Presidential Candidates - #4 Bernie Sanders

"What will it be like going to a Democratic political rally?" I wondered.  After our trip to the Bush meet-and-greet landed my sister and I in a photo on the front page a prominent local newspaper, I was worried it would be my fate to be caught on the nightly national news at the Bernie Sanders meeting!  What would people think?!  

I cast aside my fears and boldly marched into the building full of Democrats.  The lady at the registration desk asked if I wanted to sign in.  I told her, "Not really.  I'm a Republican; I'm not supposed to be here!"  She insisted, so I signed in, giving minimal information.  I picked up a Bernie Sanders sticker as a souvenir, and a kindly older man who was volunteering told me that one day I too might see the light and become a Democrat.

The audience was noticeably a lot younger than the Republican audiences I had seen up to this point.  

Four minutes before the scheduled start time, the local campaign manager began speaking.  He was followed by a few more speakers; then Bernie Sanders was introduced to a standing ovation.

Miscellaneous Facts:  Sanders is 74 years old, and the longest serving independent in Congressional history.  His father, Eli Sanders, was a Jew who immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1921; many of his relatives in Poland died during the Holocaust.  Sanders' mother, Dorothy, was born in New York to Jewish parents.  Sanders is "Proud to be Jewish, but not particularly religious."  He has been married to Jane O'Meara Driscoll since 1988, and has 3 stepchildren whom he considers his own.  He also has a son from a previous relationship.  He is 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Created with www.readwritethink.org's Timeline Generator.  Click to enlarge.

Sanders' Speech

Greed is destroying our country.  Corporate America is becoming so powerful that a candidate cannot do anything without a political revolution.  The corporations have the money and the power, but if we get involved and stand together we can change this nation.

We have the richest nation in the world.  But most people are not benefitting from the wealth.  Many Americans are struggling.  The top 1/10th of 1% has as much wealth as 90% of everyone else.  We need to change that.  Republicans are nervous when they hear the words "re-distribution of the wealth."  It's time for them to start shaking!  Wealth has already been redistributed, but in the wrong direction.  We need to reverse the flow. 

The economy is better now than it was under President Bush.  Obama adding 200,000 jobs a month is better than Bush losing 800,000 jobs a month.  Under Obama, the economy has improved, but we shouldn't be satisfied.

The past 40 years, under both Democrats and Republicans, the middle class has been disappearing.  Considering inflation, the average working American is now making less for the same amount of labor than he did 40 years ago.  People are working hard but getting nowhere.  This is because the economy is skewed to favor the top 1%.

The minimum wage is inadequate.  We need to raise it to $15 an hour.  Seattle and Los Angeles have already done this.  It's not a radical idea.  Anyone who works 40 hours a week should not be living in poverty.  And there should be pay equality for women.

Unemployment is officially 5.1%, but our real unemployment rate is over 10%.  Real youth unemployment for ages 17-20 is 33% for Caucasians, 36% for Hispanics, and 51% for African Americans.  What we need is a massive federal jobs program.  We need to hire, not fire, teachers.  We need to work on our roads; our infrastructure is crumbling.  We need to make a major investment of $1 trillion to create 13 million new jobs.

We have more people in prison than any country.  Young people drop out of school and if they're not studying and can't find work, they end up in prison.  We have 2.2 million people in jail.  We need to end this disgrace and instead of having the most incarcerated population, have the best educated population.  We need to end mandatory minimum sentencing and the war on drugs.

Republicans say they love family values.  But what they mean is that women shouldn't have the right to control their own bodies, and that our gay brothers and sisters should not have the right to marry.  "I disagree," Sanders said.

We need to end the international embarrassment of having no paid family and medical leave.  We shouldn't separate mothers and their newborn babies; that is the opposite of family values.  There should be 3 months of paid family and medical leave.

Sanders stood against NAFTA and CAFTA, and believes we need to fight to defeat the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement.  We need to make corporate America invest in the United States, not China and Mexico.

Sanders voted against the '08 bailouts.  But the Federal Reserve helped the large banks in 2008 because they were too big to fail.  Now those banks are even bigger; we need to break them up.  Small businesses need to be able to get affordable loans.

