Yesterday, in a New York Times article, Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign came under fire, after it was accused of sexual harassment, sexism, and unequal pay for women.

New York Times Jan 2, 2019.

In February 2016, Giulianna Di Lauro, a Latino outreach strategist for Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential operation, complained to her supervisor that she had been harassed by a campaign surrogate whom she drove to events ahead of the Democratic primary in Nevada.

She said the surrogate told her she had “beautiful curly hair” and asked if he could touch it, Ms. Di Lauro said in an interview. Thinking he would just touch a strand, she consented. But she said that he ran his hand through her hair in a “sexual way” and continued to grab, touch and “push my boundaries” for the rest of the day.

“I just wanted to be done with it so badly,” she said.

When she reported the incident to Bill Velazquez, a manager on the Latino outreach team, he told her, “I bet you would have liked it if he were younger,” according to her account and another woman who witnessed the exchange. Then he laughed.

Accounts like Ms. Di Lauro’s — describing episodes of sexual harassment and demeaning treatment as well as pay disparity in Mr. Sanders’s 2016 campaign — have circulated in recent weeks in emails, online comments and private discussions among former supporters. Now, as the Vermont senator tries to build support for a second run at the White House, his perceived failure to address this issue has damaged his progressive bona fides, delegates and nearly a dozen former state and national staff members said in interviews over the last month.

Last night, during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the 2016 presidential candidate, and self-declared Socialist, Senator Bernie Sanders bumbled his way through the discussion about allegations of sexual harassment, sexism and unequal pay for women, against his progressive campaign. After Cooper attempted to help Sanders off the hook, by asking him to confirm that he had no knowledge of the accusation, Sanders in his best B..B…Bernie Sanders-ish gibberish, explained, “Uh, yes. I was a little bit busy running around the country, trying to make the case.”

“I certainly apologize to any woman who felt that she was not treated appropriately, and, of course, if I run, we will do better next time.”

Watch:

What are your thoughts? Does the media treat Democrats involved in sexual harassment differently than Republicans? Did it seem like Anderson Cooper was using his interview to help Bernie Sanders clear his name?

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