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Sanders On Face The Nation:
Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, deviated from the normal path of a Democratic presidential candidate and delivered a speech at Liberty University, a Christian college in Virginia.
Sanders has different views on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage with many of the students there, but his message was on an area he hopes they can work together: Economic inequality.
"Can we not get together and talk about creating an economy that works for all of us, and not just millionaires and billionaires? When children go hungry in America, that is a moral issue. When 51 percent of African-American kids are either unemployed or underemployed, that is a moral issue," he said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
"At Liberty University, and among the evangelical community, you have some very sincere, honest people who take these issues seriously. And, by the way, many of them are concerned, as Pope Francis is, about climate change, and the need to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel. They believe that the Earth, created by God, cannot be destroyed by greed. And my question was, can we work together to address those issues?" he said.
Sanders speaks At NIACC:
A near-capacity crowd filled the North Iowa Area Community College Auditorium Sunday evening to hear a speech from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator has seen growing numbers as his campaign has picked up momentum.
During the town hall meeting Senator Sanders spoke of his plan to fix the wealth gap to ensure a better distribution of money in order to – as he puts it – strengthen the middle class, as well as the issue of the trillion-dollars in college debt.
“The wealthiest 14 people in America have seen their wealth increase by $156 billion,” says Sanders
“If you listen to what he has to say, Sanders is talking about fixing the issues the majority of the country are facing,” says Roger Crimmins of Mason City. “We have seen several of the other democratic candidates, and watched the republican one’s on TV, Sanders just seems to speak more to the peoples needs.”
Supporters Set Up Shop In Amherst:
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he Amherst Town Common hosted the town’s apple harvest and crafts festival Saturday, and amid the crafts was a small table in support of a Democratic presidential Bernie Sanders.
A group of volunteers from the Progressive Democrats of America, a liberal political organization, set up a table every Saturday morning at the commons and hands out pamphlets, flyers and buttons in order to promote their candidate.
The pamphlets and flyers provide information about Sanders and his campaign, which informs readers about the Senator’s plans, which include investment in infrastructure, transformation of energy systems to rely less on fossil fuels, raising the federal minimum wage and making college affordable.
John J. Templeton Sr., a volunteer and Bernie Sanders supporter, believes that American voters are fed up with politicians that have been bought up by the wealthy and work against the interest of the American people.
“People are really fed up with that and they really sense that Bernie Sanders is quite different from your average politician,” Templeton states. “Bernie doesn’t accept [Political Action Committees] contributions and will not accept money from corporations.”
Some Presidential Hopefuls Gather @ No Labels Event:
Businessman Donald Trump, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Ohio Gov. John Kasich will headline a bipartisan presidential forum in New Hampshire next month aimed at addressing the nation's most urgent problems.
No Labels, a group that targets dysfunctional government, is holding a daylong "Problem Solver Convention" on Oct. 12 with eight presidential candidates in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Democratic hopefuls Sanders, ex-Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb will also address the convention. Organizers said Sanders would speak via satellite from Las Vegas, Nevada, where Democrats will be holding their first presidential debate the following night.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked if she would attend the No Labels event earlier this month during a campaign appearance at the University of New Hampshire and said that she would be preparing for the Nevada debate.
NBC/WSJ Polling:
In the Democratic primary race, Mrs. Clinton leads Mr. Sanders 53% to 38% among primary voters. In July, she had led by 34 points. Other announced Democratic candidates register 1% support or less. The Democratic race tightens if Vice President Joe Biden is added to the mix, and he seems to draw the bulk of his support directly from Mrs. Clinton. Mrs. Clinton’s lead over Mr. Sanders falls to 7 percentage points if the ballot includes Mr. Biden, who places third.
Some 17% of Democratic primary voters list Mr. Biden as their preferred pick, and Mrs. Clinton’s support falls from 53% to 42% when the vice president is added to the list of candidates vying for the nomination. Mr. Sanders’s support remains largely unchanged at 35% with Mr. Biden in the race, compared with 38% when he’s not in the mix.
The vice president is still weighing a bidand has not given an explicit indication of whether he will run.
Pushing To End The Cadillac Health Tax:
Sens. Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy and Jeanne Shaheen are among nine co-sponsors of a bill to repeal a part of the Affordable Care Act has drawn fire from liberals since its inception.
Sanders, the Vermont independent who is running for president as a Democrat, says the so-called Cadillac tax was designed to hit high-end health coverage plans, but is affecting a broad range of plans, many of which workers negotiated in exchange for lower wages.
