Sen. Sanders Issues Campaign Warning for Obama on Entitlement Cuts

[cal04]

Source: Roll Call

Sen. Bernie Sanders would not commit to supporting President Barrack Obama's 2012 re-election bid today.

The liberal Vermont Independent, in an interview with CNN, criticized Obama's stated desire to reform the Medicare and Social Security entitlement programs. Sanders warned that the president's position could cost him the enthusiasm and votes of progressives.

"Absolutely," Sanders answered, when asked if Obama has been too "wishy-washy" and willing to compromise with the Republicans.

(snip)
"I want to hear this president tell me from his heart that he's going to stand with working families and the middle class," Sanders said, according to a transcript of the interview. "When he does that he will have an enormously strong support."

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/Sanders-Issues-Campaign-Warning-for-Obama-on-Entitlement-Cuts-210475-1.html

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Sanders: Obama 'dead wrong' on debt
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/18/sanders-obama-dead-wrong-on-debt/

[fascisthunter]

1. Obama is more than wrong

[sendero]

36. Obama is eviscerating the Democratic brand..

... with his positions on third rail issues. He's truly the worst of both worlds.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TheWraith]

38. Except that you believe his "positions" are exactly the OPPOSITE of what they are.

Obama has specifically worked to PROTECT Social Security and Medicare in all negotiations. The "Obama wants to cut them" crap is an outright falsehood.

[Vincardog]

39. Right. Obama never put SSI or Medicare on the table. Oh yes he did REPEATEDLY

[TheWraith]

43. What he's repeatedly done is negotiate to protect Medicare and Social Security from benefit cuts.

I find it ironic that when he expresses strong support for something good, you insist it's just lip service, and when he provides lip service to the idea--clearly not true--that "everything is on the table," you take it as hard proof of an evil conspiracy.

[kenfrequed]

47. Ah the C word

I often wonder why the word 'Conspiracy' is tossed out whenever a polititian is found to be negotiating public policy that actually involves puting social security and 'entitlements' on the table. Discussions and negotiations about public policy, even when I disagree with them are not conspiracies. They are choices. Characterizing my impression on the presidents positions, which seem to follow the advise of the 'Third Way' think tank, as conspiracy theory is not an accurate attempt at arguing whether or not what I say is true.

Merely saying 'BS' and characterizing with 'conspiracy' is an ad hominem dismissal and not a serious counter.

Try again.

[sendero]

49. I've seen..

... REPEATEDLY, what happens to things Obama gives "strong lip service to". His "strong lip service" historically has turned out to be NOTHING BUT LIP SERVICE, OR IN FACT ACTIVE DISSEMBLING.

You can stick your head in the sand as long as you wish, I heard "strong lip service" for the Public Option, I heard "strong lip service" for ending the Bush tax cuts, I heard "strong lip service" for transparency in government and many other things but unlike fools I watch what someone does and have little interest in cheap words.

[dflprincess]

51. I brought this up with the earest young man who called me from the Obama campaign the other night

He told me that Obama had to consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare because the U.S. "can't default on it's debt". The poor kid got an earful then - but he did tell me I was more polite than a lot of people he'd spoken to and he told me he was calling a list of "known Democrats" made up largley of people who hold offices in their state or local parties.

If that is true, I think Obama may be in more trouble than anyone imagined.

[No Elephants]

41. LOL!

[No Elephants]

40. It's the DLC mentality.

[MrSlayer]

2. Sanders is the very best the Congress has to offer.

He is the epitome of what a Senator should be.

[Scuba]

4. +1

[AzDar]

12. ^^^ This.

He'd make a damned fine President.

[msongs]

3. dear bernie, don't hold your breath waiting nt

[teddy51]

5. It would not surprise me to see Obama lose 2012 if he doesn't stand tall

on these 3 items. That frankly scares the shit outta me thinking what we might end up with in the WH.

[Remember Me]

13. Well, he's said he wouldn't mind being a one-termer, so -- ??

don't be surprised.

