Sanders Challenges Obama To Stand For Working Americans Against The GOP
Today, Senator Bernard Sanders stood on the floor of the United States Senate and challenged Barack Obama to stand firm against the demands of the Republican Party in budget negotiations. The Republicans are demanding a deficit reduction plan that asks working Americans to suffer cuts while asking nothing of billionaires and powerful corporations. Sanders insisted, in his speech:
“No, we will not balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable people in this country, on our children, on our seniors, on the sick. No, we will not do that. Working families in this country have already sacrificed enough in terms of lost jobs, lost wages, lost homes, lost pensions. The working families of this country are working right now. Enough is enough.
But, Mr. President, now is the time to say to the millionaires and billionaires in this country, and to the largest corporations, who in many ways have never had it so good, that they must participate in deficit reduction, that there must be shared sacrifice.”
Sanders has also written a letter to President Obama, and is asking American citizens to sign their names to it as a show of support. That letter reads:
“This is a pivotal moment in the history of our country. Decisions are being made about the national budget that will impact the lives of virtually every American for decades to come. As we address the issue of deficit reduction we must not ignore the painful economic reality of today – which is that the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing. In fact, the United States today has, by far, the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth.
Everyone understands that over the long-term we have got to reduce the deficit – a deficit that was caused mainly by Wall Street greed, tax breaks for the rich, two wars, and a prescription drug program written by the drug and insurance companies. It is absolutely imperative, however, that as we go forward with deficit reduction we completely reject the Republican approach that demands savage cuts in desperately-needed programs for working families, the elderly, the sick, our children and the poor, while not asking the wealthiest among us to contribute one penny.
Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share. At least 50 percent of any deficit reduction package must come from revenue raised by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and eliminating tax loopholes that benefit large, profitable corporations and Wall Street financial institutions. A sensible deficit reduction package must also include significant cuts to unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon spending.
Please do not yield to outrageous Republican demands that would greatly increase suffering for the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. Now is the time to stand with the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to survive economically, not with the millionaires and billionaires who have never had it so good.”
The continual pressure to cave in to Republican tyranny and willingness to sell America down the drain must be exhausting. Even some Democrats (who think they can get away with it) are pushing the Republican agenda for continued preferential treatment of the rich and corporate elite.
Do what’s right. America desperately needs a strong leader who will not sell out. Stand your ground. Stand for the American dream. The people need you. The economy needs you. The environment needs you.
The overreaching greed, arrogance, and immorality of these people are starting to close in on them…they are starting to feel the pressure. America will stand behind you if you stand up for us. We are joining together across this nation, and we need the hope, the decency, the will of a great leader to get America back on the right track.