Jun 28, 2016 - Top Five Reasons Sanders Supporters Will Never Be Excited ... Sanders Has Criticized Clinton For Voting â
Top Five Reasons Sanders Supporters Will Never Be Excited About Hillary Clinton SANDERS: CLINTON HAS BACKED “VIRTUALLY EVERY TRADE AGREEMENT THAT HAS COST THE WORKERS OF THIS COUNTRY MILLIONS OF JOBS” Sanders Stance On Trade Stands In Stark Contrast To The Radical, Corporate Globalist Agenda That Clinton Represents As She Refuses To Disavow TPP Sanders Has Criticized Clinton For Voting “For Virtually Every Trade Agreement That Has Cost The Workers Of This Country Millions Of Jobs.” NBC POLITICAL DIRECTOR CHUCK TODD: “So you believe she doesn't have the judgment to be president of the United States?” SANDERS: “Well, when you vote for virtually every trade agreement that has cost the workers of this country millions of jobs, when you support and continue to support fracking, despite the crisis that we have in terms of clean water, and essentially, when you have a super PAC that is raising tens of millions of dollars from every special interest out there, including 15 million from Wall Street, the American people do not believe that that is the kind of president that we need to make the changes in America to protect the working families of this country.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 4/10/16) Sanders’ Campaign Called Clinton A Potential “Outsourcer-In Chief,” Saying She “Has Been A Consistent Advocate Of The Job-Killing Trade Deals” That Have Lost “Almost 5 Million Manufacturing Jobs Over The Last 15 Years.” “At a rally on Wednesday former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told those gathered, ‘Don’t let anybody tell you we can’t make anything in America anymore.’ What she failed to tell the audience is that she has been a consistent advocate of the job-killing trade deals that have contributed to the loss of nearly 60,000 factories in the United States and almost 5 million manufacturing jobs over the last 15 years.” (Press Release, “Hillary Clinton: Outsourcer-In-Chief,” Bernie 2016, 3/3/16) Sanders Has Attacked Clinton For Being “Very Reluctant To Come Out In Opposition” To The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). “He rattled off various trade agreements that Mrs. Clinton backed and that he had opposed. ‘On the issue of trade, Secretary Clinton’s views and mine are very different,’ Mr. Sanders said. He also pointed to Mrs. Clinton’s original kind words for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12nation deal that is one of the Obama administration’s key priorities. As secretary of state, Mrs. Clinton called it the ‘gold standard,’ but she came out against it once it was completed in October, six months into her presidential campaign. ‘She was very reluctant to come out in opposition,’ Mr. Sanders said. ‘She is running for president. She concluded it was a good idea to oppose the TPP, and she did.’” (Laura Meckler and Peter Nicholas, “Bernie Sanders And Hillary Clinton Spar Over Trade In Midwest,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/16)
Sanders Has Attacked Clinton For Supporting NAFTA. “Appearing before a boisterous crowd here of about 4,500 people in a hockey arena, Sanders touted his long record of opposition to trade deals and said that as first lady Clinton ‘thought NAFTA was a good idea’ when it was passed in the early 1990s. ‘I was right. She was wrong,’ Sanders said. ‘I understood that American workers should not be forced to compete against desperate people making pennies an hour,’ Sanders said. ‘I want to see poor people around the world do better, but that does not mean we have to destroy the middle class of this country.’” (John Wagner, “Sanders Knocks Clinton For Supporting NAFTA While First Lady,” The Washington Post, 2/23/16)
Trump Is Adamantly Opposed To Unfair Trade Deals, That Harm Americans Trump Has Said That Clinton-Backed Trade Deals, Including NAFTA, China’s Entry Into The WTO, And KORUS Have Killed American Jobs. TRUMP: “It was Bill Clinton who signed NAFTA in 1993, and Hillary Clinton who supported it. It was also Bill Clinton who lobbied for China's disastrous entry into the World Trade Organization, and Hillary Clinton who backed that terrible agreement. Then, as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton stood by idly while China cheated on its currency, added another trillion dollars to our trade deficits, and stole hundreds of billions of dollars in our intellectual property. The city of
