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Bernie finds his BLM message:
It's a new riff in the hour-long stump speech of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- a slow burn. It begins with some ruminations about how "people would have thought you were crazy" if you said the United States in 2015 would have a black president. That's good, Sanders says — everybody give a pat on the back — but it shouldn't end the conversation.
"When I mention a few names, like Sandra Bland or Michael Brown or Rekia Boyd or Eric Garner or Walter Scott or Freddie Gray or Tamir Rice or recently Samuel DuBose, you know and I know that unarmed African Americans have been shot and killed by police forces in a way that never would have happened if they were white," Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said at a campaign stop in Franklin, one of half a dozen appearances this weekend in the first primary state. "We need to move away from the militarization of the police forces."
In Franklin, a crowd of hundreds that included no black faces broke into cheers and applause. A crowd in Claremont, mostly white, cheered inside and outside the Common Man Tavern, where Sanders was speaking. "This audience is more lily white than an albino eating a powdered doughnut in a storm," joked Rod Webber, a flower-bearing political tourist and filmmaker who said he was not impressed by the way Sanders talked about race.
In Claremont, a town close to the Vermont border that has a 94 percent white population, Sanders concluded his campaign swing with an even starker version of the pitch.
"You know these names," he said. "You know these names because some of these people were murdered by police officers. And they would not have been murdered if they were white."
Sanders on 'This Week':
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Sunday that he does not always see eye to eye with Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
“She and I disagree on many issues,” Sanders, himself a 2016 White House hopeful, said of Clinton on ABC’s “This Week.”
“I have a lot of respect for Hillary Clinton,” he told host Jonathan Karl. “She is somebody I’ve known for 25 years.”
“I’m not going to be engaging in personal attacks against her,” Sanders added.
“The American people want a serious debate about serious issues, not personal attacks.”
Sanders said on Sunday that he is surprised by Clinton’s reluctance to state her position on whether the U.S. should build the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
“I have a hard time understanding that response,” he said.
“I have helped lead the effort against the Keystone pipeline,” Sanders said.
“And I’m very proud, by the way, that just yesterday we received the endorsement from Friends of the Earth, one of the largest environmental organizations in America,” he added. “And this is one of the reasons that they gave me their endorsement.”
Sanders additionally charged that he has national appeal beyond progressive voters.
He said on Sunday his campaign plans on widening its message and reaching more Americans heading into 2016.
“We’re going to continue to make that kind of progress,” Sanders said.
Sanders On Puerto Rico:
Angry graffiti scrawled across the brightly colored buildings of San Juan tells the creditors of the world exactly where they can stick their plan to extract roughly $73 billion in debt from the struggling U.S. territory. “Puerto Rico comes first. To hell with the debt,” reads one wall. “Don’t play around with my retirement,” says the side of a major freeway. Down by the University of Puerto Rico, the walls and sidewalk are filled with laments — “Look into my unemployed face” — and calls to action: “Study and fight!”
Depending who you ask in Puerto Rico, the debt crisis was caused by neo-colonial and imperialist policies from the U.S., the Puerto Rican government’s wasteful overspending and corruption, or the cadre of hedge funds that are currently profiting from the island’s woes. Add to that toxic mix a series of free-trade agreements that triggered mass outsourcing, and a population in rapid decline due to out-migration, and you arrive where we are today, with the government on the hook for tens of billions of dollars.
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For some U.S. progressives, including presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT), this is a “moral outrage.”
“At a time when 56 percent of children in Puerto Rico are living in poverty, the last thing that Puerto Rico needs is more austerity,” he said in a recent statement. “The people in Puerto Rico should not be forced to suffer so that a handful of billionaires can make even more money.”
“The reason Puerto Rico has such unsustainable debt has everything to do with the policies of austerity and the greed of large financial institutions,” said Sanders. He additionally noted that just seven years ago, Congress “acted with a fierce sense of urgency to bail out Wall Street,” yet is now dragging its feet on helping the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Sanders talks to Jorge Ramos:
Bernie Sanders gave a full-throated endorsement of immigration reform and the Black Lives Matter movement in an interview with Fusion’s Jorge Ramos today.
Sanders said he wants to bring “11 million undocumented people out of the shadows,” providing legal status for undocumented workers “as quickly as we can” and creating a path to citizenship.
“If we did not have undocumented workers today in America, do you know what would happen? Probably a large part of the agricultural sector of America would collapse, and other large parts of the economy would collapse,” Sanders said, talking about his advocacy for undocumented tomato workers in Florida.
