In the wake of Clinton’s horrible brain fart after Nancy Reagan’s death, HIV/AIDS activists rightfully demanded assurances from all major candidates on their support of issues crucial to those in the HIV/AIDS community. Both Clinton and Sanders attempted to delay meeting with activists until the activists threatened to picket them both:
In the six weeks since the letters to the candidates were sent, promises followed by silence and delays have been the rule, not the exception. In their initial responses, the Clinton and Sanders campaigns each proposed meeting with HIV community leadership during the April 20 New York primary, but confirmations never materialized. Only the threat of demonstrations at the Clinton and Sanders headquarters in Brooklyn on April 19, the day before the NY primary, yielded both promised May meetings.
Since then, Clinton has, in fact, provided a solid date to meet with the activists. Sanders on the other hand:
The Clinton meeting has been confirmed for several weeks, but the Sanders meeting remains an elusive, moving target. On April 15, the Sanders campaign committed to meeting with 20 HIV leaders during “the first week of May” on a date and location to be decided later. Not until April 29, with only four days’ notice, did Sanders representatives set a 30-minute meeting to take place in Indianapolis on the morning of the May 3rd Indiana primary. Attendees purchased expensive, last-minute airfares, only to be informed two days later, on April 30, that the May 3 meeting was cancelled. Despite another promise to “reschedule” as soon as possible, thus far the Sanders campaign has not proposed a new date, time, or city.
Shame on both candidates for delaying meetings in the first place. But shame especially on Sanders campaign for continuing to do so.
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