Sanders questions Clinton’s authenticity
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday questioned Hillary Clinton’s authenticity on campaign finance reform, contrasting his actions on super-PACs with hers.
“I have many disagreements with Hillary Clinton, and one of them is that I don’t think it’s good enough just to talk the talk on campaign finance reform,” Sanders (I-Vt.) told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow at the First in the South Presidential Candidates Forum at Rock Hill, S.C.
{mosads}“You gotta walk the walk.”
“I am the only Democratic candidate who does not have a super-PAC,” Sanders added. “I am not asking millionaires and billionaires for large campaign contributions.
“We are doing it the old-fashioned way — 750,000 Americans, average contribution $30, have contributed to my campaign.”
Sanders also contrasted himself with Clinton, suggesting she was a creature of the establishment, and said it took far too long for her to decide to oppose the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
“Now for me, as opposed to maybe some other unnamed candidates, the issue of Keystone was kind of a no-brainer,” Sanders said, in an an obvious swipe at Clinton.
“It never made sense to me from day one, as you why you would extract and transport some of the dirtiest fuel on this planet,” he added. “So I said no to the Keystone on day one. I say yes to a tax on carbon.”
Sanders noted that he was proud of the substantive debate Democrats were having on the important issues facing America.
“But having said that, I would not have run for president … if [I thought that] establishment politics and establishment economics can solve the very serious problems that we face,” he concluded.
Sanders’ sharper rhetoric against Clinton comes as she widens her lead over him in state and national polls.
Sanders has insisted throughout his campaign that he likes and respects Clinton and that he will refuse to run a negative campaign.
But pundits and political strategists thought Sanders blew an opportunity during the first Democratic debate in October, when he said that Clinton’s use of a private email server was a non-issue.
He has since walked that statement back somewhat, clarifying that it’s a legitimate area for the FBI investigators but that he himself would not be focusing on it during the campaign.
Sanders’ campaign team has been eager to highlight the contrast between his long record of consistent liberal positions with Clinton’s recent policy conversions.
He points out that Clinton was late to support same-sex marriage and criminal justice reform and to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and Keystone XL.
Clinton has used three recent events to her advantage: she performed strongly in the first Democratic Party debate; she testified before the House Benghazi committee for 11 hours and was widely viewed to have held her own; and Vice President Joe Biden decided not to run.
Sanders had narrowed Clinton’s lead from 57 points in May to 13 percentage points by the end of September.
He pulled ahead of her in New Hampshire polls, and Clinton began to attack him, accusing him of pandering to the gun lobby and even of sexism.
In recent weeks, Clinton has widened the gap and now holds a 22-point lead over Sanders.
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