The tax imposes a 40 percent non-deductible excise tax on health plans with values exceeding $10,200 in coverage for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Talking Foreign Policy In Iowa:
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told a Jewish group Sunday he believes a regional Mideast coalition is the best hope to defeat radical Islamic extremists and eventually a two-state solution that includes a Palestinian state will be needed to enhance security for Israel.
Pressed on foreign policy matters by the Jewish group, Sanders, a second-term independent senator from Vermont, said, “It goes without saying that Israel must be guaranteed the right to live out their lives with security without having to worry about terrorist attacks. That is a given.” However, he said he does not have “a magical solution” for a complicated and complex Mideast dilemma with “blame that can be assigned all over the place.”
While noting the security of Israel is “very, very important to me,” Sanders added that “I happen to also believe that what we need is a two-state solution. I happen to believe that the Palestinians are entitled to a state of their own and to gain economic support from countries around the world, including the United States.”
“I am not supportive of bringing American combat troops on the ground” in the current Midwest circumstances, Sanders added. “I fear very much that we can get sucked in to perpetual warfare in the Middle East year after year after year.”
A Union Endorsement:
“Bernie Sanders is the clear choice for working people, every union should be supporting Bernie for President” said Myles Calvey, Business Manager of IBEW Local 2222 and chair of the System Council T-6, which represents seven local unions in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. “Labor unions should always be guided by a moral compass and must support only those candidates for office that share our values and champion the causes important to the working class. The majority of our members work for Verizon, who despite recording profits in excess of $1 Billion dollars per month, is actively trying to cut healthcare benefits for retirees on a fixed income. Senator Sanders is not only talking about this inequality, he has spent his life fighting to eliminate it.”
Leaders said that the decision to endorse came about after rank-and-file members have spent the summer urging support of Sanders. According to Ed Starr, Business Manager of IBEW Local 2321 in North Andover, MA, “Our members are smart people who understand that poll-driven platitudes will not rebuild the middle class. They have urged the leadership of the IBEW T6 council to be true to our ideals and support a champion for working people for President of the United States. Senator Sanders has been a friend to IBEW workers, has walked along side us on picket lines and has supported our efforts to preserve jobs and benefits. Simply, Bernie is the real deal”
Local leaders say that they will begin outreach to workers throughout New England and put together an “aggressive” field campaign that will leave no stone unturned in the lead up to primaries scheduled for early 2016.
Some More local Sanders Coverage (video in link):
Northern Iowa played host on Sunday night to another presidential candidate ahead of the 2016 elections. This time, the crucial caucus state welcomed surging Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to Northern Iowa Area Community College in Mason City.
The line to see Sanders stretched outside of the NIACC Auditorium and approximately 500 people showed up for the town hall meeting. Sanders last visited the area during a July town hall in Rochester; since then Sanders has become the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
During his town hall, Sanders mentioned subjects such as income inequality, minimum wage, and the middle class.
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The town hall drew supporters in from both Iowa and Minnesota, who said Sanders' grassroots message and passion resonates with them.
"He's very open about his policies and beliefs on child poverty and making college affordable," said Mankato resident Taylor Wasvick.
"He just seemed to really resonate with the people," added Mason City resident Michelle Murray. "He just seems to be real and believab
Even More (video in link):
Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders struck a chord with the crowd at the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines in Waukee on Sunday.
To a packed auditorium Sanders addressed issues like the economy, income and wealth inequality, climate change and what he called Republican values.
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Moderator and KCCI political analyst Denis Goldford said Sanders did well Sunday.
“Whatever his fortunes might be in Iowa, I think he's got a good reason to feel pretty good after this event,” Goldford said.
A Spanish Language Q&A:
One concern that has been leveled regarding Bernie Sanders’ campaign and chances for receiving the Democratic nomination, or earning the presidency, is that he has been slow in reaching minority voters. On Tuesday, Sanders aims to correct this, with an online Q&A directed at those voters whose primary language is Spanish.
The Q&A will take place on the Univision Noticias Facebook page.
Bernie Sanders is, of course, not the first candidate to reach out for the Latino vote. Marco Rubio has addressed audiences in Spanish, and Univision has interviewed him in Spanish. Hillary Clinton also briefly addressed a Facebook audience in Spanish to apologize for Donald Trump’s statements on immigration earlier this year.
In fact, addressing Hispanic voters is a fairly standard part of campaigning for presidency, and the Hispanic vote is considered rather important to the Democratic nomination and to election.
However, in the case of Bernie Sanders, this move symbolizes not only the obvious outreach to Hispanic voters, but that he is perhaps hearing the criticism from the public, and responding by covering a gap that he’s hearing the public is concerned about.