Art Garfunkel from the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel said that he let Bernie Sanders use his song for an ad because he believes in Sanders' message. http://cnn.it/1Vghhzy"It's the moment you say, 'Am I Bernie guy? Yes I am,'" he says. "I like that Bernie is very upset by the gap between the rich and the poor. I think that's central."
Posted by CNN Politics on Saturday, January 23, 2016
Art Garfunkel, half of the famous musical duo Simon and Garfunkel, admitted that he’s a Bernie Sanders fan days after he let Sanders use his song in a new campaign ad.
“I like Bernie. I like his height, I like his dignity and his stance,” Garfunkel said Saturday on CNN’s “Smerconish.”
{mosads}The Democratic presidential candidate used Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” in a minute-long campaign ad out this week that has drawn comparisons to Ronald Reagan’s iconic “Morning in America” ad.
Garfunkel said he allowed Sanders to borrow the song, noting this is not a situation where a candidate uses an artist’s song without permission.
“I think legally, finally it comes down to will you allow this? They go to Paul [Simon] and me — it’s the moment you say, ‘Am I Bernie guy? Yes I am,’” Garfunkel said.
When asked why he supports Sanders over rival Hillary Clinton, Garfunkel nodded to his focus on income inequality.
“I like that Bernie is very upset by the gap between the rich and the poor. I think that’s central, the power of money,” Garfunkel said.
“When Bernie says, ‘Hillary gave a speech, she got 275,000 for that speech, you’ve got to give a very good speech to earn that money,’ he’s winking at, we know, the power of whoever backed her and she’s beholden to them. And that’s how America works until somebody says, ‘Not with me.’ ”