Pittsburgh, and the State of Pennsylvania, have lost one-third of their manufacturing jobs since the Clintons put China into the WTO. Fifty thousand factories across America have shut their doors in that time. Almost half of our entire manufacturing trade deficit in goods with the world is the result of trade with China. It was also Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, who shoved us into a job-killing deal with South Korea in 2012. As reported by the Economic Policy Institute in May, this deal doubled our trade deficit with South Korea and destroyed nearly 100,000 American jobs. As Bernie Sanders said, Hillary Clinton ‘voted for virtually every trade agreement that has cost the workers of this country millions of jobs.” (Donald Trump, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Monessen, PA, 6/28/16)
SANDERS: CLINTON IS IN THE POCKET OF WALL STREET Sanders Has Said That Clinton Is In The Pocket Of Big Banks, Saying That Wall Street Has Been “The Major Campaign Contributor” To Clinton. CBS POLITICAL DIRECTOR JOHN DICKERSON: “Senator Sanders you said that the donations to Secretary Clinton are compromising. So, what did you think of her answer?” SANDERS: “Not good enough. Here's the story. I mean, you know, let's not be naive about it. Why do-- why, over her political career, has Wall Street been a major-- the major campaign contributor to Hillary Clinton?” (Sen. Bernie Sanders,Democratic Primary Debate, Des Moines, IA, 11/14/15) Sanders Has Said That Clinton Wants To Bring “Oligarchy” To The Country Because “Wall Street And Other Special Interests” Are Supporting Her. “Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday pressed his line of attack again that ‘Wall Street and other special interests’ are for rival Hillary Clinton and want to bring ‘oligarchy’ to the country.” (Colin Wilhelm, “Sanders Taunts Clinton Again On Wall Street Ties,” Politico, 4/17/16) Sanders Attacked Clinton Saying That “You’re Not Going To Have A Government That Represents All Of Us, So Long As You Have Candidates Like Secretary Clinton Being Dependent On Big Money Interest.” “‘This is the issue of American politics today: Do we have a government that represents all of us or just the 1 percent?" Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union.’ ‘You’re not going to have a government that represents all of us, so long as you have candidates like Secretary Clinton being dependent on big money interests.’” (Colin Wilhelm, “Sanders Taunts Clinton Again On Wall Street Ties,” Politico, 4/17/16) Sanders Has Said That Instead Of Fighting Big Banks After The Great Recession, Clinton Was Busy Taking Their Money. CNN’S CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT DANA BASH: “Senator Sanders, you have consistently criticized Secretary Clinton for accepting money from Wall Street. Can you name one decision that she made as senator that shows that he favored banks because of the money she received?” SANDERS: “Sure. Sure. The obvious decision is when the greed and recklessness and illegal behavior of wall street brought this country into the worst economic downturn since the Great Recession — the Great Depression of the ’30s, when millions of people lost their jobs, and their homes, and their life savings, the obvious response to that is that you’ve got a bunch of fraudulent operators and that they have got to be broken up. That was my view way back, and I introduced legislation to do that. Now, Secretary Clinton was busy giving speeches to Goldman Sachs for $225,000 a speech.” (Sen Bernie Sanders, Remarks At The CNN Democrat Debate, Brooklyn, NY, 4/15/16)
