During a campaign stop at Elon Law School in downtown Greensboro today, President Bill Clinton made the case that his wife, Hillary Clinton is the true change agent, defending her against opponent Bernie Sanders’ theme of “political revolution.”
“I want you to vote for her because she’s the best single change-maker I’ve ever dealt with,” Clinton said. “I’ll admit it’s an almost out-of-body experience in this campaign whenever — we’re in a campaign where the other side says, ‘We just need a revolution.’ Therefore, everyone who’s ever served in any job anywhere fails, and their opinions don’t amount to a hill of beans. And so when the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Hillary — well, they’re part of the establishment. When Planned Parenthood — people who’ve risked their lives endorsed Hillary — part of the establishment.”
The former president’s talk also brushed up against the populism and anger fueling Republican candidate Donald Trump’s success, contrasting the experiences of everyday Americans against the glowing report on the economy given by President Obama in his last State of the Union address.
“Why is everybody so torn up in this election?” Clinton asked. “Why do they have a food fight every time they have a Republican debate? Because too many people look at that beautiful picture that the president painted, and they cannot find themselves and their families in that picture to save their lives. That is the space in which this election is taking place.”
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Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, who introduced Bill Clinton, joined the former president in leveling criticism at Bernie Sanders.
“I’m not asking you to vote for her based on her gender; I’m asking you to vote for her based on her experience and for what she has done for our country for the last 40 years,” Vaughan said. “Haven’t we waited long enough for affordable childcare and paid family leave? Don’t you think it’s finally time for equal pay for equal work?
“As a woman I know we have to protect Obamacare, which stopped insurance companies from treating women with preexisting conditions,” she continued. “Now, who, in 1993, was the first person who took a real hard look at healthcare in our country? She set the mold in 1993. Senator Sanders wants to end Obamacare as we know it, and start from scratch. If we have an all-or-nothing approach, we’re gonna end up with nothing.”
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I think it’s unfortunate that you published Mayor Vaughn’s comments without clarifying that she is wrong about Sen. Sanders’ healthcare plan. He has stated, time and again, that the ACA would remain in place until we’re able to achieve universal coverage. Mayor Vaughn is simply repeating Clinton’s political attack, which is inaccurate. Please consider updating your article so that your readers are not confused about what Senator Sanders is actually proposing.
Short of an unlikely congressional Democratic victory, both Sanders and Clinton would be resigned to simply prevent the GOP from picking apart Obamacare. I have no doubt that Sanders would do everything to preserve the current system in that context since it improved the well-being of millions of Americans. The idea that Sanders would somehow dismantle Obamacare, and fail to replace it, is a fear-mongering narrative that I’m disappointed our mayor chose to echo.