Sunday, March 6, 2016

Some Debating Points for Sanders

I am a little late for tonight, but I want to offer Sanders some debating points. Maybe they will be useful to others also.
1. When it comes to foreign policy, Sanders should be the clear preference. See the great article in The Nation, by Robert English, from the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California! (“Bernie Sanders, the Foreign-Policy Realist of 2016: Of all the presidential candidates of either party, Bernie is actually the most sober and clear-eyed.” http://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-the-foreign-policy-realist-of-2016/?nc=1 ) I hope Bernie had a chance to read it before the debate tonight. Clinton has spent too much of her political life as a hawk – her Iraq vote, her support for the Libyan regime change, her support for NATO expansion right up to Russian borders, her support for a no-fly zone in Syria. Do we ever learn? Sanders is calling for a broad coalition to address the crisis in Syria, and holding back on regime-change policies.
2. When it comes to trade policy, Sanders is the clear choice. Clinton is a long supporter of the US trade agreements, very late coming to reservations on TPP. Sanders has opposed all the trade agreements. In the debate with Clinton, Sanders should hit hard on trade policy and its effect on jobs, especially manufacturing jobs. Specifically, Sanders should promise to renegotiate all the trade agreements to better protect American jobs and to disallow the trade courts the ability to overturn American law.
3. When it comes to regulating Wall Street and breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks, Sanders is the clear choice. Many of the financial institutions are now too big to fail, and Clinton won’t say she will break them up. Who is in a better position to tackle Wall Street, one who accepts millions of dollars from the Street, or one is supported by millions of small donations?
4. Polls for the general election are notoriously unreliable at this early date, but they are uniform and have been for months that Sanders does better against any Republican than does Clinton. Thus, with available evidence, Sanders looks like the best choice for winning the presidency. Hopefully he will choose Elizabeth Warren for vice president, which will put a true progressive on track to become the first woman to be president of the US.
5. Sanders has a progressive vision for the country, and the country greatly needs change. Clinton has no such vision for the country.

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