5 Myths Quashed by Bernie Sanders Himself
On Wednesday morning, WAMU radio host Diane Rehm interviewed presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. He spoke with the usual passion and honesty people expect from the 73 year old activist politician. In the Q&A session featuring questions from the host, calls from listeners, tweets, and emails, Sanders got a chance to take down a few myths that have been circling around the Internet.
1. He will run as an independent candidate if he loses the primaries
Sanders swiftly rebuffed the idea of running as an Independent: “No, the answer is absolutely not. I am in the democratic caucus and primary process… I will not run outside of that.” And it makes sense as well. If Sanders were to leave this option open, it would give Democrats who fear a Republican take over an out when it comes to nominating Sanders. He is betting it all on the Democratic ticket. “I have been in the Democratic caucus in the house and the senate since the first day I took office.”
2. He can’t compete without billions in corporate backing
One of the callers to the show asked “How does [Sanders] plan to deal with Republican Opposition?”
“I’m the ranking member on the budget committee. I do know what the Republican Party stands for. In the budget that they passed last month, they called for massive tax breaks for billionaires and terrible cuts in medicare, medicaid, education, [and] nutrition programs. And by the way they raised taxes on lower-income people.”
3. Sanders champions a broken social security system that builds the national debt
The myth, Social Security is broken, is rhetorically repeated by GOP politicians. Sanders shot it down:
“You’re hearing a lot of untruths about social security out there. As the founder of the ‘Defending Social Security’ caucus in the Senate let me tell you what’s going on. Number one, social security is not going broke. There’s two and a half trillion dollars in a trust fund can pay out every benefit to every eligible American for the next eighteen years. Number two, social security obviously doesn’t add to the deficit because it’s funded independently by the payroll tax.”
4. He has Dual-Citizenship with Israel
A strange myth about Sanders is that he has dual citizenship with Israel. (How long till the media start asking for his birth certificate?) A supposed document surfaced on the internet that claimed to reveal a list of dual-citizens in congress.
“I don’t know where that [idea] came from. I am an American citizen… No, that’s some of the nonsense that goes on in the internet.”
5. Electing a progressive president will fix the country
Campaigns can often elevate candidates to points where their promises reach outside the realities of Washington. No, Bernie Sanders cannot fix the crippling inequality facing our country by himself. He said throughout the interview there were “no magic solutions” to many of the complicated problems facing America today. However, he does want to lead a political revolution that can change the money-culture of Washington that could spur on real change.
“One of the main tenants of my campaign is the understanding that corporate America, the billionaire class, Wall Street, has so much power right now over what goes on in Washington that nothing significant will be done unless we build a strong grassroots mass movement… Which tells congress they have to start representing ordinary people and not just the people on top.”