I would hope he'd have the guts to make it clear and step aside for someone else to run, but I think that would be asking too much of him.

[teddy51]

15. Yep, cause I'm still not sure what place holder he falls into. Is he Democrat, Republican or

a Repub/Dem whatever the hell that might be?

[SugarShack]

30. He's a republican....now start from there.

[No Elephants]

44. Well, we are supposed to perceive him as a Democrat, so, in theory,

Democrats will be less upset when he cuts so-called entitlements.

The Republicans were supposed to love the cuts and the Democrats were supposed to get over it because their guy did it.

And then came the Occupy Movement. heh, heh, heh.

[No Elephants]

42. The goal is to make the differences less and less apparent. because it is

less disruptive when newly elected officials take office.

That way, TPTB don't really have to worry all that much about elections, or whether the Republicrats or Demlicans win.

Odin once posted a link to great video with someone explaining all that, but I forgot the name of the man in the video. (I'm pretty sure the video started as a film because the man looked as though he was from another era, not 2011.

And, its working. Keep your eye on a group called "No Labels." Full of Republicans and center right Democrats, who are supposed to put their party labels aside.

Homogeneity. It's the wave of the future. Pod People.

[red dog 1]

52. Bernie Sanders for President!

[totodeinhere]

25. The best thing Obama has going for him is that cast of characters on the other side.

If the GOP could put up a credible candidate then I think Obama might be in real trouble. But against the likes of Mittens and Newt and Crazy Woman Bachmann, I can't see him losing. And IMO that's what his campaign is counting on.

[No Elephants]

45. Maybe the Republican field is no accident.

[sasha031]

6. complete interview here

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/18/sanders-obama-dead-wrong-on-debt/

[freshwest]

14. I trust Sanders on social issues and hope the DP listens.

[SoapBox]

7. I will SUPPORT, 100%, what ever Bernie says...

The man is fantastic.

Prez O...heed what he says.

[DonCoquixote]

8. "When he does that he will have an enormously strong support."

I wish so Bernie, but more likely, the Hillary Clinton centrists will abandon him, let Mitt ion, and hope to have a more "traditional" type win 2016.

[No Elephants]

9. Senator Sanders, I love you.

[NorthCarolina]

10. Run Bernie RUN!!!

I would vote for Sen. Sanders for POTUS in a heartbeat.

[glinda]

21. Only if there were majorities to back his actions up otherwise don't send him down the hell hole.

[No Elephants]

46. Sadly, ain't gonna happen. He's been saying that for months, even as he was saying that

it would be good if Obama were challenged from the left. Sigh.

[Dutchmaster]

11. Obama's goose is cooked if the rethug's manage to field a candidate who isn't insane

[savalez]

17. wrong. not enough voters want what pubs want.

[totodeinhere]

26. Yes, but there is a long history of the voters voting against their own best interests.

The GOP will do it's best to confuse the voters. It has worked before. Let's hope and pray that it doesn't work again.

[SugarShack]

31. Right...but Obama always wants what the repubs want.

[glinda]

22. That may be the set up. They lower the bar so low that a "Bush-like" person will look normal.

[NICO9000]

16. Bernie is the best!

I'm in CA, so I don't think I'll have no guilt not voting for him. He has clearly shown who he is time and again. Whatever populist rhetoric he trots out over the next year will be seen by me as completely empty. Hopefully, they'll be an ex-hooker or janitor on the ballot so my vote won't be entirely wasted...

:evilgrin:

Seriously though, the fact that he doesn't call Boner and Cantor out for the pieces of shit they are is unacceptable to me. I really don't have much respect for him as a man since he clearly has no problem rolling over and over and over to these idiots. If he was really serious about helping out the 99%, he'd go on TV every night for five minutes just to let us know that the rethugs once again did not one thing to create not one job. Five minutes a night is all it would take to at least have him feign a semblance of a fight. I won't be holding my breath.

