The Washington Post is hitting Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on several of his policy positions as he and other Democratic candidates for president get ready for their first debate Tuesday night.
In an editorial published Monday night, the Post said that Sanders, who is running as a populist to the left of front-runner Hillary Clinton, is failing to offer a “progressive” vision that would actually translate into effective legislation.
“Whether denouncing the influence of big money in politics or decrying the top-heavy distribution of income, Mr. Sanders identifies real issues,” said the Post. “His solutions, though, are frequently simplistic or fraught with potential perverse side effects.”
The Post said that Sanders’ calls for free college tuition for all, a steep rise in the federal minimum wage and expanded Social Security were either miscalculated in terms of their expected impact or ill-conceived.
“There is nothing ‘progressive’ about promising free tuition or expanded Social Security benefits, regardless of need, and regardless of resource constraints in an aging society and slow-growing economy,” the editorial said. “The real challenge for the country is finding ways to target government assistance where it will do the most good with the fewest unintended consequences. Thus the challenge for Ms. Clinton and her fellow candidates, starting Tuesday night, is to stand up for policy nuance in a party whose voter base seems impatient with it.”
The five Democratic candidates invited to the debate, hosted by CNN, will meet on stage Tuesday night.
