After Paris, Sanders sticks to script — and it doesn’t say much about fighting terrorism

[RandySF]

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. — The more than 600 people who packed into a historic cabin on this small sea island were treated to the usual rousing — and lengthy — performance by Bernie Sanders.

The Democratic presidential hopeful ticked off an expansive agenda for improving the lot of those struggling to get by, touched on climate change and devoted some extra attention to issues of racial justice and policing.

But by the time the senator from Vermont had wrapped up his speech, which clocked in at 59 minutes, there was one topic that hadn’t merited a single mention: foreign policy.

The omission was striking, given the marked shift in tone of the presidential race in the week and a half since the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and injured more than 350. Many of the Republican candidates have recast their pitches altogether, and the other Democrats, including former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, have pushed their plans for defeating the Islamic State to the top of their agendas.

The post-Paris-attacks Sanders campaign looks remarkably similar to the pre-Paris-attacks Sanders campaign. During a four-day swing through South Carolina and Georgia that ended Monday, the candidate said little about fighting terrorism unless asked by a journalist or audience member — as happened here shortly after he opened the floor to questions.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-paris-bernie-sanders-is-sticking-to-his-script--and-it-doesnt-say-much-about-fighting-terror/2015/11/24/43e4a798-92b9-11e5-b5e4-279b4501e8a6_story.html

[morningfog]

1. Good.

No more hawks calling for bombings and ground wars that only lead to more radicals and more blowback.

[brooklynite]

3. Fair enough: what's his solution for dealing with the situation we face today?

[HerbChestnut]

5. Check out his speech at Georgetown

He dedicated the last quarter of it to foreign policy

[morningfog]

6. He supports the Obama drone war doctrine, which I disagree with.

But at least he is not putting forth policy that will make it worse, as Hillary is. She is calling for more of the same of what has lead to this problem, increased bombings, more US troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria.

We need good intel and disengagement of our military. Cut off the funding there and practice good sound defense here.

[bahrbearian]

48. "Don't do Stupid Shit" , you know like War ,Bombing, Coup's.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

11. His policy is the same as before

He doesn't change his spots like someone we know.

[NurseJackie]

41. Deer in headlights have no spots to change.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

56. Deer in the headlights certainly describes

Hillary! She never knows which way to turn on issues. It's changes every week.

[NurseJackie]

57. How delightfully clever, Rosa! The old ...

... variation of "I know you are but what am I", eh? What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in cuteness. (I was almost expecting "oh yeah? Well your momma wears combat boots&quot

Thanks for the chuckle!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

58. no probs

[Dawson Leery]

2. Bernie WILL lose the GE if he goes this route.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Ya think?

The pattern has prompted scrutiny of whether Sanders is delivering an expansive-enough message to be considered a credible commander in chief beyond the liberal base of voters he has inspired with his economic pitch.

Weakest D field ever.

[MaggieD]

7. He's not a serious candidate

And I'm not fully convinced he even wants to be.

[morningfog]

8. He's not a serious war hawk like Hillary, for sure.

She wants more US troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria. She wants her war almost as badly as she wants the presidency. She another "power through war" candidate.

[MaggieD]

19. A president has to understand FP to keep the peace too

In fact, they probably have to excell in FP to keep the peace in this environment.

[morningfog]

20. Hillary's FP record is abysmal. She's been involved

in the worst decisions of the last decade.

She has no concept of peace.

[MaggieD]

22. Most people think it's excellent

[morningfog]

24. Says Maggie D, which is oh so meaningful.

Most people think she's a war hawk eager to prove herself by ordering killings.

[MaggieD]

25. It's a widely held belief

[morningfog]

30. That settles it.

[Thinkingabout]

26. Sanders has voted more times for military actions than Hillary has, makes Sanders a war hawk.

[bahrbearian]

49. Clintons FP , "Do stupid Shit" , More Bombs , More Arms , More Coup's

[GusBob]

9. Tomorrow starts dinner table politics and holiday travel season

I think people will be discussing economy and foreign policy issues equally.

[Politicalboi]

10. So Bernie is not a war hawk like Hillary

We all know what happened in Paris. At least Bernie doesn't use tragedies like Hillary to gain an edge.

[RandySF]

12. More like he doesn't have a foreign policy, period.

[morningfog]

14. You know she had her "terrorist speech" at the ready.

Just waiting for the right moment.

[msongs]

21. being prepared and contingency planning are bad things now? hmm nt

[morningfog]

23. Exploiting terrorism for personal gain may be.

[Thinkingabout]

27. What is your plan?

[morningfog]

31. To not vote for war hawks looking to get

deeper in an unwinnable, indefinite war.

[Thinkingabout]

32. Good idea, I will notify ISIS right away, bet that would scare them straight.

[morningfog]

37. I'm not scared of ISIS. Are you?

We need good intel to keep us safe here. Why go fight them over there? Why gonout of our way, drain billions upon billions killing and radicalizing another generation.

Didn't you pay attention last time we went down this path?

[Thinkingabout]

38. Not after they will be scared straight tomorrow.

[morningfog]

39. You lost me. No idea what you're thinking about.

[Thinkingabout]

47. Reread your post #31.

[morningfog]

51. That doe not help me understand your garble.

[reformist2]

13. Americans are growing skeptical of all this tough talk about bombing and more troops.

Last edited Wed Nov 25, 2015, 06:53 AM - Edit history (1)

It might still sound appealing, especially in the wake of yet another senseless attack, but most people know in their hearts that sending more bombs, more weapons, more troops into the region doesn't work - that it only makes things worse.

