As Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., inches closer to a 2016 presidential bid, he is targeting key positions of Hillary Clinton that put him on the side of working-class Americans and anti-war advocates.
In his clearest indication of issues he would debate with Clinton if both get in the race, Sanders on Monday indicated that he would target Wall Street, where Clinton has legions of supporters, and the war in Iraq, which Clinton voted for over a decade ago.
‘I am giving thought to running for president of the United States,” Sanders said at a Brookings Institution event. What’s more, he said, if he got in, he would be running “to win,” not influence Clinton’s positions in a general election.
“I think we would have a debate on how you would rebuild a crumbling class, a debate about how you reverse climate change, debate about foreign policy and the wisdom of a war in Iraq and how we deal with what we deal with, a debate about trade policy, a debate about Wall Street and that I think would be good for the American people,” said Sanders.
Sanders spoke forcefully on the U.S. war on terrorism, decrying the “endless war” nature of the fight and calling for greater reliance on regional nations to take care of problems in their own backyard. He also reiterated his attacks on income inequality, calling government “of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires.”
As with the GOP, where candidates are split between conservatives and establishment Republicans, Sanders positioned himself to the left of Clinton, the favorite of party regulars. He portrayed himself as an unapologetic liberal who has succeeded in pulling together coalitions to take on powerful forces.
And he said that if he gets support from millions who believe that “enough is enough,” he will jump into the race where he wishes that 2 million will donate $100 each.
He also indicated that he believes that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., won’t challenge Clinton in the upcoming race.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
