OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Far-left “independent” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont provided cover for Vice President Kamala Harris’ constant policy flip-flops during an interview on Sunday with NBC’s Kristen Welker, while at the same time exposing her as a huge “progressive” who hasn’t really changed.
“You have described Vice President Kamala Harris as a progressive. She has previously supported Medicare-for-All, now she does not. She’s previously supported a ban on fracking, now she does not. These, Senator, are ideas that you have campaigned on. Do you think that she is abandoning her progressive ideals?” Welker asked Sanders during their “Meet the Press” segment.
“No, I don’t think she’s abandoning her ideals. I think she’s trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election. My own view is slightly different,” he began. “I think that in America today, there are a lot of people, rural people, working-class people, who no longer believe that the United States Congress and government represent their interests — too dominated by big money interests.
“So I think that there is something wrong, personally, when we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all of our people, despite spending twice as much per capita,” Sanders continued. “That is why I support Medicare-for-All. She does not. She has another approach toward moving toward universal health care.”
Harris did, indeed, support a “Medicare-for-all” program during her 2020 presidential bid, but according to Politico, now that she’s the Democratic nominee, the far left is giving her a pass.
“I think on issues like expanding Medicare, by expanding Social Security and lifting the cap on taxable income that the rich put in so we can raise Social Security benefits, the need to raise the minimum wage from a starvation $7.25 minimum wage to a living wage — I think if you campaign on those issues, raising taxes on billionaires, you know what? She’s going to win. And I think she could win big,” Sanders — who is worth $3 million — said.
Sanders then gave away the store, so to speak, with his response to Welker’s next question by admitting that Harris’ real positions as a far-left politician have not changed an iota.
“Well, let me just ask you, then, big picture. Do you still consider Vice President Kamala Harris to be progressive, Senator?” Welker asked.
“I do. Look, she and I — she is not where I am. But I think, for example, when she talks about making the child tax credit permanent, and, you know, we did that in the American Rescue Plan, we lowered childhood poverty by 40%,” Sanders said.
“Kristen, we should not have, as the richest country on earth, one of the highest rates in childhood poverty in the world. When she talks about building 3 million units of affordable housing, that’s a big deal because we have a major housing crisis in America,” Sanders said without explaining how those would be paid for.
“You know, when she talks about passing the PRO Act to make it easier for workers to join unions, that’s a big deal because we have to expand the union movement so that workers get decent wages. So yes, her views are not mine, but I do consider her progressive,” Sanders added.
WATCH:
Last week, Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro joined fellow Fox host Sean Hannity as the two picked apart Harris’ CNN interview with running mate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. They noted the vice president’s several policy “flip flops,” which they speculated were due to her desire to appear less radical left and more moderate to be electable.
“Harris was also asked about a flip-flop on an issue, including the border. She said she suddenly believes that people should be prosecuted for illegally crossing the border. She said she and Biden did good work on the economy and she is proud of her record, even claiming that Joe Biden was very clear from the beginning he would endorse her after dropping out,” said Hannity, also noting that Walz claimed his lie about being in combat was attributed to poor grammar.
Pirro responded: “I am not well! First of all, she said that she wanted to ban fracking, and she was asked to follow up by Dana Bash. ‘While I made clear on the debate stage that I was against fracking, I have not done anything since 2020.’ Didn’t she… What is she talking about, Joe? She is lying, no question. We think we found a reason why.”
