Dem Rep Grijalva: Hillary’s Sexism Charge Took Sanders ‘Completely Out of Context,’ Is Untrue

Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who is supporting Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) bid for the Democratic nomination criticized Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s charges of sexism against Sanders as “not true, and taken completely out of context” on Tuesday’s “MSNBC Live.”

Grijalva stated, “Charges of sexism that — on Bernie and — is, you know, is a serious charge. A charge that is not true, and taken completely out of context in the discussion at the debate, but nevertheless, it’s something that people react to. You know, one doesn’t take that lightly. And I think that Bernie, for being as — a gentleman throughout this campaign in the sense that he has shown cordiality to all the candidates involved in this, at some point you get tired of being a pin cushion, and that the attacks that are unfounded made on you, you have to respond to. And I don’t know if that means taking the gloves off as much as much as it is trying to refocus this debate back on the ideas and keep it off the personalities.”

He was also asked about Clinton’s defense of her husband signing DOMA that anchor Thomas Roberts said, “makes you believe that DOMA was some type of shield, as if the Clintons were forecasting marriage equality, which Senator Clinton did not support, until after she was Secretary Clinton and the president supported it. So, do you believe that Clinton has to update what is the proper history? She doesn’t have a right to make up her own history.

Grijalva responded, “No. I think facts are facts and history is what it is. There’s a record of history. And DOMA was anything from a shield, far from a shield. It was legislative discrimination against gay Americans in this country, period. And it shielded anything, in fact, it institutionalized that discrimination at a federal level. And the fact that we have grown from that, changed from that is a positive to the American people, and to everybody involved. The fact that Bernie Sanders was one of very few people during that time that stood up and voted no against DOMA, is also fact, and is also history you can verify.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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