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Bernie Sanders
Related: About this forumIndepth interview with Bernie
Last edited Wed Jul 8, 2015, 12:03 AM - Edit history (1)
http://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-speaks/In his most revealing interview, the socialist presidential candidate sets out his vision for America.
By John NicholsTwitter JULY 6, 2015
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Bernie Sanders
(Photography by Marius Bugge)
When Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders told The Nation last year that he was prepared to run for president, he said he would do so only if it was clear that progressives were enthusiastic about a movement campaign seeking nothing less than a political revolution. It was an audacious proposalbut after traveling the country for a year, Sanders decided that the enthusiasm was there and announced in late April as a candidate for the Democratic nomination. There were plenty of doubters then. Two months into the campaign, however, everything about this candidacythe crowds, the poll numbers, the buzzis bigger than expected. That says something about Sanders. But it also says something about the prospects for progressive politics. In late June, The Nation sat down with Sanders for several conversations that asked the longtime Nation reader (started when I was a University of Chicago student in the early 1960s) to put not just his campaign but the moment in historical perspective for our 150th-anniversary issue:
The Nation: Your campaign for the presidency has surprised people. The crowds are big; the poll numbers are stronger than the pundits predicted. Youre a student of political history. Put whats happening now in perspective. Are we at one of those pivot pointsas we saw in the 1930swhere our politics could open up and take the country in a much more progressive direction?
Sanders: Obviously, were not in the midst of a massive depression, as we were in the 1930s. But I think the discontent of the American people is far, far greater than the pundits understand. Do you know what real African-American youth unemployment is? Its over 50 percent. Families with a member 55 or older have literally nothing saved for retirement. Workers are worried about their jobs ending up in China. Theyre worried about being fired when theyre age 50 and being replaced at half-wages by somebody who is 25. Theyre disgusted with the degree that billionaires are able to buy elections. They are frightened by the fact that we have a Republican Party that refuses to even recognize the reality of climate change, let alone address this huge issue.
In 1936, when Roosevelt ran for reelection, he welcomed the hatred of what he called the economic royaliststoday, theyre the billionaire classand Im prepared to do that as well. Thats the kind of language the American people are ready to hear.
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Indepth interview with Bernie (Original Post)
wilsonbooks
Jul 2015
OP
marym625
(17,997 posts)1. K&R!
Adding an excerpt
Sanders: Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, often criticizes President Obama, incorrectly, for trying to push European-style socialism, and McConnell says the American people dont want it. First of all, of course, Obama is not trying to push European-style socialism. Second of all, I happen to believe that, if the American people understood the significant accomplishments that have taken place under social-democratic governments, democratic-socialist governments, labor governments throughout Europe, they would be shocked to know about those accomplishments. One of the goals of this campaign is to advance that understanding
. How many Americans know that in virtually every European country, when you have a baby, you get guaranteed time off and, depending on the country, significant financial benefits as well. Do the American people know that? I doubt it. Do the American people even know that were the only major Western industrialized country that doesnt guarantee healthcare for all? Most people dont know that. Do the American people know that in many countries throughout Europe, public colleges and universities are either tuition-free or very inexpensive?