Trump Has Stated That Clinton Is “Totally Controlled By Wall Street” Trump Has Echoed Sanders Attack That Clinton Is “Controlled By Wall Street.” “At a campaign rally here in one of the most liberal towns in America, Donald Trump offered praise for an unusual party: avowed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders. ‘Now, I’m no fan of Bernie Sanders, but he is 100 percent right,’ Trump told a crowd here this weekend. ‘He is 100 percent right: Hillary Clinton is totally controlled by the people that put up her money. She’s totally controlled by Wall Street.’” (Jose A. Delreal, “How Donald Trump Is Running To The Left Of Hillary Clinton,” The Washington Post, 5/9/16)
SANDERS: HILLARY CLINTON = D.C. ESTABLISHMENT
Clinton’s Status As The Darling Of The Democrat Establishment Has Proven To Be A Big Vulnerability For The Candidate Especially Against Bernie Sanders Who Is Campaigning On An Anti-Establishment Platform “Clinton Is The Favorite Of The Democratic Establishment, Regardless Of How You Want To Define It.” “Yes, Clinton is the favorite of the Democratic establishment, regardless of how you want to define it. She has locked up the endorsements of more sitting senators, congressmen, and governors than any Democratic candidate in history had by this point in the race and enjoys a massive lead in the superdelegate race. She has the broad support of mainstream media outlets, including the backing of the Des Moines Register in Iowa, as well as the Boston Globe and the New York Times. (The Washington Post has chimed in with its own scathing takedown of Sanders.) And let’s not forget that the current chairwoman of the national party, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was a high-profile Clinton surrogate in 2008 and has done pretty much everything she can to help Hillary in the 2016 cycle.” (Josh Voorhees, “Hillary Says She’s Not An ‘Establishment’ Candidate – Because She’s A Woman,” Slate, 2/4/16)
Sanders Has Used Clinton’s Backing From The Democrat Establishment Into A “Knock On Her Candidacy.” “In an election where voters are frustrated with the political system, Sanders has tried to turn Clinton's backing from party leaders into a knock on her candidacy.” (Julie Pace And Ken Thomas, “Dems Ready For Long, Pricey Primary Between Clinton, Sanders,” The Associated Press, 2/5/16)
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Sanders Attacked Clinton Saying She “Has The Entire Establishment Or Almost The Entire Establishment Behind Her.” “’I will absolutely admit that Secretary Clinton has the support of far more governors, mayors, members of the House,’ Sanders said during Thursday's contentious Democratic debate. ‘She has the entire establishment or almost the entire establishment behind her.’” (Julie Pace And Ken Thomas, “Dems Ready For Long, Pricey Primary Between Clinton, Sanders,” The Associated Press, 2/5/16)
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To The “Activist Left” Segment Of The Democrat Party, The Strength Of The Establishment Is “Frustrating.” “That’s not to say that the Democratic establishment’s strength is a good (or a bad) thing. To the activist left, it’s frustrating, particularly if Clinton ends up tacking to the center in the general election.” (Molly Ball, “The Democratic Establishment Prevails,” The Atlantic, 6/3/16)
The Atlantic Headline: “The Democratic Establishment Prevails” (Molly Ball, “The Democratic Establishment Prevails,” The Atlantic, 6/3/16)
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“The Democratic National Committee Has Been Pilloried For Its Hamhanded Attempts To ‘Rig’ The Process In Clinton’s Favor, From The Scheduling Of Debates To Fundraising Agreements.” (Molly Ball, “The Democratic Establishment Prevails,” The Atlantic, 6/3/16)
“The Democratic Primary Has Descended Into Bitter Acrimony That Poses Real Questions About Whether The Sanders And Clinton Factions Will Come Together In November.” (Molly Ball, “The Democratic Establishment Prevails,” The Atlantic, 6/3/16)
