Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Wednesday that rival Hillary Clinton’s statements suggesting he supported the gun lobby were “mean-spirited and unfair.”
Clinton said earlier on NBC’s “Today” that she and Sanders disagree on some topics, including gun rights and healthcare.
“Sen. Sanders has been a pretty reliable vote for the gun lobby and I have been standing against them for a long time,” Clinton said.
Sanders responded to Clinton’s comments during an interview on MSNBC when host Thomas Roberts began questioning Sanders about her attacks on his gun record.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Sanders interrupted, noting that he has a “D-” rating from the National Rifle Association.
“In 1988 I probably lost a Congressional election because I said maybe we should not have assault weapons being sold in America,” he said. “So to say that I’m kind of a supporter of the NRA is really a mean-spirited and unfair and inaccurate statement.”
Roberts then asked Sanders if he regretted or wanted to apologize for giving gun manufacturers immunity from lawsuits.
“There are things in that bill that I supported. There are things in that bill do not make sense, that are wrong,” he replied. “And as I have said for the last several months, I am willing to absolutely take a look at the onerous parts of that bill.”
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Did Hillary and Chelsea make a bet on who could tell the biggest lie about Bernie this week?
All Hillary Clinton has are unfair tactics and half-truths. Take Hillary’s promise of gun control, with the tea party congress we have now? Obama can barely get them to do the essentials, like raise the debt limit or pass a budget. But she’s going to get Republicans to agree to gun control, because they haven’t all been running on “Obama wants to take your guns!”. What Hillary’s gun control promises will do is energize every Republican to get out and vote against her, and for a congress that will block every move she makes. Hillary has engineered her own failure. Bernie Sanders is the one being pragmatic on the question.
If we can’t get any gun control done because of congress, how exactly is Sanders going to get anything he says he wants to do done?
What Sanders ,insert policy, promises will do is energize every Republican to get out and vote against him, and for a congress that will block every move he makes. Sanders has engineered his own failure. Hillary Clinton is the one being pragmatic on the question.
Telling easily disprovable half-truths and complete lies about Senator Sanders in order to win the primary nomination, when it is not necessary to do so, are unforced errors by Team Clinton. The real prize is for Democrats to keep the White House for a third term, unprecedented since the imposition of Constitutional term limits.
Even with Der Drumpf doing his damnedest to sabotage the GOP campaign, the Democratic nominee must still run as the underdog, who relys on great numbers of enthusiastic voters to win. Many of these potential voters will be idealistic first-timers; others may be newly converted Democrats or lapsed (Reagan) Democrats spurning Republican candidates who no longer represent them. Depressing their emotional commitment to the Democratic candidate as a viable alternative jeopardizes our chance to make post-1948 history.