Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders served in the U.S. Senate together and are now seeking to win the Democratic Party’s primary for the 2016 presidential race. Sanders is still in the Senate and served with Clinton during her tenure, from 2007 through 2009. Yesterday, May 27, 2015, Derek Willis of the New York Times sifted through the voting records of the two and came to the realization, their voting record is nearly one and the same. They voted the same 93 percent of the time while together in the U.S. Senate. Their ideology is nearly identical on economic and domestic issues.
It exposes the political theater one may expect from career politicians who try to make themselves seem different in the public eye, but are truly political soulmates. It also exposes the scripted narrative many media sources extend to the establishment campaigns. It is through their voting history one can get a true idea of how they plan to govern in the future should one of them become President of the United States. Perhaps we can get past the campaign rhetoric of focus on how the two voted while in office.
They both agree on same-sex marriage, increased gun control laws, pro-choice on abortion, legally forcing businesses to the hiring of a certain ratio of women and minorities, supportive of Obamacare, oppose the privatization of Social Security, oppose school choice, feels higher-income Americans should pay more in taxes, feel that the U.S. should stay out of Iran, supports subsidizing “green energy” projects and do not feel marijuana should be legal in the United States.
Karl Dickey 