Clinton’s 2016 Campaign Is Has Close Ties To Washington, D.C. Establishment Lobbyists In April 2015, Clinton’s Campaign Confirmed It Will Accept Donations From Lobbyists And PACs. “Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will accept donations from lobbyists and political action committees, a difference in policy from the man she’s hoping to replace, President Barack Obama. The Clinton campaign confirmed that there would be no prohibition on such donations, after The Huffington Post was tipped off by two lobbyists supportive of the former secretary of state’s run for the White House.” (Sam Stein and Paul Blumenthal, “Clinton Campaign Will Accept Donations From Lobbyists And PACs,” The Huffington Post, 4/16/15) Lobbyists That Represent Drug And Oil Companies Are Raising “Stacks Of Money” For Clinton’s Campaign. “Hillary Clinton took aim this week at the pharmaceutical industry and the Keystone oil pipeline. But that doesn’t mean the Democratic presidential front-runner isn’t enjoying the support of
lobbyists representing drug and oil companies in Washington, many of whom are helping raise stacks of money for her campaign.” (Catherine Ho, “Clinton Takes Aim At Pharma, Keystone – But Industry Lobbyists Still Provide Campaign Cash,” The Washington Post’s Power Post, 9/24/15) Clinton Has Taken More Than $1.2 Million In Bundled Donations From Oil And Gas Lobbyists. “And Greenpeace, a progressive environmental organization, released a recent report showing that Clinton had also received more than $1.2 million in donations bundled -- or fundraised -- by lobbyists for fossil-fuel industry on her behalf. The organization also tied millions more donations tied to the fossil-fuel industry to the super PAC supporting Clinton, Priorities USA Action.” (Abby Phillip, “‘I Am So Sick Of The Sanders Campaign Lying About Me’: Clinton Snaps At Greenpeace Activist,” The Washington Post, 3/31/16) •
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Tony Podesta, A Clinton Bundler, Is A “Big-Shot” Democrat Lobbyist Who Has Lobbied On Behalf Of Big Oil. “Heather Podesta and Tony Podesta have raised $31,150 and $74,575, respectively. The power ex-couple are big-shot Democratic lobbyists. Tony’s brother John is Clinton’s campaign chair and former White House chief of staff to Bill Clinton. Even though John Podesta is considered a climate hawk, Tony and his ex-wife Heather represent fossil fuel companies. Heather’s recent past clients include Marathon Oil and Bill Koch’s Oxbow Carbon, a coal giant, and from 2004 to 2006 she lobbied for Koch Industries. Tony lobbied for BP in the wake of its disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, and through last year he represented Golden Pass, a company co-owned by ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum that wants to export liquefied natural gas.” (Ben Adler, “Hillary Clinton Rakes In Money From Fossil Fuel Interests,” Grist, 7/21/15) Podesta Has Said That “K Street Will Find A More Welcome Home In A Clinton White House.” “Speaking to The Hill last year, Tony Podesta said that unlike President Obama, who instituted a ban on registered lobbyists in his administration, K Street will find a more welcome home in a Clinton White House.” (Lee Fang, “Top Hillary Clinton Advisors And Fundraisers Lobbied Against Obamacare,” The Intercept, 2/8/16) “Not Only Is Hillary Taking Money From Lobbyists; She’s Also Hiring Them To Run Her Campaign.” (Patrick Caldwell, “Clinton’s Top Aides Have Lobbied For Companies Liberals Despise,” Mother Jones, 7/8/15)
“There Are At Least Six Clinton Campaign Staffers Who, At One Time Or Another, Earned A Paycheck As A Registered Lobbyist.” “There are at least six Clinton campaign staffers who, at one time or another, earned a paycheck as a registered lobbyist. They’ve lobbied for a range of controversial special interests, from the Keystone pipeline and Lehman Brothers to SeaWorld and some of the country’s largest corporations.” (Patrick Caldwell, “Clinton’s Top Aides Have Lobbied For Companies Liberals Despise,” Mother Jones, 7/8/15) •
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Clinton’s Consultant On Delegates, Jeff Berman, Worked As A Lobbyist For TransCanada And Lobbied Clinton’s State Department For The Construction Of The Keystone XL Pipeline. “The newest hire for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is a longtime strategist who played a key role in her 2008 primary defeat while working for then-Sen. Barack Obama. He’s also a Washington lobbyist who lobbied the State Department — led, at the time, by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — on behalf of the company seeking to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Clinton’s new consultant, Jeff Berman, has followed, in many respects, a well-worn path for those in Washington D.C. He spent a large chunk of his career in the public sector before a stint on K Street, and now he’s back again.” (Sam Stein, “Hillary Clinton’s Newest Consultant Was A Major Keystone Lobbyist,” The Huffington Post, 6/25/15) Joel Benenson, Clinton’s “Chief Pollster And Strategist,” Has Done Work For The Financial Services Forum, “A Lobbying Group For Wall Street Interests Such As Citigroup And
