It dawned on me today that it’s been too damned long since we’ve had any Bernie Sanders video on the site. Here, to remedy that, is a little something that I just found on the web.
I don’t have time to transcribe the whole thing, but here are a few quotes.
…Big money owns and controls much of what takes place in the United States Congress. We had a bad situation before, and, since (the) Citizens United (decision), it’s much, much worse. In a variety of ways, we’re going to have to take apart Citizens United. We’re going to have to pass legislation to minimize what it is doing. And, at the end of the day, we’re probably going to have to pass a constitutional amendment which makes the radical opinion that a corporation is not a person, and that a handful of billionaires cannot pollute and take over the political system by spending unlimited sums of money in secret in order to elect candidates who support their agenda…
The way you fight back is through grassroots organizing. These guys may have billions of dollars, and they may have the Supreme Court, and they may be able to attract the money from the Koch brothers and other billionaires, but, if we can build a strong grassroots movement of politically conscience people who understand that the function of government is to represent working people and the middle class, and not billionaires, we can beat them… We need to make it very, very clear how corrupt the system is… to what degree the billionaires and large corporations are manipulating the campaign finance system in order to give tax breaks to the rich, in order to continue unregulated free trade, in order to deregulate Wall Street and the oil companies.. (and remove) environmental protection laws. So, I think their arrogance may be something that we can effectively use against them…
I think that this particular point many Republicans are doing what they are doing not for any great philosophical reasons, but because what they do can attract huge sums of money. You can get huge amounts of money from Wall Street when you talk about deregulating Wall Street, and not bringing back (the) Glass-Steagall (Act), for instance. You get money from the oil companies when you talk about continuing to give them tax breaks despite the fact that they make billions in profits. You get money from the military industrial complex if you continue to support large military budgets and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…
Oh, and guess what else? Sanders proposed legislation today that, if passed, would make health care possible for everyone in the United States. Here’s a clip:
This week, Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, introduced the American Health Security Act of 2011(S. 915 in the Senate and HR 1200 in the House), a bill that would create a state-based system similar to Medicare but open to Americans of all ages.
“The United States is the only major nation in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care as a right to its people,” Sanders said at a press conference announcing the measure on Capitol Hill. “It is time that we bring about a fundamental transformation of the American health care system. It is time for us to end private, for-profit participation in delivering basic coverage.”
“The best way to reduce costs and guarantee coverage for all is through a single-payer system like Medicare,” said McDermott. “This bill does just that — it builds on the new health care law by giving states the flexibility they need to go to a single-payer system of their own. It will also reduce costs, and Americans will be healthier”…
It pisses me off that I can’t be as proud of my Senators. How about you?
12 Comments
I like grassroots organizing and I do think it’s effective but to eliminate the money threat we need ironclad legislation. I’m in Pennsylvania, and the natural gas industry is running commercials that essentially say we do a great job, we care about the environment, etc. so we don’t need regulation.
In fact, they have another good reason why they don’t need taxed or more regulation: because these local community groups are keeping them accountable. Really?
Well, I do think that they can do a lot to expose what is going on but only regulation can provide for people with the power to observe a site, say you’re doing something horribly wrong, and fine the company for the behavior. Without something with teeth, they can keep doing it, they their sorry after a letter to the editor attacking them, and move one.
Likewise, this same principle applies to lobbying in Washington and other places where big money and government collide.
I know Russ Feinglod is bsy trying to get back into the Senate, but I really wish that either he or Bernie would run against Obama in the Democratic primary, or, better yet, as an Independent in the general election.
Sometimes I imagine moving to Vermont just so I can vote for him..
Great footage of a patriotic young Republican asking Sanders at a book signing, about why he, as a Socialist, charges for his books.
http://nation.foxnews.com/sen-bernie-sanders/2011/05/18/bernie-sanders-confronted-how-does-avowed-socialist-sell-book
Are you in the third grade?
Personally, belief in having contact with the dead is a far bigger problem than gay agriculture.
Red White and Blue,
An obnoxious, paid young Republican operative, hired to badger, Bernie Sanders from Vermont at his book signing.
A debate, between them, would see the this Republican operative put in his place on simple facts, from Senator Sanders. But, why would this operative want to make sense, when he can just get national recognition, air time by Fox News on anything he chooses to pull out of his behind and present as accurate.
It’s disgusting, and the norm of the Republicans of today.
If you’re reading this, you are still alive this Saturday, Rapture day.
Watching Laughing.
Perhaps they should send someone after Rand Paul to call him out on paying taxes. After all, if he were a true libertarian, he wouldn’t want any of his money going to the federal government (though they pay his salary and a lifetime of health care).
I can’t even believe that rightists would get behind this shit. This is like crap that happens on schoolyards.
Sanders is just another socialist idiot who is in the same camp as the other one and we know how this is working out for the country:
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/05/21/kiss-rocker-gene-simmons-slams-obama-on-his-anti-israel-policy-%e2%80%9che-has-no-fcking-idea-what-the-world-is-like%e2%80%9d/
Great footage of a patriotic young Republican who supports Socialism by purchasing a book written by a Socialist.
“You get money from the military industrial complex if you continue to support large military budgets and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…”
As of right now, military contractors don’t have to disclose who they are funding. The President is considering legislation that would have them do so.
http://www.alternet.org/news/151037/military_contractors%27_secret_sway_over_our_politics_–_does_obama_have_the_guts_to_make_them_disclose_their_political_spending/
I received the following note from Bernie this morning.