Personally, I have been so happy to see great polling news for Bernie Sanders that has been flooding my social media streams these days, along with crucial endorsements of the Vermont Senator from progressives at Democracy for America, MoveOn.org and The Nation magazine. Sanders surging in Iowa, New Hampshire and nationally has brought out attacks from the Hillary Clinton campaign that are dishonest and right-wing. Surprisingly, a member of the Clinton family came out swinging against Sanders on his 2013 universal healthcare plan and it wasn’t former President Bill Clinton, but daughter Chelsea who wrongly proclaimed that Sanders “would strip millions and millions and millions of people off their health insurance.”
Clinton’s recent attacks have been attacked from all sides
The smear from the Clinton camp seem strange to many Democrats and progressives, even going so far as calling the attacks dirty, terrible and proof that the frontrunner is really a “rotten candidate“. Former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod stated that, “It’s not really an honest attack, and it’s not something that they should have sent her out to do.” Pat Garofalo, the assistant managing editor for opinion at U.S. News & World Report slams the the smear as a “sliming” that is “blatantly dishonest”.
After mostly ignoring Sanders, these unfair and dishonest attacks have come after recent polls have shown Sanders now leading (or neck-and-neck) in Iowa and winning (if not with a commanding lead) in New Hampshire. Even surprising me, someone that has been praising Sanders for months, are recent polls showing the anti-establishment candidate narrowing the gap in nationally as the former First Lady has previously dominated national polls.
These attacks are really a mistake by the Clinton campaign and I, as someone that is pulling for Sanders to pull off one of the greatest political upsets of all time, welcome them. Democratic primary voters, even those intending to vote for Hillary Clinton, love the fact Bernie Sanders is authentic and sticks to issues that appeal to everyday Americans. Sanders has been very consistent and straightforward on healthcare, just as he has been on marijuana legalization and Drug War reform, during the campaign.
Dishonest smears against the authentic Sanders will only benefit the Vermont Senator
Attacking Sanders from the right on healthcare in a dishonest way plays into some of the worst Clinton traits that have plagued her political career–that she is a calculating politician who is willing to lie to get elected. As a candidate that many voters feel lacks trustworthiness, Clinton is now playing into a Sanders strength on his turf, domestic policy. Hopefully, Hillary Clinton will continue to make these unforced errors as she attempts to run out the clock as the so-called “inevitable” nominee. Sanders has already capitalized in fundraising from these attacks and we will likely see more voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and across the country #FeelTheBern.
