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What Bernie Sanders means by ‘democratic socialism.’ (You still have your choice of pajamas.)
GOFFSTOWN, N.H. -- The shorthand that the media uses to describe Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has changed.
“It used to be that I was known as ‘the longest-serving independent in the history of the United States Congress,’ which is true,” Sanders said during an appearance Saturday at Saint Anselm’s College here. “Now I’m a ‘self-professed democratic socialist.’ Things change when you run for president.”
In response to a student’s question, Sanders, whose campaign for the Democratic nomination has surged in recent weeks, went on to give a lengthy of explanation of what “democratic socialism” is -- and is not.
“So what does that mean?” Sanders asked the students. “Does anyone here think I’m a strong adherent of the North Korean form of government? That I want all of you to be wearing similar colored pajamas?”
Democratic candidate for president, Sen. Bernie Sander's (I-Vt.) campaign is surging, but does he even have a chance against Hillary Clinton? The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains. (Pamela Kirkland and Randolph Smith/The Washington Post)
When the laughter died down, the longest-serving independent in Congress asked how many of the students were familiar with the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland and Norway.
“Are these democratic societies? Obviously they are,” Sanders said, relaying that voter turnout in Denmark tends to approach 90 percent.
“Is it a society where the government owns every mom-and-pop store?” he asked. “Of course not. You have all kinds of capitalist entrepreneurship going on, a lot of wealth being created. But what else do you have? … An effort to make sure that all people benefit from the wealth that’s being created. So you have a much more equitable distribution of wealth and income. … I talked to a guy from Denmark, and he said, ‘In Denmark, it is very hard to become very, very rich, but it’s pretty hard to be very, very poor.’ And that makes a lot of sense to me.”
Hillary Clinton to go on offense over GOP plans to repeal Obamacare
Hillary Rodham Clinton will begin filling in details this week of her proposal to tweak the Affordable Care Act, and she will attempt to use Republican presidential candidates’ opposition to the health-care-expansion law against them.
Clinton plans a series of events in Louisiana, Arkansas and Iowa to needle Republicans over their opposition to a law that has greatly reduced the number of uninsured Americans, her campaign said. Some details of her strategy were provided exclusively to The Washington Post ahead of her first health-care-related event on Monday.
The focus on health care represents a shift for national Democrats and a full embrace of a law that had a troubled rollout and has not always polled well. Unlike in the 2012 election, when many Democrats tiptoed around their support for Obama’s namesake law, Clinton is making it a central part of her argument that she should succeed him.
Clinton frequently praises the 2010 law, often known as Obamacare, but says it does not go far enough. She wants to address the quickly rising cost of prescription drugs, for example, and has said she is examining possible changes to the Cadillac tax, as it is often called, on premium health-care plans. She also often says that mental health care and substance-abuse treatment need to be simpler and cheaper to obtain. Several Republicans competing for the 2016 nomination have said they would repeal the law immediately upon taking office.
Nearly 9 million people were added to the health insurance rolls last year, according to Census Bureau data released this month. That reduced the number of uninsured Americans to slightly more than 1 in 10. That is down from just over 16 percent in 2009, when President Obama took office with a pledge to pass a national health-care mandate.
Josh Freed: Time to build the Great Wall of Canada before Trumpmania explodes
Fellow Canadians — it’s time to trump Trump.
As the U.S. election heats up and Trumpmania spreads like fire, we Canadians must start thinking about our future defence strategy.
With almost 40 per cent of Republican primary voters favouring Trump, there’s a rising possibility the Mouth That Roars could face and defeat Hillary Clinton in next year’s election.
That could send millions of shocked American Democrats and other Trump-dodgers fleeing across our Canadian border, seeking political refugee status here in the land of the free(ze).
The humanitarian crisis could be unparalleled — and there’s only one solution, Canada, if we think ahead.
Trump himself promises to protect America from illegal Mexican immigrants by building a giant wall along the southern border. Fellow Republican candidate Scott Walker has borrowed the idea and called for a wall against Canada, too.
Some scoff, but watching the growing Trump fervour I think they’re right — only we should do it, not them. Yes Canadians, we must build a wall between the U.S. and us — and the time is now.
Imagine the scenario if we wait another year till polls show “The Donald” poised to become president. Imagine all the people he’s insulted suddenly fleeing our way:
— Millions of Mexican immigrants Trump insulted, saying: “They bring drugs they bring crime, they’re rapists.”
— Millions of Other Immigrants he insulted, blaming race problems in Ferguson and Baltimore on “gangs of illegal immigrants.”
— Countless women he’s insulted calling them “pigs,” “dogs” and “disgusting slobs with fat, ugly faces.” This from a man with America’s Silliest Hair.
If Trumpmania spreads, we could see flotillas of American “yacht people” fleeing across Lake Ontario seeking freedom from Trumplandia.
Our border guards may discover families of Democrats hidden in the trunks of Volvos, their socks stuffed with stocks. Teenaged dope-dealers may risk their lives on windsurfers to escape Trump’s tough “eye-for-an-eye” justice plan.
I’m not saying Canada doesn’t need immigrants — but processing millions of U.S. refugees could take years. We can’t even figure out how to let in thousands of Syrians that Canadian families have already sponsored.
The success of the Affordable Care Act is a hugely inconvenient truth for its opponents
Remember how much Republicans wanted to repeal Obamacare?
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has voted more than 50 times to repeal the law. Conservatives have twice brought challenges to the Supreme Court — a court with powerful voices that often lean in their direction — only to be largely rebuffed both times. The last government shutdown was driven by Republicans who insisted on defunding Obamacare (not to be confused with what may be the next government shutdown, driven by Republicans insisting on defunding Planned Parenthood).
Some suggest that the calls for repealing Obamacare are fading. Sarah Kliff
argued that the “near-complete absence of Obama’s health overhaul” in last week’s Republican presidential debate was “remarkable.”
Maybe, but don’t count on it. In GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s white paper on how he would get to 4 percent growth through supply-side tax cuts, his team of economists
stresses that repealing the Affordable Care Act will be an “important means of enhancing economic growth.” Front-runner Donald Trump said just last week that he was going to replace Obamacare with “DonaldCare,” which would
be both “absolutely great” and “really spectacular.” Repealing health-care reform remains a prominent talking point for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ted Cruz, both GOP presidential candidates.
Well, since we don’t know what’s in it, I can’t comment on DonaldCare.
But I can tell you this about Obamacare: When it comes to meeting one of its most important goals — providing coverage to the uninsured — it is working extremely well. It’s posting historical gains on this front and, in so doing, both insulating itself from repeal and creating a daunting political challenge for its opponents.
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