Apparently there is some confusion here as to what constitutes “dog whistle” and “pandering” versus what constitutes outreach.
Dog Whistle is a type of strategy of communication that sends a message that the general population will take a certain meaning from, but a certain group that is "in the know" will take away the secret, intended message. Often involves code words.
Examples of Dog Whistle:
- “States Rights” is typically dog whistle for “the right to discriminate as we please” (Like saying the civil war was about states rights rather than wanting to continue to own other human beings).
- Emphasizing the President’s middle name is dog whistle for “foreign” or “muslim” or “other”.
- ”Dual loyalty” and “dual citizenship” are anti-semitic dog whistle
- ”Food Stamp President” = Black. In fact, pretty much every sideways, ostensibly race neutral term the GOP uses for the President of the United States = Black. They can’t get over it!
- ”Take our country back” — see above, other, black, liberal, all unacceptable to the GOP.
- See also: Southern Strategy
Pandering is the act of expressing one's views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal. In pandering, the views one is expressing are merely for the purpose of drawing support up to and including votes and do not necessarily reflect one's personal values.
Examples of Pandering:
- Every single thing Mitt Romney has ever said with regard to politics.
- Everything Donald Trump says every day.
- See also: demagogy — more related to taking advantage of fear than racism, but likely insincere and just for the purpose of getting attention/votes.
Outreach: To go beyond. The act or process of reaching out.
Here is the text of the canvassing message that the Sanders campaign crafted for canvassers who come across Trump supporters.
“A lot of people feel like this country isn’t working for them — because it’s not. The solution is not to turn to someone like Trump, with a message of hate, xenophobia, and division — it’s to elect a leader with integrity like Bernie, who’s proven time and again that he won’t be held hostage by moneyed special interests”
“A lot of people feel like this country isn’t working for them” is something Sanders has been saying for decades. It has always had clear meaning and normally in context with comments about “oligarchy” and lack of fairness in the economy. It has always been racially neutral, i.e., 99% v. 1%, race not specified. Sanders says this same thing no matter which audience he is speaking to. In fact, many of his detractors say he doesn’t tailor his speeches sufficiently to suit the specific audience and/or the news of the moment, and his message rarely changes, which is the exact opposite of pandering.
Then Sanders’ campaign specifically notes that Trump’s message is one of hate, xenophobia, and division. Not only is this the opposite of dog whistle, which purports to be about something other than race when it is actually about race, but it clearly and specifically calls out racism as something negative. It is anti-racism, anti-xenophobia, and anti-divisiveness. A bold statement saying that “racism is not welcome here”). It is the opposite of dog whistle.
Finally he offers a solution — elect someone who will do something about the things that aren’t working for you, which are related to MONEYED INTERESTS. Again, this in no way refers to anything racial. It’s 99% v 1%, and this is backed by pretty much everything he’s ever said or written.
Presumably, the next step would be to tell any interested voter about the candidate, about his campaign, link to his website and/or feelthebern.org, or invite them to a rally, event, or local meeting. (And ask for money, of course!)
Now, here is what you find when you go to Sanders’ website:
Immigration
We are a nation of immigrants. I am the son of an immigrant myself. Their story, my story, our story is a story of America: hard-working families coming to the United States to create a brighter future for their children. The story of immigrants is the story of America, a story rooted in family and fueled by hope. It continues today in families all across the United States.
berniesanders.com/...
Just part of the immigration policy background statement:
America has always been a haven for the oppressed. We cannot and must not shirk the historic role of the United States as a protector of vulnerable people fleeing persecution.
Establishing an immigration policy that stops the criminalization of communities of color and keeps families together will be a top priority of my Administration. Our immigration policy will put the sanctity of families at the forefront and will be grounded in civil, human, and labor rights.
There is not one xenophobe who will be persuaded to vote for Bernie Sanders based on what he consistently says about immigration.
Racial Justice
We must pursue policies to transform this country into a nation that affirms the value of its people of color. That starts with addressing the five central types of violence waged against black, brown and indigenous Americans: physical, political, legal, economic and environmental.
A part of the policy background:
We are far from eradicating racism in this country. Today in America, if you are black, you can be killed for getting a pack of Skittles during a basketball game. Or murdered in your church while you are praying. This violence fills us with outrage, disgust and a deep, deep sadness. These hateful acts of violence amount to acts of terror. They are perpetrated by extremists who want to intimidate and terrorize black, brown and indigenous people in this country.
There is not one racist who will be persuaded to vote for Bernie Sanders based on what he consistently says about racism.
Here is a small collection of quotes from a typical Sanders speech: www.whatthefolly.com/…
But here is the bad news and that is as everyone in this room knows, racism remains a much too real part of American life . . .
And when we talk about bringing our people together, let us not forget that today there are 11 million undocumented people in this country. We need to provide legal protection now for the undocumented. We need comprehensive immigration reform and we need a path toward citizenship . . .
(This is the finale)
[W]e can make certain that no American, regardless of their race, their religion, their disability or their sexual orientation, we can make sure that all Americans realize the full potential of equality that is our birthright as Americans.
If we stand together as a nation, if we do not allow them to divide us up by race or sexual orientation or the country we came from, there is nothing — nothing — that together we cannot accomplish.
Anyone who goes to a Sanders rally will hear this message of inclusion, tolerance, and collaboration. They will hear him acknowledge racism, extremism, and police violence. They will hear him acknowledge the plight of the undocumented and the need for a path to citizenship.
And they will hear Bernie Sanders say that we must not allow people like Donald Trump or anyone else divide us, because “together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”
No racists or xenophobes will be persuaded by what Bernie Sanders consistently says about race and immigration.
The Sanders campaign is taking a leap of faith, one that Obama took in 2008:
(Obama:)
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
Obama felt that there could be support for him in these areas if he truly spoke to their concerns (not their racism or xenophobia), and he was right. Sanders seems to be banking on the same possibility — that there are voters out there who are really frustrated and listening to Trump and who might find his message more compelling than the message of hate and divisiveness that Trump is peddling.
It’s quite possible he’s totally wrong, but it’s not like he’s actually changing his strategy of outreach to as many people — Democrats, Independents, moderate Republicans, everyone — as possible with his message and his vision. He’s simply added a tiny bit of focus on another group. Racists and xenophobes won’t like what they hear, and that’s fine because they’re not his audience. A lot of people feel the audience he imagines doesn’t exist, and that leads them to believe he will pander to the audience they perceive. Obama seemed to think something different, and so does Sanders.
Stating what you mean with plain words is not Dog Whistle, and delivering the same message, including that of unity and tolerance, to every audience is not Pandering.