Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

by Ben Reilly Fri Nov 18, 2016 8:48 pm

President-elect Donald Trump will find himself with an unlikely ally if he makes good on his promise to be an economic populist challenging corporate America, Bernie Sanders said Thursday.

"If Mr. Trump has the guts to stand up to those corporations," said the former Democratic presidential candidate, "he will have an ally with me."

The willingness on the part of Sanders, a longtime democratic socialist, to work with Trump on a series of economic issues underscores the unorthodox and strikingly populist message that Trump used during his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton.

Sanders, speaking with reporters at a Christian Science Monitor sponsored breakfast, said he is ready to embrace Trump on a handful of campaign promises. Those include protecting Social Security and Medicare, negotiating for lower drug prices, raising the minimum wage to $10, imposing tariffs on companies that ship jobs overseas, and re-regulating Wall Street by re-establishing Glass-Steagall.

On these issues, Trump's promises put the President-elect closer to Sanders than to most Republican Party leaders. House Speaker Paul Ryan, for example, would not commit to passing Trump's tariff plan during a Sunday appearance on CNN's "State of the Union with Jake Tapper," saying that the solution is reforming the US tax code, "not tariffs, not trade wars."

By embracing Trump's left-leaning stands, Sanders is hoping to make progress on issues of long-standing concern to the Vermont senator. If Trump backs away from these promises and sides with the conventional conservatives who lead the Republican Party in Congress, Sanders believes that Trump will be exposed as a "fraud."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/17/politics/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-allies/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial

by veya_victaous Sat Nov 19, 2016 12:16 am

this is going to be interesting, Trump is a third party president in all but name. not having the actual support of the party

You got to admit this would be an achievement for a 'RW' president to get support from a far left senator.

by Original Quill Sat Nov 19, 2016 4:26 am

Color me pessimistic. Trump has no ideology, and here is Sanders hanging everything on his ideology. Trump is unable to form alliances, or indeed, keep his word, precisely because he has no driving direction. He promises to "drain the swamp" of long-term establishment politicos, yet now he is nominating Reince Priebus for Chief of Staff, and Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. He says our generals are rubbish, yet he appoints Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. He is even considering his avowed foe, former candidate Mitt Romney, for Secretary of State. Drain the swamp? He will break every promise he makes.

This is because everything he does is focused solely on him. With all his money, why hasn't he entered into great partnerships or formed great corporations in his life? It's because he's a self-serving loner. He cannot work in conjunction with others.

by eddie Sat Nov 19, 2016 6:13 pm

I don't agree about the "loner" part Quill. I think he seems more the type to need a team of brains working with him...seeing as his own is somewhat flawed.

by Original Quill Sat Nov 19, 2016 6:47 pm

eddie wrote:I don't agree about the "loner" part Quill. I think he seems more the type to need a team of brains working with him...seeing as his own is somewhat flawed.

Oh, he needs it, all right. But he's not a 'people' person. He can't attract a team, hence you have never seen him successful in any team effort.

Few people that are as thin-skinned and hurtful as Trump is, are able to maintain team relationships. In the past year-and-a -half we have had an in-depth look at his personality. Because he is so self-centered, he's toxic and destructive of any form of association, personal or professional. He is quick to take offensive, and gives out offense as a routine part of his style.

It's no surprise that walls are a familiar metaphor with him. He's used to them.

by eddie Sat Nov 19, 2016 8:03 pm

I think he's going to find out very soon that he needs a good and balanced team behind him. He can't be that stupid.

by Original Quill Sat Nov 19, 2016 11:36 pm

eddie wrote:I think he's going to find out very soon that he needs a good and balanced team behind him. He can't be that stupid.

He's already been that stupid. He ran on the 'drain the swamp' platform, by which he aimed to reject all establishment politicians. Now, as he puts together a government, he's got no one who is experienced that he can turn to. Guess what? They're all establishment politicians.

In keeping with his message, he campaigned by insulting all kinds of establishment types. There was 'Low-energy' Jeb, 'Lyin'' Ted Cruz, 'Little Marco' Rubio and 'Crooked Hillary'. He called all American soldiers "Losers" and berated all US generals as "Rubbish". All Mexicans are rapist criminals and women are whiners and pussies.

Now he wants friends??

Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations 40d445dbbff80fddd46f39139e359cc2

by Ben Reilly Sun Nov 20, 2016 5:40 am

The fact is, Trump is less than two weeks into his pre-presidency and he's already selling out a lot of what his supporters thought they were voting for. We need to publicize this as much as possible, because it's human nature to tune out once your guy has won.

They voted for Trump to be a revolutionary who would turn Washington upside down and shake it. They're tired of compromise, but the problem is, compromise is the American way of doing things, as enshrined in the constitution and its power checks.

If they see the guy they thought was going to change everything being forced to negotiate with people who don't think like him, they might realize that compromise and patience really is how this country works. We don't change overnight and there's a good reason not to be able to do so.

by Ben Reilly Sun Nov 20, 2016 6:08 am

Also, may I add, the Obama stimulus, put forth when the U.S. was on the brink of a depression, totaled $800 million.

The Trump "stimulus," when the American economy is going fairly well, would cost $1 trillion.

The Obama stimulus launched the Tea Party. Yet spending even more is deemed okay when Trump is doing it.

It's almost stupid enough to make you think we deserve whatever we get. If an alien civilization were to canvass this planet they'd probably conclude we were devoid of intelligent life.

by Original Quill Sun Nov 20, 2016 3:39 pm

No question. American chose Trump, America deserves him. It's not just his activist, white supremacist, Breitbart voters, but the passives who 'let it happen'. As long as we are publicizing, be sure to remind them he is their candidate!

by eddie Sun Nov 20, 2016 3:50 pm

Original Quill wrote:No question. American chose Trump, America deserves him. It's not just his activist, white supremacist, Breitbart voters, but the passives who 'let it happen'. As long as we are publicizing, be sure to remind them he is their candidate!

You're right Quill, but most people don't learn from their mistakes in my humble opinion.

by Original Quill Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:35 pm

eddie wrote:
Original Quill wrote:No question. American chose Trump, America deserves him. It's not just his activist, white supremacist, Breitbart voters, but the passives who 'let it happen'. As long as we are publicizing, be sure to remind them he is their candidate!

You're right Quill, but most people don't learn from their mistakes in my humble opinion.

If there is one take-away from this past election, it is that being rude works. So make it work both ways. It's time to be rude and tell people to their face, we have discovered the problem and it is you!

Of course people don't wish to be told of their mistakes. But similarly, children don't like to eat their carrots. They don't like to be punished for hitting their little brother. But that's tough! We need to be rude, and tell the people that they are responsible.

Look...it's cause and effect. If people don't have those dynamics pointed out to them, they will never learn anything. People attend engineering classes to learn cause and effect; would you want an engineer who didn't understand it? Why not tell people the simplest and most obvious of truths: you are responsible for this!?

If we are unwilling to speak frankly, then democracy and self-rule are terribly wrong. If people as citizens cannot learn that they can make mistakes, then it's just a ship without a rudder, a train with no engineer. And when they do make mistakes, if we can't discuss this, then there is no advancement of the political science. If the king can't be told, he has no clothes...then we should choose another king.

by JulesV Sun Nov 20, 2016 5:47 pm

Ya he needs experienced people around him. For all our sakes. Otherwise he'd just be flailing in the dark. He has no experience whatsoever, in the world of politics though of course businessmen and politicians share the same machevellian traits.

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Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

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Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations

Re: Bernie Sanders: Democrats will work with Trump if he takes on corporations