There hasn’t been a Republican praised by both the NRA and a Koch Brothers organization this week. Yet Bernie Sanders has been.
The Koch-funded group Freedom Partners cut an ad complimenting the Vermont senator for his opposition to the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a government-funded agency that helps subsidize the exports of U.S. businesses. Conservative- and libertarian-minded economists, journalists, and elected officials have decried Ex-Im as a form of corporate welfare, and Freedom Partners has found an unusual ally in the self-described democratic socialist.
“Bernie Sanders has this right: It’s time to put an end to corporate welfare,” the organization tweeted Wednesday, including a link to the ad. The 30-second video includes footage of Sanders at the Democratic debate in Flint, Mich., during which he criticized the bank.
“I don’t think it’s a great idea for the American taxpayer to have to subsidize through corporate welfare profitable corporations who downsize in the United States of America,” Sanders said.
CNN moderator Anderson Cooper noted Sanders’s allegiance with Sen. Ted Cruz and opposition to Democrats on this issue. In response, Sanders quipped, “Well, let me tell you, I don’t want to break the bad news. Democrats are not always right.”
Sanders was also boosted by the NRA this week for his comments on gun manufacturer liability, which he made during the same debate.
