An alleged campaign script that Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) campaign is deploying in Iowa seeks to downplay voters’ concern over the fact that Sanders is a socialist by suggesting to voters that they really don’t know what “socialism” means.
The alleged call/canvass script posted in the Sanders campaign office reads:
CONCERN: “Bernie is a socialist, and that’s scary to me.”AFFIRM: “I get that! Labels can be intimidating, [especially] those unfamiliar to us.”ANSWER: “The truth is, what Bernie stands for is social equality. He wants to ensure equal opportunity for all, not just those on the top. That means a healthcare system, school system, and a [government] that’s reliable, accessible, and effective. That’s what he means by ‘socialism.'”REDIRECT: “In what ways is your life impacted by the current system/government?”
Peter Hamby, a Vanity Fair contributor posted a picture of the script, which he said was located in one of Sanders’ Des Moines offices.
Bernie call/canvass script on the wall in one of his Des Moines offices. CONCERN: “Bernie is a socialist and that’s scary to me.”
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Paul R. Gregory, who has a PhD in economics from Harvard, explained in an article last year that Sanders is a socialist because there is little to no difference between socialists and self-described “Democratic Socialist.”
Gregory writes:
Sanders has spent a long political career obfuscating his true political beliefs. The media rarely pushes back on his standard platitudes, such as “we must create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy.” His two-minute video, promising to explain his brand of socialism, leaves the viewer clueless, probably deliberately. Sanders insists that he is not a “socialist” but a “Democratic Socialist,” as if the difference is self-explanatory. When pressed further about his Democratic Socialism, he resorts to filibustering about the Scandinavian-like paradise of free medicine and education, guaranteed jobs, livable wages, and other free things he intends to introduce when elected. He does not bother to note that the Nordic states rank among the most free-enterprise economies of the globe.
Gregory noted that Sanders, who claims that he is a “Democratic Socialist,” is “fully on board with the [Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)] narratives of capitalist exploitation and the need to organize” and that there is no distance between what Sanders believes and what DSA promotes.
Gregory notes that according to official DSA literature, Democratic Socialists believe:
First, Democratic Socialism wants more than an expansive welfare state.Second, capitalism is a zero-sum game in which the rich get richer by making the poor and working class worse off.Third, the poor, working class, and other underdogs can overturn the capitalist order only if they are organized.Fourth and most important, capital must be publicly owned because there is no real democracy with private ownership of capital.
Gregory noted that there is no difference between what Sanders believes and what DSA believes, which is socialism.
Gregory concluded:
According to CNN files, Sanders advocated in the 1970s the nationalization of most major industries. According to Sanders then: “The oil industry, and the entire energy industry, should be owned by the public and used for the public good – not for additional profits for billionaires.” When asked recently whether his position on nationalization has changed, Sanders pivoted to his “free stuff” filibuster. No answer.What Sanders advocated a half-century back is much less important than his current legislative initiatives. Let’s face it: Sanders’ signature Medicare-for-all, as laid out in his Senate bill, nationalizes all medical care. Private health insurance and employer insurance disappear and private providers must reorganize as non-profits and/or governmental organizations. A massive government bureaucracy determines our medical care – a sort of super VA. If Sanders is prepared to nationalize one fifth of the economy, he should have no qualms about doing the same to his loathed private energy and finance sectors.Marx declared that a socialist revolution would be required to part the capitalists from their capital. Democratic Socialists (DSA and Sanders) see a different path to what they consider true democracy: Organize the poor, the working class, and all other oppressed groups into what James Madison called an “overbearing majority.” Such a coalition would have enough power to transfer capital to the state by “democratic means.”
Sanders has seen a surge in support in recent weeks as the Democrat primary kicks into high gear on Monday in Iowa where Sanders is leading in some polls.
Late on Friday, Politico reported that some Democratic National Committee (DNC) members were already looking for ways to slow down Sanders in an attempt to prevent him from getting the nomination.
“In conversations on the sidelines of a DNC executive committee meeting and in telephone calls and texts in recent days, about a half-dozen members have discussed the possibility of a policy reversal to ensure that so-called superdelegates can vote on the first ballot at the party’s national convention,” Politico reported. “Such a move would increase the influence of DNC members, members of Congress and other top party officials, who now must wait until the second ballot to have their say if the convention is contested.”
The New York Times also noted on Friday that party officials changed the rules around qualifying for debates in an apparent attempt to benefit Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.
“It has eliminated the requirement that candidates must have received donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals. Mr. Bloomberg, a multibillionaire, is running a self-funded campaign and is not soliciting donations,” The Times reported. “The changes, which represent the most significant tightening of debate requirements this cycle, set off a fresh and pointed round of criticism at a critical moment in the race, as several campaigns braced for the reality check that the Iowa caucuses will provide. And the edict from party officials, which some saw as a concession to Mr. Bloomberg, quickly reignited concerns among those who believe the D.N.C.’s shifting rules for the debates privilege some candidates and campaigns over others.”
The Sanders campaign responded: “To now change the rules in the middle of the game to accommodate Mike Bloomberg, who is trying to buy his way into the Democratic nomination, is wrong. That’s the definition of a rigged system.”
During a recent interview on CBS News, Sanders said that it was “impossible” to know how much his $60 trillion in government proposals would cost.
The Sanders campaign has been repeatedly rocked in recent weeks as explosive undercover videos from James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas have repeatedly shown paid Sanders staffers praising Soviet Russia, gulags, and advocating for violence against political opponents.
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