Was President Biden Feeling The Bern Tonight? Sen. Sanders Thinks So.

[Donkees]

In part two of Stephen's interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, they discuss President Biden's announcement of his domestic agenda including a push to lower prescription drug prices, something Sen. Sanders has been pursuing for a very long time.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

1. More reason why everyone loves Bernie!!

Thanks for posting Donk.

[Hortensis]

2. Good, but let's be honest. Democrats have been pursuing it longer

and faaar more industriously. We send people to congress to legislate. I believe Sanders should be saying that he's proud to fight with those Democrats who also believe strongly in the need to lower prescription prices. And that they are eventually going to send the legislation to the White House that makes it happen.

It's unfortunate that his talk always demands rebuttal and defense by Democrats. For 50 years people ignorant of what they need to know and wobbly of conviction have listened to him, and people like him, and come away with their lack of faith in the Democratic Party, and the worth of their own vote, strengthened.

And for what? Electoral default for over 50 years to anti-government Republican majorities and predatory medication pricing.

I believe Sanders thinks we should have lower prescription prices. If he finally commits to making it happen by electing the biggest Democratic majorities he can, that can be a legacy to be proud of.

[CentralMass]

5. Democrats pursued third way politics and with an all to often we can't get that done

let's maintain the status quo mindset. Telling Wall St "we got into this together we'll get out of it together". Bailing out the predatory lenders and financial industry to cover their risky and predatory practices made possible by the deregulation of the 80 and 90's that created the bubble and subprime lending crash that took tje country to it's knees while handing the people a bankruptcy bill that protected the lenders.
Bernie's long time advocacy of these policies of putting people first along with his presidential runs and millions of votes and support were instrumental in the party changing gears and Joe Biden and hus ability to win the Presidency and willingness to work with Bernie and the progressive wing made pursing a more phressive agenda a reality. The fact the 50 republicans and just two democratic senators are more interested in supporting monied interest does not take away from the fact that the President and 48 Democratic Senators and Democratic majority in House are more unified then ever on a widely popular agenda. Going back to the status quo or changing directions because Joe Manchin wants it is not the way forward.

[Hortensis]

6. All you speak of RESULTS from the subversion of belief I'm discussing,

the deluded disbelief that the Democratic Party opposes lowering prescription drug prices.

I believe that someone would rush to claim "third-way" politics is what Democrats are about -- on DU! -- illustrates the problem that's defeated our ability to lower prices so far.

I believe you should know that the Democratic Party's progressive and liberal ideology is as strong today, as it was through the last century, and that the third-way group's strategy didn't change our ideology a bit, only their approach. That's proven many times over. Everything we've ever done, including all the bad and the good, has always been studied by political scientists and reported. There are graphs with lines to illustrate what long pages of dense text and figures explain.

And back to why this OP, I'm asking: Why doesn't everyone know what our our party stands for and what our people in office are doing and trying to do? How could anyone not know what we've wanted to achieve on this topic over the modern period of miracle drug development accompanied by prohibitive pricing? And why we haven't been able to?

Shouldn't the actions of those who genuinely want price controls be to make that happen? Democratic majorities or Republican. Prescriptions price controls or no prescription price controls. It's very simple, actually.

[CentralMass]

7. I still hold both Clinton's in high regard. Voted for Bill twice.

Voted for Hillary in 2008 and voted for her the general in 2016.