Five years ago the Supreme Court ruled the wealthy could spend all the money they wanted on politics with SuperPacs.  The wealthy can now buy the government of the United States.  Sanders is the only non-billionaire in the 2016 election who is running without the support of a Super-Pac.  He doesn't want or need their money.  As president, Sanders would not nominate any justices to the Supreme Court who would not work to overturn the Citizens United decision.  There should be public funding of elections.

We  need the best-educated workforce.  Some people can't go to college because they can't afford it.  This is unfair to young people, and stupid for the economy.  As president he would work to make every public college in the nation tuition-free.  Also, we need to make it so people can refinance their student loans.

Pope Francis says we have a moral responsibility to leave our planet healthy and happy.  Scientists are unanimous on climate change.  We need to move away from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources.

We have made considerable progress against racism in this country.  But we still have institutional racism and a broken criminal justice system.  As mayor, Sanders worked with the police.  The majority are honest and hardworking; they do not have an easy job.  But when police break the law, they  must be held accountable.

There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country.  Many are being exploited because they have no rights.  We need to provide them legal rights and a path to citizenship.

It's important to think big, not small.  What kind of nation can we become?  Healthcare should be a right.  Veterans shouldn't be on the streets with no healthcare.  For the past 30+ years, there has been a transfer of wealth to the top.  We need to reverse that flow.  We have the money.  My goals are not utopian; they are practical.  And we can accomplish them if we don't allow our opponents to divide us.

 Townhall Questions

Q: You're planning to make tuition at public colleges free, but what about those of us who want to go to private colleges.
A: We'll increase grants.

Q:  The veterans administration is an inefficient bureaucracy.  Shouldn't something be done?
A: You're right; it is.  We have a moral responsibility to our veterans.

Question about education
A:  The federal government should not plan how to run every school in the country.  States and school boards know what's best for their own children.  I helped to end No Child Left Behind.  One thing I don't like is the use of property tax to fund the schools.

Q: How do we institute tax reform?
A:  Corporations should pay taxes on all their profits, and not be able to hide their profits in some island.  We also need progressive taxation.

Question from German exchange student about the refugee crisis.
A: First of all, how much does college tuition cost in Germany?  [Student responds: nothing or 500-600 Euros]  [Back to Sanders] You're our hero.  [Now to refugee crisis]  It's all related to the disastrous war in Iraq; then there's Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Syria.  The refugee crisis is a terrible human tragedy, a global issue, and we should try to make sure the refugees can find a place to live in dignity.

Question from little girl: how can we keep people out of jail?
A: We need to keep children from dropping out to school.  Often if young people are not in school and not working, they end up in jail.

Q: I am transgender and poor.  I won't be able to afford gender reassignment surgery unless  in the future I'm able to find a really good job.  Would you support having the government help fund my surgery?
A: I'm sympathetic.

Further Resources: Visit Senator Sanders' website to learn more about him and read his stance on the important issues.  You can also read about him on Wikipedia.

Sanders' books are available on Amazon: Outsider in the White House (2015), The Speech: A Historic Filibuster (2011), and Outsider in the House (1998),

My remarks:  Bernie Sanders seems to be very sincere in his beliefs, and considering that his entire life has been dedicated to the ideals he speaks about, I believe he means what he says.  The audience loved him.  I was disappointed he didn't stay afterward to meet with people or have a photo op.  But I was glad I went to listen to him.

That said, while listening to Sanders, I felt like I was from another planet, as I disagreed with almost everything Sanders said.  It didn't help things much to walk outside into the fresh air afterwards...and see a total lunar eclipse in progress!  Not that I'm superstitious or anything, but if there's a solar eclipse after I listen to Hillary Clinton, I might think twice about hanging out with Democrats again.

Disclaimer: Candidates' speeches are reconstructed from my imperfect notes.  If you notice any mistakes, just let me know.  I would not intentionally misrepresent anyone's position.  I am not endorsing any candidate or candidate's position at this time, and no candidate has endorsed me.  And yes, I do realize that often speeches are to some extent propaganda, but it's interesting to me to see the points candidates consider as most important.
For my personal political views, please see this article.