The Clintons have been in politics for awhile now. They know that if you are going to run for President, you should release your complete tax proposals prior to when citizens cast their vote. That’s only fair to the voters.
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Granted, I do understand the fairytale-like quality of the “David vs. Goliath” story — trying to paint it as though Hillary Clinton (Goliath) is a Republican in disguise that needs to be defeated by Bernie Sanders (David). Unfortunately, this is reality — the real world. And we are currently choosing who should be the next President of the United States.
Hillary Clinton is a pragmatist that has been operating at the highest-levels of American politics for the last 30 years. Her record of accomplishment and success is unparalleled. In the 1990s, the Clintons ushered in an era of peace and prosperity despite a conservative, right-wing culture. The Clintons are the exceptions to the rule when it comes to “do-nothing” politicians — tireless workhorses who will successfully fight for progressive values in 21st century America.
But I do understand many of you are enamored with the “root for the under-dog” storyline. However, we need a President that will take into account all Americans and address all of our concerns. Bernie must explain not only how he will pay for his proposals, but he must explain his political strategy for legislative success — something the Clintons know a lot about. Remember: we are currently operating in a nation where 37-state’s are controlled by the GOP, and we also have a Tea Party dominated Congress. A similar political environment existed throughout most of the 1990s.
Instead of Bernie actually explaining his proposals and tax policy, he tried to mock Hillary Clinton for her work on universal healthcare in the early ‘90s. His campaign posted a photo where Hillary personally thanked Sanders for his work on her 1993 universal healthcare reform. Ironically, the picture is actually a positive for Hillary. It proves her authenticity. It proves she is willing to fight the special interests, just as she is doing again with the NRA.
As Bernie’s 1993 photo points out, Hillary Clinton has already fought for single-payer healthcare and understands how hard and complicated it is to achieve in the United States. She has the scars to show for it. And given the current political landscape (ie: Congress and 37-state’s are GOP controlled), our strategy should be to build on the Affordable Care Act, not dismantle it. Our strategy should be to continue raising resources for down-ticket Democrats, just as Hillary has been doing, building the coalition and infrastructure needed for legislative success against increasing GOP attacks.
Watching this argument unfold something becomes very apparent to me: those that do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. Not only was Hillary unable to pass universal healthcare in 1993, but President Obama barely passed the Affordable Care Act in 2008.
Rachel Maddow recently did a segment on how Obama wanted to usher in an era of ‘new’ politics (just like Bernie Sanders does). In 2008, Obama tried to work with Republicans during his first-term, barely passing the Affordable Care Act despite having Democratic majorities in both chambers:
During Obama’s final State of the Union speech, Obama expressed regret that Washington has become more, not less, polarized under his Presidency.
As Rachel Maddow highlights: the Clintons, being firsthand survivors of the GOP onslaught during the 1990s, knew Obama was being naive in 2008. But I guess he had to learn the hard way. In 2016, however, I don’t want someone who requires on-the-job training. I want someone who can take the baton from Obama and hit the ground running.
Unfortunately, they say Democrats want to “fall in love” while Republicans want to “fall in line.” Well, we opted for an idealistic message in 2008. Now in 2016, Washington is more polarized than ever before. I’m ready for the pragmatic Clintons to go in there and fight. I’m ready for the Clintons to build on and defend Obama’s progress against relentless GOP attacks.
What Hillary is currently highlighting is that if Bernie can’t even defend his single-payer proposal against her rather easy critiques, how will he defend it on the national stage? Both Hillary and Obama have fought for universal healthcare on the national stage. And they have the scars to show for it. Maybe Bernie should stop pretending like it’s 1993 or 2008.
Point is — Iowans deserve to have Bernie’s complete tax plan. If you are going to propose something, you need to explain how you are going to pay for it and explain how you are going to go about implementing it. Will America, a nation where 37-state’s are GOP-controlled, support Bernie’s tax plan to pay for his single-payer healthcare system? History suggests otherwise.