While I admit I enjoyed some of the benefits of the Clinton economy I have come to the conclusion that the so call third way politics and in particular the continuation of the deregulation that Reagan started in the 80's are part of the dynamic that has had the middle and poor classes in a downward spiral. The repeal of Glass-Stiegal and other deregulation during the 90's set the stage for predatory and risky lending where asset less lenders gave bought and or sold risky loans with no assets to back the up with insurers backing these garbage loans without to assets to cover them. It set the stage for the greed and sub prime feeding frenzy during Dubya's administration when it hit critical mass and crashed amd took the counyry to its knees. Cleary the party was far better them the republican party but IMO capitulated to often when the Republicans held the oresidency stopped fighting fir core Demicratic principals in order to play to Wall St and try and win republican votes. The decay of the minimum wage for instance. From article that I read that was probably a year old minimum wage keeping with inflation should have been ~$16.70/hr and keeping pace with inflation and worker productivity it should have been at $24/hrs. Bernie fought and lobbied for a $15 minimum wage and had an opponent saying "we can't fo that". Look at what's going on with rents and housing prices. Many people particularly the young and old can not afford rents and are struggling. It is not a nice to have thing, raising the minimum wage is a must,not we can't do it. The pandemic and the related inflation and corporate profit taking that occurring is exacerbating it even more. Sections of Portland and other major cities have unconscionable levels of homelessness and people living in the street. You could bring back Kurt Russel3 and his Snske Plisken character and make an Escape from Portland movie without have to spend much on the set.
Rubber stamping the party at election time because they aren't republicans and being told well we can't do that and having them assure Wall St that they have their back lead us here. The party needs to fight for
policies that make government work for everyone. Not run from them and Sanders has had a pivotal role in the parties change of direction.

[Hortensis]

8. Oh, absolutely reaganomics and what followed have put the nation

on a downward spiral, devastating the middle classes and growing poverty.

Where I believe many go wrong is in buying the Republican AND far-left lies that the Democratic Party joined the Republicans to make it happen, when it happened in spite of us.

Blaming liberals for harm done by conservative policies has been SOP for EVER. That's how the GOP gets away with it, and it's how the far left manages to get heard.

Imo, the very first time Bernie Sanders claimed Democrats and Republicans were mostly the same, over 100M liberals who knew that wasn't true of them or most of those they voted for should have raised their eyebrows. The second or at most third time they heard it (which could have been the same day most days), they should have crossed him off their list. No need to wait to learn Russia and all the big RW power blocs were using him to once again spread The Biggest and Most Valuable Lie of All.

No matter how sincere Sanders might be -- and, no matter how skillfully he steps back undefendable statements when called on them, I believe he is -- the effects of over 70 years of swiftboating of the liberal Democratic Party have been devastating. The dreadful losses of 2016 in particular are still happening, and we may not recover.

In which case, of course, these discussions will become irrelevant.

Speaking of, the Republicans have stacked SCOTUS with RW extremists ready to decide against a free and open Internet (the single most powerful effect of that "pivot" mentioned), which currently has its legal foundation in the "Right to Privacy" -- the same liberal interpretation that forms the wobbly basis for rights to abortion, contraception, elective surgery, and many other protections against government interference in the lives of individuals.

[CentralMass]

9. I spent month defending the Clinton policies back in 2008 blaming it on.

Bill losing the democratic majority two years into his first term but.. He was eager to sign the bill portion of NAFTA into law. George H.W. Bush had signed the treaty portion of the legislation with the members countries but ran out of time for the bill to come up before he left office. The pris and cons of NAFTA can be debated but Bill supported it. He also supported the republican authored Graham-Lietch-Bliley Act authored by those three Republicans thar repealed theGlass Stiegal and he srill stands by the decision today.

[Hortensis]

10. Political scientists now see 2008 as a huge, not turning point maybe,

but accelerattion point of what had been happening on the right. We were retired and our kids did okay, so I really underestimated just how badly the Great Recession affected the mindset of much of the electorate. And, of course, the subsequent determination of the RW powers to impede recovery for the lower-income half as much as possible. But in the 1930s it caused election of 12 years of a Democratic trifecta and the New Deal, not possibly voting to replace democracy with a RW authoritarian state.

So here we are. With President Biden unbelievably polling in the 30s as Democrats try to pull our nation out of the Republican nosedive. But it's all of a piece. Ignorance is no longer complacency but fear and distrust.

It's been a nice discussion of different ways of seeing what's been happening, CentralMass. See ya round.

[CentralMass]

11. Thank you and it is always interesting reading your point of view oabd insights on things. Best Rega

[luv2fly]

3. Always good to hear Bernie talk

And his rapport with Stephen Colbert is enjoyable. Thanks for posting this.