Ramos pushed Sanders on his statements in a Vox interview opposing open borders, a proposal that—while not in the mainstream political conversation—is seen by economists as having the potential to boost livelihoods around the world. “Do I believe, does any member of Congress believe, does any Presidential candidate believe that you simply open the borders and you have millions of people who are unskilled coming into this country?” Sanders asked. “Open borders is not a good thing.”
He said open borders would lead to more unemployment, and that his stance was not anti-immigrant. “Immigration makes America stronger,” said Sanders, whose father was a Polish immigrant.
Bernie speaks on Clintons Keystone position:
Hillary Rodham Clinton took more heat Sunday over her repeated refusals to take a stand on the Keystone XL pipeline, this time from Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The former secretary of state declined again last week at a campaign event to say whether she would green-light the enormous pipeline project, saying, “If it’s undecided when I become president, then I will answer your question.”
Asked about her comment, Mr. Sanders said, “Well, listen, needless to say, I have a hard time understanding that response.”
“I have helped lead the effort against the Keystone pipeline,” Mr. Sanders said on ABC’s “This Week.” “And I’m very proud, by the way, that just yesterday we received the endorsement from Friends of the Earth, one of the largest environmental organizations in America. And that is one of the reasons that they gave me their endorsement.”
About the video above:
Hello everyone! Aside from the Sunday Morning Bobblehead Thread, I haven't been doing a lot of posts here on C&L. Reason being that I have been working at my new job as Video Production Manager for the online news site, Opposing Views. I am producing video content for their website and it's very news and politically centered content. We're covering the 2016 Election of course and we're also filming campaign events in Los Angeles. We'll soon be shooting stories taking place outside of LA which is where we are based out of.
As you know, Senator Bernie Sanders (D. VT) did a huge campaign kick off live stream and we were invited to cover a grassroots meeting after the live stream for the group, Bruins For Bernie, a UCLA students group. We plan to continue following the Sanders campaign. Sanders will be visiting Seattle and Portland soon and we hope he visits LA very soon. Please do watch the video above and we will have more videos soon. To stay up to date, please do Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
On campaign finance:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told supporters in New Hampshire today that he’ll be launching an effort in Congress to make campaigns publicly funded events.
“We’re going to introduce legislation which will allow people to run for office without having to beg money from the wealthy and the powerful,” Sanders said.
Sanders has already acknowledged that he’ll be very outspent by Hillary Clinton and her big donors, and told the New Hampshire crowd that current campaign financing is a “sad state of affairs.”
He argued that public campaign financing would not only put candidates on an even plane but allow them to spend more time hobnobbing with voters instead of hobnobbing with big spenders writing the checks.
“That’s called democracy and I am going to do everything I can to bring that about,” Sanders said. “…We are increasingly living in an oligarchy where big money is buying politicians.”
Sanders added that politicians should use emblazoned sponsor advertising like NASCAR drivers, saying “I’m sponsored by the Koch brothers” or “I’m sponsored by Big Oil.”
Chris Matthews sucks:
Chris Matthews wants infighting in the Democratic Party, naturally because it's good for ratings to have more melodrama. He wants a drastic distinction between Hillary Clinton, who is not far enough to the right for Tweety, and Bernie Sanders, who he'd like to portray as a radical Socialist. Unfortunately for him, the Democratic candidates largely agree on matters of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Equal Rights and Immigration Reform. They are markedly different from the GOP clown car which would like to privatize absolutely everything with disastrous consequences.
On Meet The Press, Chuck Todd played a Hardball interview with DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, where Matthews desperately tried to evoke Debbie's opinion on the difference between Bernie vs. Hillary which he labels as Democrats vs.Democratic Socialists. The DNC Chair refused to comment, stating that the vast difference lies between the GOP and the Democratic Party.
Sanders In Rollinsford:
With many still questioning whether or not Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has a real chance at winning the Democratic nomination and inevitably the 2016 presidential race, supporters are trying to make the message clear: It’s possible if you work for him.
“Bernie will confound the pundits like he always did before if only we will work for him,” said Ben Cohen, of Ben & Jerry’s during a Town Meeting stop the campaign held at American Legion Post 47 on Sunday morning.
A longtime supporter of Sanders, Cohen said the candidate is “the real thing” and that he is someone “finally worth working for.” He said Sanders has the vision, the smarts, the spirit and the persistence to succeed.
With roughly 300 community members in attendance, those who asked questions of Sanders often simultaneously voiced their support. One attendee said she agreed with all of Sanders’ proposals, but was uncertain how they would be funded given the way the country’s finances are currently organized.
Sanders’ answer was comprised of four parts that centered on redistributing wealth back to the middle class from the richest top one-half of one-percent of the population. He proposed placing a tax on Wall Street speculation; ending the loophole that allows large multi-national companies to “stash” their earnings off of American shores; ending tax breaks given to fossil fuel companies; and making the wealthiest citizens and corporations required to pay “their fair share” of taxes.
