Sanders Promises To Take On The Powerful
Sen. Bernie Sanders made a campaign stop in Oskaloosa on Sunday. He visited the Musco Technology Center on the campus of William Penn University. There was approximately 250 people in attendance.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The presidential nominating season has fully kicked into swing, as US Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) became the first major declared presidential candidate to swing through Oskaloosa.
Sanders spoke to a standing room only crowd of roughly 250 people at the Musco Technology Center on the William Penn University Campus. Starting off his stump speech, Senator Sanders issued a challenge to President Donald Trump, urging him to withdraw US troops from involvement in the Yemen War. Calling the war unauthorized, Sanders said the US House had recently passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal, and the US Senate was expected to take up the measure. If passed by the Senate, it would go to President Trump for his signature and approval.
“Let’s get our troops out of Yemen. Instead of bombs, let’s provide humanitarian aid,” Sanders said.
Sanders acknowledged as he began that he was not necessarily entering friendly territory in coming to Iowa and Mahaska County. In the 2016 election, President Trump carried the state by just shy of 10 points, the highest winning margin for a Republican presidential nominee in Iowa since President Ronald Regan in 1984. Sanders, however, expressed his belief that many people, especially Iowans, may have voted for Trump in 2016 on the basis of lies and false promises. Sanders further said that the fact that middle-class people were “hurting” may have also played a part in Trump’s victory.
“A lot of people out there were saying ‘who is paying attention to me? I can’t afford healthcare, I can’t afford to send my kid to college, can’t afford to pay my mortgage, anybody listening to me?’ and they turn on the TV, and they don’t hear a lot about their lives on the news… and Trump came along,” Sanders said. “
Sanders hit Trump, claiming he promised to deliver on healthcare, taxes, and other issues that were important to the middle-class.
The only problem is, he was not telling the truth,” Sanders said. “I think we all understand that we have a pathological liar in the White House,” he added to applause.
Talking about his platform, Sanders reminisced on the 2016 election, noting that when he first announced his campaign in 2015, he was polling at 3 percent or 4 percent in Iowa.
“This is where, in 2016, the liberal revolution began,” Sanders said.
Sanders said that many people at the time called his campaign and platform inconceivable and radical. However, over the course of the year, Sanders surged ahead in Iowa and ended up in a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton on caucus night. Since then, Sanders said many Democrat candidates have adopted Sanders’ platform.
“Those ideas that we talked about four years ago that seemed so very radical well they are ideas that are supported by a majority of the American people, and they are ideas that democratic candidates to school boards to presidential candidates are now supporting,” Sanders said. “I think of the debt of gratitude that the people of American owe to Iowans,” he added.
Speaking on his platform, Sanders emphasized his belief in universal healthcare, noting that he is elected, he will implement a Medicare for all, single-payer healthcare system.
“Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege,” Sanders said. “Are you ready for a really radical statement? The function of healthcare is not to make insurance companies and drug companies richer,” he added.
Keeping to his 2016 platform, Sanders also pledged that if elected, he will also implement free college tuition at all public colleges and universities.
During a question and answer session after Sanders stump speech, the Senator was asked how he plans to pay for his platform. Sanders responded by going after the wealthy, saying that increases in taxes on corporations and the wealthy would be the main route Sanders would take in paying for his platform.
In all, the Senator spoke for around one hour in Oskaloosa.
