Bernie Sanders Drops A Liberal Bomb On CNN’s Republican Talking Points

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CNN tried to slow-down Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with a slew of Republican talking points, but all they got for their efforts was heavy dose of the liberal policies that reflect the leftward shift of the country.

Video:

Transcript via CNN’s New Day:

CUOMO: So you’re saying you’re not going to be about the big money, but you have that big Supreme Court case, Citizens United. I mean that – that says that money is speech and they can play the game and it seems like everybody takes money in politics these days. You’ll never change it.

SANDERS: No, Chris, we – look, Chris, let’s be very clear. When you have a handful of billionaires able to spend as much money as they want, supporting their candidates, so people like the Koch who are extreme right wing, what you are looking – and let’s be clear – is the undermining of American democracy and moving our nation to an oligarchic form of society – and I mean that very seriously – where a handful of billionaires will determine who are elected officials are. We’re not going to do that. I’m not going to take – establish a super PAC. We’re getting small contributions from working people. I think we can raise the kinds of money we need, not to outspend our opponents, that won’t happen, but to run a credible and, in fact, winning campaign.

….

CUOMO: How do you get them out on the polls?

SANDERS: Ah.

CUOMO: Because when you say things about expanding entitlements and giving more to the have nots, that’s unpopular. It sounds like it’s expensive. And the people who vote may not like it.

SANDERS: I disagree with you, Chris. First of all, it is not expensive in the sense that if you say to people all over this country, should large profitable multinational corporations, who today are not paying a nickel in federal taxes because they’re stashing their money in Cayman Islands and other tax havens, start paying their fair share? The American people, across the political spectrum, say, yes, they should.

We’re losing well over $100 billion every single year because of those taxes. I’ve introduced legislation that would end that. Talk to Warren Buffett, one of the richest guys in the world. He says, you know, it’s absurd. My effective tax rate is lower than my secretaries. The American people understand that. So what we have got to do is spend money intelligently.

We have got to make college affordable for our young people if we’re going to compete in the global economy. I’ll tell you what else we need to do. Real unemployment in this country is not 5.5 percent, it’s 11 percent. We need to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. And when we do that, in terms of roads, bridges, water systems, rail, airports, we can put some 13 million people back to work. And that’s the kind of agenda that I’m going to be fighting for.

Chris Cuomo’s questions were completely detached from reality. There is no polling anywhere that shows that expanding entitlements is unpopular. A September 2014 poll revealed that 73% of Republicans support expanding Social Security benefits. The idea that the American people would hate it because it would be “expensive” is straight out of the Republican talking points.

The attitude that Citizens United money can’t be removed from politics is exactly what Sanders and everyone who is trying to prevent the conservative billionaire purchase of the government is fighting against. There was a time when elections were publicly funded. The idea that the dark money can’t be removed from the system is absurd.

Anytime a Democrat or a liberal is on national television, the anchor feels compelled to “balance out” the program by asking questions that are based on Republican talking points.

One of the benefits of Hillary Clinton’s move to the left and also of the Sanders presidential campaign is that the corporate media is being forced to give airtime to popular Democratic positions. CNN tried their best to knock down any momentum for liberal ideas that are popular with the American people, but the truth did shine through.

The reality that the media hasn’t caught up to yet is that Republicans are claiming that America is a conservative nation while the ground is moving left beneath their feet.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association