It’s Team Bernie’s “intersectional feminism” versus MSNBC’s “corporate feminism,” and things are getting ugly real quick.
In a rapidly escalating feud chronicled by The Daily Beast — sparked in part one one of their contributors — the Sanders campaign has effectively accused the network of abandoning journalistic standards to blast out fact-free smears against the Democratic presidential candidate.
The feud really got revved up over the weekend when Daily Beast contributor and MSNBC analyst Mimi Rocah described Sanders as being “not pro-woman” (and creepy) without even trying to offer any evidence to back up her portrayal of him.
“Bernie Sanders makes my skin crawl,” said Rocah, a former assistant U.S attorney for the Southern District of New York. “I can’t even identify for you what exactly it is. But I see him as sort of a not pro-woman candidate.”
“Like, I don’t understand young women who support him,” she added. “And I’m hoping having him next to [Sen. Elizabeth Warren] will help highlight that.”
The moment appears to have been a final straw for the Sanders campaign, which is swiping back with some intersectional feminist fury.
“I’m completely disgusted by this. Maligning a person, without fact or merit is one thing. But to then say @BernieSanders is anti-woman?!? Based on what?” Sanders campaign national political director Analilia Mejia tweeted Monday. “Last I checked women went to college, needed healthcare, needed better wages, a safer environment, justice & fairness!!”
“It takes a certain kind of woman to ignore that education, healthcare, and the economy are women’s issues too. #privilegedmuch?” added Sanders’ national press secretary Briahna Joy Gray. “This is not what intersectional feminism looks like. It’s corporate feminism at its finest. Full stop.”
“Here we go again,” tweeted the Sanders campaign’s Latino secretary Belén Sisa. “It is so belittling to constantly tell young women that they HAVE TO vote for someone JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE A WOMAN. Mam, we have brains, we’re voting on policy and a candidates vision + work, not their sex. This is #WhiteFeminism at its finest.”
In a statement to The Daily Beast, the Sanders campaign’s national co-chair Nina Turner called out the network for promoting feelings over facts. “More often than not these commentators are injecting their opinion without any policy discussions. They’re not there to tell the gospel truth,” she said. Another campaign official agreed, saying, “There’s no effort to push for fact-based analysis. Cable news allows that sort of spin to exist in the world in a way that doesn’t get checked.”
Asked for comment, MSNBC suggested Sanders needed to man up. “A presidential campaign complaining about tough questions and commentary speaks for itself,” a spokesman told the outlet.
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