One of my favorite things about Occupy is that it's really shining a light on how corrupt and ineffective both parties are. I hold no fantasy about us getting any extra parties anytime soon, but the more the movement shows the illegitimacy of the PTB, the happier I get.

[dballance]

18. STOP Calling Social Security an entitlement - it's not

I've paid into SS for about 30 years. It's not an entitlement to expect I should get something back for that. In fact, I've paid taxes at the state and federal level. If I need Medicare or food stamps it's not a damned entitlement - I paid it forward when I was working.

So stuff all that entitlement crap. I've been a tax-paying citizen for over 30 years and I'm tired of seeing all the money go to defense contractors rather then the citizens who need it.

[burrowowl]

20. AMEN!

Go Bernie!

[FailureToCommunicate]

23. Amen amen!

[KeepItReal]

24. +1

That word is poison

[SoapBox]

32. Ditto, Ditto, Ditto!!! You are spot on!

...everytime I hear that from some idiot Bagger, DINO or Limp Media person, I want to scream.

[HowHeThinks]

34. Took the words out of my mouth............

I was all set to post a bat-shit ballistic diatribe when I read that, and........you took care of it quite nicely. :hi:

[russspeakeasy]

19. If only someone would tell Wolf to shut up during the interview.

but he has to get his minifox talking points in.

[Yon_Yonson]

27. Thank you Bernie Sanders for the excellent job you do

:patriot:

[Banana Republicans]

28. Sanders is an American Hero

He's one of the only good ones in that mess called Washington.

[MannyGoldstein]

29. "Make no mistake: America's bankers have suffered enough"

"It's time for the old, the sick, and the poor to finally share America's burdens. Time to eat their peas. Lots and lots of peas."

* For the parody-impaired: not actual quotes.

[malthaussen]

33. All I'm Sayin' is

... give peas a chance.

-- Mal

[Enthusiast]

35. Kicked and recommended! nt

[Vidar]

48. Whatever his official designation is, Bernie is a hundred times more of a Democrat

than the stealth Republican currently occupying the White House.

[ProSense]

50. What

exactly is Sen. Sanders referring to?

See the proposal the President sent to Congress here (scroll down for the chart).

Beyond that, the super committee appears on track to fail. If that happens...

Fact Sheet: Reducing the Deficit, Raising the Debt Limit and Avoiding Default (PDF)

<...>

• If the Committee Fails to Report Legislation That Achieves $1.2 Trillion in Deficit Reduction, or Congress Fails to Enact the Committee’s Recommendations, Sequestration is Triggered. If the Joint Committee fails to come to a majority agreement on recommendations that achieve at least $1.2 trillion, or Congress fails to enact recommendations that produce at least that amount, sequestration is triggered, forcing across-the-board spending cuts. The sequestration will be similar to the 1985 Gramm-Rudman-Hollings trigger and, with interest savings, will make up the differential between the deficit reduction achieved by the joint committee and $1.2 trillion.
  
  
• Sequestration Will Use Balanced Approach to Spending Cuts.
  
  
  • 50% of Sequestration Will Come From Defense. If across-the-board cuts are triggered, 50% will come from defense spending (Function 050), with the remaining 50% coming from non-defense spending. The spending cuts would apply to FYs 2013-2021, and apply to both discretionary and mandatory spending programs with important exemptions (below). The amount of the defense spending cuts each year is estimated to be over $50 billion if sequestration is triggered.
    
    
  • Social Security, Medicaid, Veterans Benefits, and Other Essential Benefits Are Exempt From Cuts. If across-the-board cuts are triggered, the following will be exempt: Social Security, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits and pensions, payments to federal retirement funds, civilian and military retirement, and the child nutrition, and Supplement Security Income, among others.
    
    
  • Medicare Savings Are Capped at 2% and Are Limited to Providers Only – No Benefit Cuts. If across-the-board cuts are triggered, any cut to Medicare would be limited to no greater than 2% of the program’s cost. Any such cut would come from payments to providers and insurance plans. There will be NO Medicare benefit cuts or increases in seniors’ costs.

<…>