senator. Bernie SandersVermont, making a prime-time appearance on Tuesday night Democratic National Convention Set his own policy priorities—even policy priorities he knows Vice President Kamala Harris‘Activity platform.
“We need to join other industrialized nations in guaranteeing health care for all as a human right, not a privilege,” Sanders said. National health insurance program.
The independent senator running for re-election in Vermont is well aware that Harris does not share his position on Medicare for All.
“We need universal health care,” he said in an interview Monday. Politico. “That’s not her view and it’s not President Biden’s view. You know what, I think I’m right and they’re wrong.”
In a speech at the Democratic National Committee, Sanders also decried the influence of big money in politics, despite all the billionaire megadonors helping fund Harris’ campaign.
“Billionaires from both parties should not be able to buy elections, including primaries,” Sanders said.
Harris has a well-documented Rolodex of billionaire mega-donors helping fund her campaign, as well as millions of dollars in smaller donations.
“We must stand up to Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Agriculture, Big Tech and all the other corporate monopolies whose greed is hindering the progress of working people,” Sanders said.
Sanders made Medicare for All, money in politics, and class warfare all key elements of his speech at the Democratic National Committee and never extolled Harris’ virtues, thereby deliberately violating an unwritten rule of the presidential convention: Speakers should sing the praises of Party nominee.
While he was quick to express support for Harris in her campaign fight against former President Donald TrumpSanders’ stance effectively contrasted with the vice president’s.
Sanders’ speech on Tuesday wasn’t the first time he expressed decidedly tepid support for Harris.
“She’s a great campaigner,” Sanders said of Harris in an interview with Politico on Monday. “We’re not best friends, but I’ve known her for years.”
Sanders said Monday that while he supports Harris, he firmly believes President Joe Biden could have been re-elected, a view not shared by most of the party’s leaders.
Even after a disastrous debate that left Democratic members concerned about his reelection, Sanders remained fiercely loyal to Biden.
Less radical?
But Sanders’ decision to emphasize some distance between himself and Harris, while unconventional, could ultimately work to the vice president’s advantage as she works to appeal to moderate, undecided voters.
August polls The New York Times and Siena College The study found that 45% of likely voters believe Harris is too liberal or too progressive in battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
The sentiment is partly the result of Trump’s efforts to portray Harris as a radical progressive in an attempt to scare away undecided voters interested in the Democratic Party who may be leaning toward more moderate positions.
“Comrade Kamala Harris is horrible to our country. She is a Communist, always has been a Communist, and always will be a Communist,” Trump tweeted. truth society Sunday.
But Sanders’ half-hearted enthusiasm for Harris directly contradicts Republican attacks.
one democratic socialism Sanders, one of the most left-wing lawmakers on Capitol Hill, reminded centrist voters that there are many Democrats more radical than the vice president.
That message may have begun to take root among voters.
Austin Davis, a 29-year-old self-described communist from Chicago, told NBC News on Tuesday that he did not believe Harris was a communist.
“Kamala is not a communist,” he said. “Anyone who understands the basic definition knows she is not a communist.”
