Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders connected the dots and called out the unintended consequences of Republican rhetoric while responding to the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting.
In a statement, Sen. Sanders said, “While we still do not know the shooter’s motive, what is clear is that Planned Parenthood has been the subject of vicious and unsubstantiated statements attacking an organization that provides critical health care for millions of Americans. I strongly support Planned Parenthood and the work it is doing and hope people realize that bitter rhetoric can have unintended consequences.”
The political campaign against Planned Parenthood has involved edited videos that are not factually accurate, congressional hearings which were filled with heated and inaccurate attacks against the health care provider, and even a Republican presidential candidate (Carly Fiorina) flat out lying about Planned Parenthood on the debate stage.
Sen. Sanders was correct. The Republican tactic of using false statements and over the top rhetoric is dangerous because it creates the climate for violence. When Republican rhetoric is combined with easy access to weapons, it makes the perfect recipe for mass shootings.
On Friday, the nation's attention was captured by a grim scene; a deadly shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, allegedly carried out by 57-year-old suspect Robert Lewis Dear. The attack left three people dead — two civilians, and one police officer — and has been condemned by countless progressives (as well as Planned Parenthood itself) as a possible act of domestic terrorism. And now, another contender for the Democratic nomination has spoken out: After the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting, Bernie Sanders warned that "bitter" anti-abortion rhetoric can have "unintended consequences," in a tweet Saturday morning.
Sanders joined Democratic primary frontrunner Hillary Clinton in denouncing the shooting, and pledging his support to Planned Parenthood, but he went a step further. He also brought up the threats posed by inflammatory political rhetoric, implicitly suggesting that extreme language in the anti-abortion movement, at times echoed by candidates within the Republican Party, carries some blame for what happened at that Colorado Springs clinic.
Obviously, fair-minded people can agree to disagree on how big of a role extremist dialogues play in influencing this kind of violent behavior. But Sanders is dead on in at least one regard — there's been no shortage of vehement, even violent anti-abortion commentary over the last few months.
Basically it means putting almost all the $3.2 trillion-a-year U.S. health care system in the hands of the federal government, with states acting as administrative subcontractors.
Currently, government at all levels pays about half of the nation's health care bill.
Clinton accuses Sanders of wanting to "eliminate" popular programs such Medicare and Medicaid, which cover about one-third of Americans. She also contends Sanders would ditch President Barack Obama's health law.
Actually Sanders would incorporate those programs into the new system, promising that patients would have no gaps in coverage.
What would be eliminated would be things such as insurance premiums, deductibles and copays. In their place would be taxes, something else that few like.
Some things to know about what's being called BernieCare:
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It isn't often that indie musicians throw benefit concerts for presidential campaigns. But the dark-horse efforts of Vermont's socialist senator, Bernie Sanders, aren't the usual gambit for the White House.
In addition to forgoing the traditional donor base, Sanders is largely relying on small donations from supporters and the support of the occasional left-wing union. Many of his small donors are millennials, as the 74-year-old candidate has proven particularly appealing to young people. The younger the age cohort, polls have repeatedly shown, the more popular he gets.
Don't expect a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton at South Philly's 150-capacity Boot & Saddle. Not that such an event would be unwelcome, but a $1,500 haul - the maximum take for the Sanders benefit - probably wouldn't be of much interest to the front-runner's campaign.
Instead, on Wednesday, Philadelphia will have the opportunity to rock out for socialism, of the Nordic variety. The organizers have coordinated with staffers to a limited extent, and all the proceeds, after expenses, will go to Sanders' campaign. The price of drinks and food will not be socialized.
Similar shows in support of Sanders have cropped up in Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, and Portland, Ore. But this is the first Sanders concert in Philadelphia, and its organizers are not political operatives by any stretch of the imagination.
The Philly for Bernie Sanders concert features Son Step and two other idiosyncratic Philly pop bands, Laser Background and On The Water. The show is 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday at Boot & Saddle, 1131 S Broad St., a 21-and-over venue. Admission is $10.
A series of recent polls show Senator Bernie Sanders leading or within the margin of error in two early-voting states.
The CBS News/YouGov polls, released on Monday, show Sanders ahead of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire by 7 points, a lead that has been reflected consistently in many other recent polls.
Although he trails the former Secretary of State by just 6 points in Iowa, that puts Sanders within the survey’s 7.6 per cent margin of error.
Polls from October had Clinton ahead there by as much as 32 points, so clearly Sanders is closing the gap and firming up support since then.
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Despite leading in two of the three early states, there are some vulnerabilities for Clinton. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, Democrats see Sanders as more of a change candidate; they are more likely to think Sanders would bring “big change” to the country.
Also, Clinton has been criticized as being too close to Wall Street. In Iowa and New Hampshire, her policies are viewed as being too easy on Wall Street, while Sanders’ policies New Hampshire are seen as about right. Fifty-three percent in Iowa feel her policies might be too easy, and forty-four percent say they’ll be about right. Seven in ten feel Sanders’ policies would be right, in their view.
I am greatly concerned with the recent news that student debt has passed credit card debt to become the second largest source of personal debt in the United States. Going to school is something that is not only good for the individual, it's good for the country and should not be unavailable to anyone because of cost.
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If you look at the numbers, you'll see a premise that common sense actually backs up: that more people getting educated is better for the economy, health, culture and businesses. And the more people who partake in schooling, the better the results get.
The government providing college tuition isn't pity or charity, it's a smart business decision. And Bernie Sanders is the only candidate running for president who thinks that education shouldn't be a function of finance, but a fundamental right for all.
Earlier this week, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was parlayin’ with Killer Mike, throwing up what could inevitably be mistaken for gang signs, and going to soul food restaurants in The A like it was just a typical day in the ‘hood. Now, if that’s not a white man trying to assimilate into Blackness, I don’t know what is. That’s damn near the Blackest thing I’ve seen this year. Even Obama hasn’t courted his rapper-supporters in the same manner.
Moderate historical research on The Sand Man—my personal nickname for Bernie, because I hope he puts his wack-ass rivals to sleep come the 2016 election—will hip you to just how black this man is. He was born and raised in Brooklyn. In 1941. That’s less than 100 years removed from when black slavery (allegedly) ended in the United States. Before gentrification. Way before that lone pioneer Columbused–I mean, “settled”–downtown Brooklyn. Do you realize how black that is? I’m talking a Brooklyn that preceded Spike Lee Joints and bodegas.
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Yes, he’s definitely had his mea culpa moments, which I’m certainly not excusing. But he also seemed to make use of the slight margin of error he was granted to make up for them. Besides, if we no longer supported folks who shared only a fraction of our sensibilities, and not all, every black actor, comedian, athlete and talk show host on Earth would be without a following, broke as hell and homeless. Bernie has shown solidarity with people of color in ways that resonate with us, past and present. And not by embarrassing himself doing rudimentary s**t like the Nae Nae on national TV.
The Bernie News Roundup is a voluntary, non-campaign associated roundup of news, media, & other information related to Bernie Sanders' run for President.
More information about Bernie & The Issues @ feelthebern.org
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