[Punkingal]

44. Amen...

[BootinUp]

15. Bernie is not even qualified to be a VP. nt

[Floyd Steinberg]

16. On that same note, Clinton isn't qualified to be a dogcatcher.

[Thinkingabout]

28. She isn't running for dog catcher, she is qualified to be president, she is running for president.

[Floyd Steinberg]

29. I said she isn't qualified to run based on her records and past history.

The best she can do is become a lobbyist for Goldman Sachs, disappear, and make us forget she was also-ran TWICE and lost.

[Thinkingabout]

34. We don't need a candidate who is complaining about too much defense spending while voting to

continue the F-35 program going to prop up Lockheed Martin, I am sure they love the continuous feed of defense contract welfare. This welfare program costs the tax payers. Running and losing is a trait of Sanders, he is getting ready to lose another time.

[morningfog]

40. Sanders wins when he runs.

What are you talking about "running and losing?"

One candidate in this race lost their prior run for the White House. Remember? It wasn't Sanders.

[Thinkingabout]

42. You really know a lot about Sanders record, huh, might be wrong, but can still be said.

[morningfog]

50. Ho many times was he elected mayor, to congress and to senate?

Compared to lost races. Think about it a little more.

[bobbobbins01]

55. I think his win/loss record is better than Clintons.

What is she 50/50 now? Soon to be 33/66.

[Warren Stupidity]

17. Sanders refuses to wave the bloody shirt and pander to our worst instincts.

[Bluenorthwest]

18. So it is your theory that a weak, stressed out American people can adequately face this threat

of terrorism? This threat is large, but not so large that we need to get our society and infrastructure tuned up, large but not so large that we can't afford constant distractions from problems here at home?
I don't get that thinking. The terrorists want to tear us down, part of the response is build, to live, to celebrate our culture and our people.
You are saying we should look obsessed and frightened, putting aside all things to focus on fear, terra, security!!!

[Lucky Luciano]

35. Boo!

Terra!!!

[Luminous Animal]

33. Well, we know Hillary's script. Bomb bomb bomb. Bomb brown people who have oil...

Maybe Bernie is taking his time to fashion something more nuanced.

[Lans]

36. Spending a couple of trillions in Syria only to have the same result in Iraq

is not common sense. Unless you want permanent huge military bases in the region and policing the country for the next 20 years there is no easy fix. Too many factors and players who cause instability in the region.
If you really want to address ISIS, force Kewait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE to aggressively persecute people funding ISIS and other terrorist groups. Have Turkey patrol and pursuit oil and human trafficking being done which goes through their boarder. Until there is a position and aggressive steps taken by the entire World to pressure every side of this conflict and the region to have a unified front you'd just be playing a game of whack-a-mole. You have Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan all enveloped in some sort of chaos - you clear them out of one country they just move on to the next.

[Turn CO Blue]

43. Is WaPo fucking kidding here? Sticks to script? He introduced his immigration plan.

But that doesn't fit the narrative of the meme that Bernie can't update his stump speech fast enough - so the reporter can't look at any other part of Bernie's campaign outside of that 59 minutes.

Ridiculous.

Does this reporter have any idea how many people immigration plans impact?

MILLIONS.

But immigrants you know, policy for that all has to wait because Paris was attacked and we need to be all war-hawkish now - get out your drums. Immigrants, hey, we're mostly talking about some brown people with an accent, why should Democrats care about THAT???


Well, except the article is stating he avoids foreign policy.

NEWSFLASH to that dumbass reporter:

IMMIGRATION IS PART OF FOREIGN POLICY - DERP DERP DERP

AND IMMIGRATION IS ONE OF THE TOP FIVE ISSUES IN THIS ELECTION, AND IT BATTLES FOR FIRST AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN SOUTHWESTERN STATES.

DERP DERP DERP.

I swear this article is ridiculous. The intellectual dishonesty and demonization I see day in and day out makes me wonder if WE are the anti-reason, anti-science party sometimes.

[MADem]

53. Immigration is also a domestic issue, to a greater extent, actually.

It can affect American jobs, American housing, Americans having to "share" resources with "foreigners," to adapt to new cultural paradigms, etc.

It's why Americans march out into the American desert with guns like a bunch of morons to prevent poor people from coming in across the Mexican border.

It has to do with what happens within our borders. It is influenced by foreign concerns--economics, unrest, etc., but when people come to our shores and seek to become part of our society, that's a domestic portfolio.

[AtomicKitten]

45. Ridiculous backseat campaign driving from neoliberal hawk fans.

[Matariki]

46. You mean he didn't sing "bomb Iran" or invoke 9/11?

[MADem]

52. He's not attracting the audience he needs to win.

“I feel like, because it’s so recent and brought up so frequently now, he should,” said Katie Miller, 16, a high school student from Bluffton, S.C. “Maybe he knew people would ask.”

This kid makes a fair point, but if she's 16 today, she's not old enough to vote for this candidate next year.

I agree that he's a single issue candidate, and the Presidency is a job that is multi-faceted. I don't think he has the skillset to excel in that job.

[99Forever]

54. Not pounding the wardrums with the warmongering fear merchants...

...is a VERY GOOD THING.

Very non-Teapublican.