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Goldman Sachs.” “The Benenson Strategy Group, the consulting firm run by Joel Benenson, now serving as the Clinton campaign’s chief pollster and strategist, was retained by the Financial Services Forum, a lobbying group for Wall Street interests such as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Lobbying records show the Financial Services Forum has worked over the years to weaken a variety of Dodd-Frank reforms. In 2013, the Financial Services Forum paid Benenson’s firm $273,459 to lobby on a number of rules that were mandated by Dodd-Frank, including capital requirements designed to prevent another financial crisis. Danny Franklin, a partner with the Benenson Stategy Group, wrote to The Intercept to say the Financial Services Forum is not currently a client of his firm, but declined to comment any further.” (Lee Fang, “Top Hillary Clinton Advisors And Fundraisers Lobbied Against Obamacare,” The Intercept, 2/8/16) Clinton’s Campaign Adviser And Fundraiser Steve Elmendorf, “Was Retained By Goldman Sachs As One Of The Bank’s ‘Primary Lobbyists’ Working To Weaken the Dodd-Frank Bill.” “Steve Elmendorf, a campaign adviser and fundraiser who has collected $30,505 for Clinton, was retained by Goldman Sachs as one of the bank’s “primary lobbyists” working to weaken the DoddFrank bill. Records show that after the bill was signed into law, Elmendorf continued to work on behalf of a number of Wall Street clients to ensure the implementation was favorable to financial industry interests.” (Lee Fang, “Top Hillary Clinton Advisors And Fundraisers Lobbied Against Obamacare,” The Intercept, 2/8/16)
SANDERS: DEMOCRAT ESTABLISHMENT IMMIGRATION POLICIES WOULD DRIVE DOWN AMERICANS’ WAGES, CREATE OPEN BORDERS In 2007, Sanders Opposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Arguing That An Increase In Guest Worker Visas Would Drive Down Wages. “Sanders opposed comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 on the grounds that it would expand the number of guest workers in the United States…‘If poverty is increasing and if wages are going down, I don’t know why we need millions of people to be coming into this country as guest workers who will work for lower wages than American workers and drive waged down even lower than they are now,’ Sanders said in a television interview in June 2007.” (Sam Frizell, “Why Conservatives Praise Bernie Sanders On Immigration,” TIME, 1/7/16) •
Sanders In 2007: “Our Border Is Very Porous.” “Bernie Sanders once railed against the effects of the 2007 immigration bill and its guest-worker program on American workers and wages, and seemed to lament the lack of sanctions on employers for hiring undocumented immigrants in a video posted to what was then his Senate website…’I believe we have very serious immigration problems in this country,’ he said, later in the video. ‘I think as you’ve heard today, sanctions against employers who employ illegal immigrants is virtually nonexistent. Our border is very porous.’” (Megan Apper, “Bernie Sanders On Immigration In 2007 Video: This Is A Bad Bill For American Workers,” Buzzfeed, 2/19/16)
Sanders Has Opposed Guest Worker Programs For Low-Skilled Workers Saying That More Workers Would Lower Wages For American Workers. “Sanders ultimately voted for the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform legislation along with ever other Democrat in the Senate, but was still opposed to guest worker program for low-skilled workers, saying it could lower wages for American workers.” (Sam Frizell, “Why Conservatives Praise Bernie Sanders On Immigration,” TIME, 1/7/16)
