Sanders on reaching out to conservatives and differing with Clinton on Education
Face the Nation: Sanders touts his common ground with conservatives
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 and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both said they won't attack each other on the campaign trail, but the two are still airing their differences on issues like whether a college education should be free. Reflecting on Sanders' push for free tuition at public colleges and universities, Clinton said, "I am not going to give free college to wealthy kids. I'm not going to give free college to kids who don't work some hours to try to put their own effort into getting their education."
Sanders said he stands by his idea, which is not free college anywhere but merely free tuition in the public education system.
"I think it is simple, it's straightforward. It exists in other countries and, in fact...50 or 60 years ago, used to exist in the United States of America," he said.
I don't expect a groundswell of conservative support for Mr. Sanders, but I have no doubt that he will draw more votes than Mrs. Clinton in a general election.
On the educational front, I have two problems with Mrs. Clinton's positions:
First, she positions higher education as something to be "given away". I think this is a mistake and it embraces a conservative world view. Educational spending is an investment. People who get college degrees tend to do better and pay higher taxes. Funding eduction is a something for which we get a higher return than we spend.
Second, by adding means testing (another conservative frame) to an educational program, it makes it much easier to undermine or destroy. Social programs work the best and have the widest support when everyone has access to them.