Politics

The Key To Winning In 2020 Will Be Properly Explaining Socialism, Says Bernie Sanders

REUTERS

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders believes he and the Democratic Party can win the White House in 2020 by “explaining socialism” to Americans voters.

Sanders claimed he can help the party do a better job of acclimatizing people to the concept of “democratic socialism,” as he told National Public Radio Monday.

Supporters listen as Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is introduced at a campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire, U.S., March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Supporters listen as Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is introduced at a campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire, U.S., March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

“I think what we have to do, and I will be doing it, is to do a better job maybe in explaining what we mean by ‘socialism’ — Democratic Socialism. Obviously, my right-wing colleagues here want to paint that as authoritarianism and communism and Venezuela, and that’s nonsense,” said Sanders, who has refused to call for Venezuelan despot Nicolás Maduro to resign.

Sanders goes on to call Democratic Socialism as “a vibrant democracy.” (RELATED: Bernie Sanders, Climate Hawk Spends Nearly $300K On Private Jet Travel In A Month)

He insists that Americans can afford socialism because “in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we can provide a decent standard of living for all about people. That’s just the reality. That’s not Utopian dreaming; that is a reality. Health care for all can be done and we can save money in doing it.”

Sanders has been an enthusiastic advocate of Canada’s universal heath care system, while others have criticized the country’s high taxes and long wait times for medical help. (RELATED: New Spokeswoman For Sen. Bernie Sanders Is An Illegal Immigrant)

FILE PHOTO: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during an event to introduce the "Medicare for All Act of 2017" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during an event to introduce the “Medicare for All Act of 2017” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

The senator also discussed his support for reparations for the victims of slavery, though he explained:

” … Not if it means just a cash payment or a check to families. I would not support that. . . . I am sympathetic to an idea brought forth by Congressman Jim Clyburn. . . . And he has what he calls a 10-20-30 plan, which says that 10 percent of federal resources should go to communities that have had 20 percent levels of poverty for 30 years. In other words, the most distressed communities in America … “

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