Vermont populist rallies Las Vegas union members to take on ‘billionare class’

By: Laura Myers

Last Vegas Review-Journal

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent populist who may challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Tuesday in Las Vegas that if he runs it will be to take on “the billionaire class” that’s getting richer while America’s middle class is in decline, with more people living in poverty.

“Not only are we not winning the fight, we are losing the fight,” the Vermont senator said in a fist-pumping speech at a packed Culinary Local 226 union hall, where workers cheered him on. “If we are going to fight for our children and our parents we have got to organize in a way that we have never done before. … The great middle class of our country has been shrinking, shrinking, shrinking.”

Sanders, 73, said he’s taking his time deciding whether to challenge Clinton, who hasn’t yet officially announced she’s running for the White House but is by far the leader among potential Democratic opponents, early polls have shown.

He said his decision will hinge on whether his campaign can keep the middle class at the forefront of the political debate at a time when billionaire donors have a growing influence on elections. He mentioned Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers, whose political organization plans to spend $900 million on 2016 races.

“You’ve got a billionaire class … that can spend as much money as they want,” said Sanders, who noted Republican contenders must compete in the “Sheldon Adelson primary for campaign funding.” “That’s not what democracy’s about.”

In an interview after his speech, Sanders said the U.S. government, and in particular Republicans in control of Congress, seem more concerned with protecting the rich than helping the poor and the declining middle class.

“There needs to be a political debate about the real issues,” Sanders said, adding that’s one reason he would run — to ensure the issues don’t get lost in all the political name-calling and campaign distractions.

“People don’t care about Clinton’s emails,” he said by way of an example, but do care about “jobs, wages, health care.”

Clinton has been criticized for using a private email account during her four years as secretary of state.

Sanders, during his union town hall, said real unemployment is about 11 percent, double the reported national rate if you take into account people who have stopped looking for work or who are in part-time jobs while seeking full-time employment. Some 45 million Americans are now living in poverty, including 20 percent of U.S. children

More here: http://www.reviewjournal.com/politics/elections/vermont-populist-rallies-las-vegas-union-members-take-billionaire-class