Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, speaking April
13, 2011 at a GOP fundraiser in Burlington, VT: "You've got a guy here by the
name of Bernie Sanders that's a whole lot like a guy named Russ Feingold, who
was defeated by somebody named Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. You can do it here.
Just like Russ Feingold got beat in Wisconsin, Bernie Sanders can get beat [in
Vermont]." According to one media report, Priebus' comment drew huge applause.
Dear George,
This is a remarkable moment in American history.
The United States currently faces more serious challenges than at any time
since the Great Depression. This is true whether one looks at our economy,
health care, foreign policy, infrastructure, national debt, education or
environment.
I wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update as to what Im trying
to do here in Washington as well as the state of my campaign for re-election as
Vermonts senator. It is my strong belief that, working together, we must do
everything we can to fight for our progressive values and make sure that we
leave our children and grandchildren a world in which they can flourish. The
right-wing political agenda must be defeated. As, perhaps, the most
progressive member of the Senate, I am also writing to ask for your political
and financial support for my re-election.
Today, actual unemployment is over 15 percent. Median family income has
declined by $2,500 during the last decade and millions of workers are now
forced to work at wages that are lower than they used to earn. (For example,
new employees in the auto industry are now receiving 50 percent less than what
older workers receive). More and more middle-class families are rapidly
descending into poverty as they lose their jobs, their homes, their savings and
their retirement benefits.
Meanwhile, while the middle class disappears and poverty increases, the
wealthiest people in this country and largest corporations are doing extremely
well. Today, the top one percent earns over 20 percent of all income - more
than the bottom 50 percent. Incredibly, the richest 400 individuals in America
own more wealth than the bottom 150 million. And this horrendous gap between
the very rich and everyone else is growing wider every day. While the CEOs on
Wall Street who helped cause this recession are now doing just fine, the rate
of childhood poverty in this country is the highest in the industrialized
world, and continues to grow.
CLICK HERE TO SEE BERNIE DISCUSS DEFICIT REDUCTION & SHARED SACRIFICE
But it's not just unemployment and low wages. Fifty million Americans lack
health insurance, we remain involved in two wars, our infrastructure is
crumbling and we are falling further and further behind other countries in
student achievement and college enrollment. Tragically, we have not passed any
significant legislation to address the planetary crisis of global warming.
Incredibly, despite huge and visible aberrations in weather patterns there is
not even serious discussion that we may be approaching a tipping point which
would impact the future of our planet and the well-being of billions of people.
As you know, many of these issues are coming to a head in the huge and
contentious debate that is currently taking place in Washington over deficit
reduction and raising the debt ceiling. The Republicans, dominated by their
extreme right-wing Tea Party members, have passed one of the cruelest budgets
ever seen in Congress the so-called Ryan budget. Under that plan, Medicare
as we know it would be ended, and there would be massive cuts to Medicaid,
education and childrens needs, environmental protection, nutrition and food
stamps, medical research, affordable housing and virtually every program that
low and moderate Americans depend upon.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that the rich and large corporations are doing very
well and enjoy huge tax breaks, the Republicans are using the issue of raising
the debt ceiling something this nation has done over 80 times, seven of them
under George W. Bush to push their reactionary agenda on the nation. They
are adamant about making sure that the wealthy and powerful do not contribute
one penny more toward deficit reduction. They want all the sacrifices to be
made by the elderly, the children, the sick and the most vulnerable people in
our country. The rich get richer and they receive tax breaks. Working
families get poorer and they receive major cuts in programs they desperately
need. The Defense Department's budget has soared in recent years and they
get more. That's the Republican logic.
I wish I could tell you, in the midst of all of this, that President Obama was
waging the kind of fight against these draconian Republican proposals that the
American people would like to see. He is not. In my view, he is compromising
far too much with right-wing Republicans and is not rallying the American
people around an effective and fair deficit reduction proposal that would
demand that the wealthy and large corporations contribute at least fifty
percent toward deficit reduction, and that there be significant cuts in
military spending as well.
Instead, he is proposing three dollars in cuts to every dollar in increased
revenue and only modest cuts in defense spending. Most incredibly, despite
campaign assurances to the contrary, he has embraced the long-held Republican
dream of making major cuts in Social Security and raising the eligibility age
for Medicare.
Where do we go from here? Please let the President know, by email, phone or
letter, that he must not cut Social Security or raise the eligibility age for
Medicare. Please let him know that the American people will back him if he
demands that corporate America and the wealthy start paying their fair share of
taxes so that we can move to deficit reduction without decimating programs that
working families desperately need.
In terms of my campaign for re-election I am proud that we have already raised
campaign contributions from tens of thousands of Americans from every state in
the country. While these campaign contributions, on average, are small and it
is difficult and expensive to raise funds in this way, I am proud of what we
have achieved so far and the fact that over 34,000 individuals have contributed
to my campaign this cycle. My concern, however, is that the absurd Citizens
United Supreme Court decision has opened the flood gates for special interest
and right-wing money. The Big Money interests that I have vigorously opposed
could throw millions of dollars into Vermont any time they want. And I expect
they will do that. This is why we need to be well-prepared financially and why
I need your help.
These are tough times, but despair is not an option. The fight must continue,
not just for ourselves but for the well-being of future generations and for the
very future of the planet that we inhabit. Together, we WILL defeat the
right-wing threat and their big money backers and we will move this country
forward toward economic and social justice, peace and environmental sanity.
Thank you for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Senator Bernie Sanders
PS: By making a contribution of $50 or more to my re-election campaign,
"Friends of Bernie Sanders," you will receive a signed copy of my book, "The
Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle
Class," which contains the full text of my December 10th, 2010 filibuster. You
can make a contribution by clicking here. The book can also be purchased at
your local book store, or online from Amazon.com. Thank you for your continued
support.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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