Meanwhile, Hillary is focusing on issues Obama is beginning to tackle right now, realizing the best political strategy going forward is to defend, not dismantle, Obamacare. Gun violence is one major issue Obama is laying groundwork for Clinton to build on. However, this progress is only achievable if we reserve the fact 37-state’s are GOP-controlled. Maybe we can attempt single-payer healthcare once we reverse some of our local losses, losses that will continue under a Bernie Sanders Presidency.
Under Obama’s Presidency, Democrats have lost 900+ legislative seats. Unlike Bernie, the Clintons have raised 18+ million for down-ticket Democrats to reverse this horrific trend that has led to attacks being made on gay rights and the defending of Planned Parenthood on a local-level. Outside of the Internet and progressive havens, the real-world is radically different.
So, Bernie — if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Senator Sanders needs to stand with the President and admit he was wrong on giving immunity to the gun lobby. Explaining away Bernie’s immunity vote is futile due to fact he voted against the Brady bill 5 times and due to the fact his fellow Vermont Senator, Senator Lehay, voted with Obama and Clinton AGAINST giving immunity to the NRA. For a man who talks about standing up to special interests, why won’t Bernie stand up to the most powerful one in America? Hillary stood up to the health insurance lobby in 1993 and is standing up to the NRA in 2016.
Bernie needs to be honest with Iowan voters and explain his tax policy in full. How can they make an informed decision without Bernie’s complete tax proposal? Withholding your tax policy due to fear of critique and political fallout is dirty politics and unfair to the voters of Iowa. How will Bernie be able to defend his proposals in a general election if he can’t defend them against Hillary?
I sincerely hope Bernie joins with Hillary and advocates for removing the “Romney loophole” and implementing the “Buffet Rule.” According to experts, Hillary’s plans and proposals are more comprehensive and tougher on Wall Street than Bernie’s, which is one of the reasons billionaires are currently running ads against Hillary in early voting state’s. Billionaires know Hillary’s plans are tough and have an actual chance of being implemented. Hillary’s political scars prove she is unafraid to take on the special interests, especially if it means getting incomes rising for all incomes levels like we did during the 1990s.
Having a debate over guns, tax-policy, and healthcare is not “mean-spirited” attacks. These are substantive policy differences demanding acknowledgement, not condensation. Sadly, I noticed Bernie recently referred to Hillary as the “anointed” one. What a slap in the face to someone who has spent her entire career working to help women, children, the poor, and the under-privileged.
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Bernie needs to realize we aren’t in 1993 anymore. And we aren’t in 2008 anymore, either. We are in 2016. The Affordable Care Act is in place while gun violence is plaguing our nation. I know who is best equipped to move us forward on all fronts. Someone who listens and learns from the American people. Someone who isn’t afraid to change and adapt as time goes on and as new evidences comes to light. Someone who has always been there for us since her work at the Children’s Defense Fund.
Let’s see what two brilliant pragmatists can do by building on the Obama coalition, working to reverse significant losses in the South.
As they used to say in Arkansas after Hillary successfully reformed education and healthcare: “I think we’ve elected the wrong Clinton!”
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Hillary spent months traveling the state to sell her proposals for reform -- which included boosting course offerings, reducing class sizes and implementing testing requirements for both students and teachers -- while soliciting ideas from parents and teachers.
In the end, the administration tied the package to an unpopular initiative to boost the state sales tax by 1 percentage point.
Though she faced heated pushback from the teachers’ union and a related group, Hillary largely won over lawmakers in the end.
Political operatives in the state still laugh about the thunderstruck reaction that Rep. Lloyd George, a colorful state representative with a syrupy drawl, had to her presentation: “I think we’ve elected the wrong Clinton!”
Though Bill Clinton received most of the credit nationally for the reform package that he signed into law, Skip Rutherford, who has served for the last decade as the dean of the Clinton School of Public Service, said it was Hillary who “took Arkansas to a completely different level educationally.”
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In 2016, let’s elect the other pragmatic Clinton!!
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~President Bill Clinton