Sanders Stated That The Guest Worker Programs That Clinton Supported In The 2006 Bill Are “Akin To Slavery” At A February 2016 Democrat Debate, Sanders Said The Guest Worker Programs In The 2006 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill Were “Akin To Slavery.” ‘I voted for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007. Sen. Sanders voted against it at that time,’ Clinton said. ‘I think we have to get to comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship.’ Sanders countered: ‘The Southern
Poverty Law Center, among other groups, said that the guest worker programs that were embedded in this agreement were akin to slavery. Akin to slavery — where people came into this country to do guest work were abused, were exploited.’” (Nick Gass, “Clinton, Sanders Spar On Immigration,” Politico, 2/11/16) Sanders Cited A Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Report That Compared The Agricultural Guest Worker Programs Clinton Supported To “Modern Servitude.” “For one, the ‘akin to slavery’ quote isn’t made up: The SPLC did publish a report in 2007, ‘Close to slavery: Guestworker programs in the United States,’ that likened the existing H2A and H2B guest worker programs to modern servitude. The report looked at the conditions of about 121,000 guest workers living in the United States — including those in forestry, agriculture, and seafood preparation — and found high fatality rates, lack of basic medical care, and few means of redress.” (Jeff Stein, “The Bernie Sanders/Hillary Clinton Feud Over Guest Workers, Explained,” Vox, 2/26/16)
Trump Has Vowed To Crack Down On Guest Worker Abuses To Save American Jobs. Trump Advocates For Controlling “The Admission Of New Low-Earning Workers” In Order To Help Grow Wages. “Every year, we voluntarily admit another 2 million new immigrants, guest workers, refugees, and dependents, growing our existing all-time historic record population of 42 million immigrants. We need to control the admission of new low-earning workers in order to: help wages grow, get teenagers back to work, aid minorities’ rise into the middle class, help schools and communities falling behind, and to ensure our immigrant members of the national family become part of the American dream.” (Donald J. Trump For President, Accessed 7/11/16) Trump’s Immigration Plan Calls For A Pause Before Any New Green Cards Are Issued To Make Hiring American Workers And Legal Immigrants A Priority. “Before any new green cards are issued to foreign workers abroad, there will be a pause where employers will have to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed immigrant and native workers. This will help reverse women's plummeting workplace participation rate, grow wages, and allow record immigration levels to subside to more moderate historical averages.” (Donald J. Trump For President, Accessed 7/11/16)
SANDERS: CLINTON SUPPORTS NATION-BUILDING IN MIDDLE EAST THROUGH WAR AND INVASION While Clinton Was Eager To Intervene In Iraq And Libya, Sanders Insisted Upon Diplomacy Instead Of A Costly Invasion And War Sanders Draws Sharp Contrast Between His Views And Hillary Clinton’s Support For Foreign Intervention Overseas. THE GUARDIAN’S DAN ROBERTS: “Your campaign pulled an advert the other day that was specifically linking Hillary Clinton to Wall Street. A lot of people appreciate your desire not to go negative personally, but do you need to do more to delineate the differences between you and Secretary Clinton?” SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): “My view is that in terms of foreign policy, regime change without worrying about what happens the day after you get rid of the dictator does not make a lot of sense. I voted against the war in Iraq; helped lead the war against the war in Iraq. God, I only wish that I had been successful in stopping that war that given all that has happened since with the rise of Isis and so forth. Secretary Clinton voted for that war. She was proud to have been involved in regime change in Libya, with Gaddafi, without worrying I think about what happened the day after and the kind of instability and the rise of Isis that we have seen in Libya.” ( Dan Roberts, “Sanders: Clinton's Pursuit Of 'Regime Change' In Libya Helped Rise Of Isis,” The Guardian, 12/18/15)
