Bernie does not resonate in South Carolina,' Brown said. 'He'd be doing us all a favor if he just got lost.'"

Charleston County Democratic Party Chairman Brady Quirk-Garvan characterized Sanders' appearance as, in the words of the AP, merely "a revival of Sanders' 2016 effort" that "does nothing to help voters who want to put the bruising primary process behind them":

'Even back then, most Democrats were not on board with what he was pitching,' Quirk-Garvan said of Sanders’ primary campaign. 'For many, even people who backed Sen. Sanders in the primary, they're looking for some new ideas... If he comes to South Carolina, he'll have his 15 people will show up,' Brown said. 'I hope it’s worth it to him, because he's doing greater damage to the party overall.'"

And with that, Quirk-Garvan gets the article's last word.

Kinnard notes that, according to a press release, the South Carolina chapter of Our Revolution had invited Sanders to speak at a rally on 20 Oct. in Columbia but she doesn't quote a single Sanders supporter. Her article is just stenography of these party insiders' bitching.

It's no secret that the Democratic party Establishment doesn't like Bernie Sanders. Covering this--or at least just mentioning it--would have provided some vital context here. While bashing Sanders, Brady Quirk-Garvan pretty straightforwardly tries to promote other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. As the article notes, several will be visiting the state around the same time as Sanders but the likelihood of the Associated Press deciding to hunt down those candidates' detractors and write a piece like this, wherein those candidates are portrayed as selfish bastards doing harm to the party and who should just go away, seems rather remote.

While Kinnard offers the 2020 presidential race as the context for Sanders' visit, it's also the case that, for the last 2 1/2 years, Sanders has been almost constantly touring the U.S. on behalf of Democratic causes and candidates. The senator has forcefully argued that it's foolish for Democrats to ignore what have traditionally been Republican strongholds. He's been taking the progressive gospel to deep red states that are typically neglected by Democrats--taking on Trump on his own turf and trying to revitalize the often moribund state parties there. The other 2020 contenders only discover a few of these states when they're about to run for president (SC in particular is situated early in the Democratic primary process), whereas Sanders has been visiting them as part of this project for years. His appearance in Columbia is much more a part of this than of any potential presidential race; he's speaking at a rally in support of Medicare For All healthcare reform. Kinnard doesn't mention any of this.

Most egregiously, in covering one state party insider after another pontificating on how Sanders isn't what's best for the party and harms the party, Kinnard never questions how qualified these insiders are to render such a judgment, though their record in this regard is as stark as it is unflattering. In South Carolina, Republicans control the governorship and both houses of the legislature. The Republican advantage in the state House is nearly 2-to-1; they control over 60% of the Senate. In the 2016 election, the Republican contender defeated the Democratic candidate there by nearly 15 points. In short, the state Democratic party is a complete joke, and these insiders trashing Sanders have demonstrated no competence whatsoever in estimating what South Carolinians want. They're perpetual losers who are content to sit on the ash-heap they've made of their party and repeat the same errors that got them there while expecting a different result and sniping at someone who suggests there may be a better way.

Their record, alone, is enough to send this Associated Press article up in smoke. As it stands, it's just anti-Sanders propaganda, as worthless and inappropriate as it is ugly.

--j.

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UPDATE (Mon., 22 Oct., 2018) - In that AP smear-piece, Charleston County Democratic Party Chairman Brady Quirk-Garvan said Sanders will "have his 15 people will show up." Amanda Loveday, former executive director of the state Dem party, thought it ridiculous that Sanders could "think he's going to be welcomed with open arms." Former Democratic state representative Boyd Brown said "Bernie does not resonate in South Carolina." From the Columbia Free Times' coverage of Sanders' event:

"However, the Vermont senator seemed to resonate with those at the Koger Center, receiving a thunderous standing ovation when he took the stage."

The Free Times notes that the event drew a crowd of not 15 but about a thousand people.