Bernie
Bernie Sanders appeared on MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts today and answered a few questions. The interview lasted about 10 minutes, which in this day and age is the equivalent of the Nixon Frost interview. The interview began with the strange framing of a misleading situation.
ROBERTS: [F]irst, I need to talk to you about what's taking place on the Left and get your reaction to this latest charge from Senator Hillary Clinton and you, when it comes to sexism.
He's referencing this article from the
New York Times.
“Look, she’d make a great vice president,” the campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said of Mrs. Clinton to John Heilemann of Bloomberg Politics. “We’re willing to give her more credit than Obama did. We’re willing to consider her for vice president. We’ll give her serious consideration. We’ll even interview her.”
On Wednesday, Ms. Schriock wrote on Twitter that the comments were a “Condescending insult by a team who knows better.”
Schriock is right. Schriock is also very much not calling him sexist. If anything she's calling him an asshat—and I don't disagree. Weak play with the headline by the
New York Times. In MSNBC's defense, Clinton seemed to make a sort of backhanded inference to sexism and Sanders, in a clip Thomas Roberts makes Sanders listen to.
But one of Sanders' more attractive qualities is the fact that he genuinely is above this kind of traditional media bullshit playground instigating.
SANDERS: Thomas, number one, if you look at my record in the Congress, you will find there are very few people who have a stronger pro-woman voting record, including a 100 percent record on -- as an abortion rights advocate.
Number two, if you check the record, what you will find is that what Secretary Clinton is saying is just not accurate.
I have been saying for months, well before that debate, that if we are going to go forward on sensible gun reform, people all over this country are going to have to stop shouting at each other.
Those people who might want to do away with all guns in America and those people who believe in no gun control at all. That is what I have been saying for months and I think the record will demonstrate that. It had nothing to do with what Secretary Clinton was suggesting.
ROBERTS: Senator, how do you respond, though, to EMILY's List saying that what your campaign manager said is condescending in reference to Secretary Clinton being a good vice president, potentially someone that you will even interview?
SANDERS: You know, I think that every campaign has statements come out which are inappropriate. That was inappropriate. And clearly, I have a lot of respect for Secretary Clinton.
But what I would like to do in this campaign, Thomas, is talk about some of the major differences of opinion that Secretary Clinton and I have.
He goes in on two substantial differences between Clinton and himself: his belief in ameliorating the incarceration mania in this country by legalizing marijuana and also his opposition to the death penalty.
SANDERS: I think it is absurd that, over the years, millions of people have been arrested for smoking marijuana. And when you get a criminal record, this impacts your whole life and it stays with you.
And that's why I think we should remove marijuana from the list of dangerous drugs on the Substance Control Act.
States around this country are now voting to legalize the use of marijuana. They should be able to go forward without federal legal impediments.
The second issue that's important to me is I believe -- and I know this is not necessarily a popular position -- but I believe the time is now for the United States to join almost every other major Western industrialized democracy in saying no to the death penalty, no to the death penalty.
We should not be in the company of countries like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. We all know that there are horrific situations of murder in this country. My view is, lock those people up, throw away the key.
But I think in a world of such violence, such savagery, I just don't think that the state, the government in this country should be adding to the violence by taking a human life.
Roberts begins talking about poll numbers and ZZZzzzzzzzzz. Sanders deflects this halloween ghost of a question and redirects the interview back into discussing reforms to criminal justice and getting previously disenfranchised groups of Americans back into the democratic process. Roberts goes in on Rubio and voting records,
or lack thereof, and what Sanders thinks about this, considering Sanders' stellar, 96-percent voting record. Sanders says whatever, man, let the people decide, let's get back to serious ideas!
That lasts for a few seconds and then Roberts asks Sanders if what Lindsey Graham said was true? Graham, who is such a class act that a dung beetle wouldn't touch him, had joked that Sanders honeymooned in the Soviet Union and "never returned."
ROBERTS: Did you go on your honeymoon to the Soviet Union?
SANDERS: Well, here's the fact. The fact is that I went to establish a sister city program with Yaroslavl, dead in the Soviet Union, now an important city in Russia, which is still in existence today. The purpose of that trip was a sister city.
Did it take place after my marriage? It did. I went with, I believe, 10 other people from the city of Burlington. So the purpose was to establish a sister city. I believe in international -- I believe that cities should establish relationships with cities and other countries around the world, often countries that we have disagreements with.
And that program is existing until today, where kids from Yaroslavl are coming to Burlington, Vermont; our people are going there. It is a fine relationship. And I'm proud that as mayor I helped establish that.
ROBERTS: But do you think that Senator Graham is trying to imply that you are some type of communist sympathizer?
SANDERS: Yes. Yes. That's exactly what he is trying to do. I think that's a little silly, absurd. I think it is absurd and equally absurd that Chris Christie talks about me trying to raise taxes on 90 percent of the American people. Totally nonsense.
What we are trying to do is demand that the wealthiest people and the largest corporations in this country, who have seen huge increases in their profits and their individual wealth, that they start paying their fair share of taxes.
You can watch the whole interview below the fold.
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