Bernie Sanders

Donkees

(32,386 posts) Mon Mar 18, 2019, 05:37 AM Mar 2019

Bernie Sanders Pledges To Do A Better Job Of Explaining Socialism

March 18, 2019 5:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN

Audio will be available later today.

Excerpt:

On the socialist label

"I think what we have to do, and I will be doing it, is to do a better job maybe in explaining what we mean by socialism — democratic socialism. Obviously, my right-wing colleagues here want to paint that as authoritarianism and communism and Venezuela, and that's nonsense.

"What I mean by democratic socialism is that I want a vibrant democracy. I find it interesting that people who criticize me are busy actively involved in voter suppression trying to keep people of color or low-income people from voting, because they don't want a vibrant democracy. I do.

"Second of all, what it means, Rachel, is that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world we can provide a decent standard of living for all about people. That's just the reality. That's not Utopian dreaming; that is a reality. Health care for all can be done and we can save money in doing it. We can have a minimum wage which is a living wage, and I'm delighted to see that you know, right now, five states already passed fifteen dollars an hour minimum wage. The House of Representatives is gonna do it. We have got to do that."

The term "socialism" is polarizing in U.S. politics — a slight majority of Democrats, 57 percent, said they had a positive view of socialism (however they define it) as of August 2018, according to Gallup. In that poll, Democrats were slightly more likely to view socialism positively than capitalism (47 percent). Meanwhile, Republicans were far more likely to view capitalism positively (71 percent to socialism's 16 percent). Polls have also shown that socialism is particularly popular among younger voters.

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/18/702708256/bernie-sanders-pledges-to-do-a-better-job-of-explaining-socialism