Sanders Has Blamed Clinton For Encouraging Extremism In Libya And Questioned Her Judgment On The Iraq Vote Sanders Blames Clinton’s Libya Intervention For Encouraging Extremism. “Bernie Sanders has accused Hillary Clinton of encouraging Islamic extremism in Libya, in a prelude to a Democratic debate
on Saturday during which he is expected to go on the attack for the first time over the unintended consequences of the former secretary of state’s more interventionist foreign policy. Speaking to the Guardian in an extensive pre-debate interview, the senator from Vermont criticised Clinton for carelessly fomenting regime change in Libya ‘without worrying’ about the ensuing instability that has helped Islamic State forces take hold in the country.” ( Dan Roberts, “Sanders: Clinton's Pursuit Of 'Regime Change' In Libya Helped Rise Of Isis,” The Guardian, 12/18/15)
Sanders Claims That Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Have The Judgement To Be President, Partly Due To Her Iraq War Vote. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): “But I do Question Her Judgement. I question a judgement which voted for the war in Iraq, the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of this country.” (New York Democratic Primary Debate, 4/14/16) Click To Watch
Trump Views Interventions As A Last Resort And Believes America Should Spend Its Money Domestically Rather Than Deposing Foreign Leaders On Cavuto, Trump Said We Should Focus The Money On Promoting A Strong Economy Rather Than Invade Iraq. CAVUTO: “If you had to sort of breakdown for the president, if you were advising him, how much time do you commit to Iraq versus how much time you commit to the economy, what would you say?” TRUMP: “Well, I’m starting to think that people are much more focused now on the economy. They are getting a little bit tired of hearing, we’re going in, we’re not going in, the - you know, whatever happened to the days of the Douglas MacArthur. He would go and attack. He wouldn’t talk. We have to - you know, it`s sort like either do it or don’t do it.
When I watch Dan Rather explaining how we are going to be attacking, where we`re going to attack, what routes we’re taking, what kind of planes we’re using, how to stop them, how to stop us, it is a little bit disconcerting. I’ve never seen this, where newscasters are telling you how - telling the enemy how we’re going about it, we have just found out this and that. It is ridiculous.” (Andrew, Kaczynaski, “In 2002, Donald Trump Said He Supported Invading Iraq,” BuzzFeed, 02/18/16) •
Trump Said That We Should Wait And Focus On The Economy Before Invading Iraq. “CAVUTO: ‘So you`re saying the leash on this is getting kind of short here, that the president has got to do something presumably sooner rather than later and stringing this along could ultimately hurt us.’ TRUMP: ‘Well, he has either got to do something or not do something, perhaps, because perhaps shouldn’t be doing it yet and perhaps we should be waiting for the United Nations, you know. He`s under a lot of
pressure. He`s - I think he`s doing a very good job. But, of course, if you look at the polls, a lot of people are getting a little tired. I think
the Iraqi situation is a problem. And I think the economy is a much bigger problem as far as the president is concerned.’” (Andrew, Kaczynaski, “In 2002, Donald Trump Said He Supported Invading Iraq,” BuzzFeed, 02/18/16)
Trump Opposed Removing Gadhafi From Power In A February 2016 Republican Primary Debate. “‘We would be so much better off if Gaddafi would be in charge right now,’ Trump said then. He has also hit Clinton over the U.S. intervention in Libya in his stump speech.” (Eric Bradner, “Trump -- Again -- Reverses Libya Position,” CNN, 6/5/16)
In October 2015, Trump Says Libya Would Be Better Off Without An Intervention. CHUCK TODD: “If Saddam And Gaddifi Do You Think Things Would Be More Stable?” DONALD TRUMP: “Of course it would be. You wouldn’t have your Benghazi situation which is one tehing, which is just a terrible situation. Libya, is one thing, its not even a country. No one knows what’s going on over there.” (“Face The Nation,” CBS, October, 2015)