And Claremont:
Over the course of an hour Sunday evening, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders laid out nearly his entire platform to an upbeat crowd of voters who filled the Common Man Restaurant and spilled out into the street.
Time and again, the independent senator from Vermont drove home the populist message that has drawn crowds of thousands in early primary states. At his last of six New Hampshire appearances this weekend, voters met each of his suggestions with enthusiasm, in a town meeting-style event that at times more resembled a preacher’s call-and-response.
Sanders called for reforms to address economic inequality, noting that .1 percent of the population controls a disproportionate amount of the country’s wealth; a man shouted back, “Disgusting!”
Sanders mentioned the influence Monsanto, the agricultural giant, had on lawmakers; audience members hissed.
Sanders lamented the political clout of the billionaire Koch brothers, listing policies of theirs he found offensive; after each one, a woman cried, “No! No!”
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Bill Cable, a Cornish resident who said he likely would support Sanders, said he liked Hillary Clinton but was concerned about her family becoming a “dynasty,” as well as about her personal wealth.
On making predictions about Sanders’ chances at the White House, Cable hearkened back to the 2008 presidential election.
“I didn’t switch to Obama until after the primary,” Cable said. “I didn’t think he stood a chance, and he did, and so I’m not very good at predicting feasibility.”
Meanwhile, pockets of support emerge in Florida:
Across South Florida, long a bastion of support for Hillary Clinton, pockets of support are emerging for Bernie Sanders, her chief competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Fans of the U.S. senator from Vermont come largely from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and independent/no party affiliation voters who say they’re tired of the kind of presidential candidates usually served up by the two big political parties.
They’re undeterred by the polling (Sanders is 41 points behind in Florida), the politicians (the marquee Democratic Party elected officials from South Florida are all for Clinton), and the pundits (who see the region as Clinton country).
“I fully admit that it’s a long shot. I think there’s a pretty strong machine behind the Clinton campaign at this point. But the Sanders campaign is attracting more people,” said David Kerstetter of Cooper City. “At a certain point, the narrative that he’s not going to get elected is going to flip.”
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Ed Wujciak, of Hollywood, said he’s touted Sanders during visits to Democratic Party clubs, an appearance on an Internet television program, and for several hours at the annual gay pride parade last month in Wilton Manors. “I’ve just been kind of busy spreading the word as best I can,” he said.
His pitch: “Bernie Sanders is trying to take control away from the rich and powerful and give it back to the people. That was my one-sentence intro, and people responded.”
Hillary Keyes, of Boca Raton, said she wears a large “We Want Bernie” button everywhere she goes. When someone wonders who he is, she hands out a flyer. If someone likes the button, she’ll give one away — if the person signs up to volunteer for the pro-Sanders effort run by the liberal group Progressive Democrats of America.
About Biden:
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said he's "very fond" of Vice President Joe Biden, but that "the American people... want to go beyond conventional establishment politics."
Sanders made the statements in response to a question from ABC News' Jonathan Karl about Biden considering another run for president.
Sanders suggested that voters are looking for a change in 2016 . “The government has to respond to the needs of the middle class, not the billionaires,” he said, “I think that’s what going on in this country, and I am not sure conventional politics will do it anymore.”
Bernie Sanders and the crisis of affordable education:
On May 19, 2015, Bernie Sanders introduced a bill to make all 4-year public college tuition free. Under the proposed legislation, the $70 billion a year awarded in assistance in the form of federal student loans and grants would be paid for through taxes on Wall Street transactions.
But, that’s not all. The bill would also simplify the student financial aid process, expand federal work-study programs, and reduce and cap interest rates on student loans.
The bill comes at a time of soaring college tuition rates as federal assistance is consistently declining.
Senator Sanders has announced his stance on this issue in numerous media appearances. This is a glimmer of hope to those with college degrees in wallowing job markets and burdening student debts, which is over $1 Trillion and counting, in America, while the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the student loans the government will make over the next decade will ultimately yield $135 billion over the term of those loans as graduates pay back their debt with interest.
Every candidate should be backing this bill or propose workable bills that are just as, if not more effective. College tuition rates are out of control and the student loans that graduates are taking with them are devastating America’s middle class. Student loans and College tuition rates are too expensive for middle class families to even save for as college savings plans for children are now used as tax shelters for the wealthy as middle class family households are burdened with the student debt of the household heads well into the years they should be focusing on retirement savings. The antiquated lines of mere knowledge obtained from a higher education isn’t enough anymore to ensure success in America’s economic climate that is seeing college debt as a deterrent from the American dream rather than what it is meant to be, an opportunity to achieve it.