Tonight, Senator Bernie Sanders said that the next president–in his opinion, him–should get to appoint our next Supreme Court nominee. This sounds an awful lot like Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is undermining President Obama’s effort to place Judge Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court and tip the balance of the court in a more progressive direction for years to come. Why does Senator Sanders keep opposing President Obama?
WATCH HERE
During the debate, Sen. Sanders said this, in response to a question about President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court: “Obviously I will strongly support that nomination as a member of the Senate. But, if elected president, I would ask the president to withdraw that nomination…”
But that’s not the first time he disagreed with President Obama. Check out his record:
Huffington Post: Bernie Sanders In 2013: ‘I’m Not Obama’s Biggest Fan’
POLITICO: Sanders critiques
Yahoo: Black Democrats question Sanders’ commitment to Obama
POLITICO: Bernie Sanders questions
NBC News: Sanders: Obama Hasn’t Closed ‘Presidential Leadership Gap’
Washington Post: Obama’s former aides take on Bernie Sanders — via Twitter
Bloomberg: Obama Insiders Say Clinton, Not Sanders, Is His Natural Heir
Bernie Sanders has been perhaps one of the strongest critics of President Obama in the Democratic caucus.
The Sanders campaign stood by Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of the book. [CNN, 1/30/16]
BLOCKED NOMINEES
Bernie Sanders Opposed President Obama’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration. [The Hill ,1/12/16]
Bernie Sanders joined Republicans in opposing the nomination of John Brennan as CIA Director over concerns about the Obama administration’s drone policy. [Washington Post, 3/7/13]
Bernie Sanders voted against Timothy Geithner becoming President Obama’s Treasury Secretary. [Associated Press, 1/27/09]
Bernie Sanders objected to Gary Gensler’s nomination to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. [The Baltimore Sun, 5/4/09]
Bernie Sanders blocked Senate confirmation of a nominee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to protest a secret NRC vote halting the closure of a Vermont nuclear power plant. [Sanders news release, 6/27/11]
Bernie Sanders said he would attempt to block the Senate from reappointing Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve. [International Herald Tribune, 12/4/09]
AT ODDS ON GUN CONTROL
Politicizing Gun Control
Obama, after Oregon shooting in October: “Well, this is something we should politicize.” [“Statement by the President on the Shootings at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Oregon,” 10/1/15]
Bernie Sanders, on closing the Charleston loophole: “I hope we don’t have to politicize that issue.” [NBC, 1/17/16]
Obama Called for Research into Gun Violence, Sanders has Opposed
Obama criticized Congress for voting “to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research into gun violence.” [President Barack Obama, 1/5/16]
Bernie Sanders voted to cut funding to public gun violence research. [H.Amdt. 1256 to H R 3755, Vote #302, 7/11/96; Congressional Record, page H7281, 7/11/96]
Obama Condemned Liability Protections for Gun Makers That Sanders Supported
President Obama criticized the gun lobby’s successful push to protect manufacturers from liability lawsuits. [President Obama Opinion, NY Times, 1/7/16]
Sanders voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) which, “shields gun makers and dealers from most liability when their firearms are used criminally.” [Slate, 5/6/15, House Roll Call 534, 10/20/05; CQ Vote Report: House Vote 124, 4/9/03]
OPPOSED TRADE POLICY
Bernie Sanders said he “strongly object[s]” to “scapegoating” of low-income people on welfare. [Bloomberg, 8/6/15]
Bernie Sanders blamed Barack Obama for widening inequality, saying that he was “not strong enough on many issues,” including being “wrong on the trade issue, dead wrong.” [Wonkblog, WaPo, 7/16/15]
CRITIC OF “OBAMA ECONOMY”
New York Post headline: “Bernie Sanders is making the Republican case against the Obama economy.” [New York Post, 9/17/15]
Sanders: “Since the Great Recession Of 2008, the African American community has fallen back even further economically.” [EBONY, 10/5/15]
Bernie Sanders blamed Barack Obama for widening inequality, saying that he was “not strong enough on many issues,” including being “wrong on the trade issue, dead wrong.” [Wonkblog, WaPo, 7/16/15]
Bernie Sanders called President Obama “wrong” on trade. [PBS, 7/21/15]
Bernie Sanders led the opposition to President Obama’s push to implement chained C.P.I. to Social Security. [New Yorker, 10/12/15]
FILIBUSTERED TAX COMPROMISE
Bernie Sanders held the floor for nearly 9 hours in opposition to President Obama’s proposed bipartisan tax compromise. [LA Times,12/10/10]
CRITIC OF FOREIGN POLICY
Bernie Sanders opposed President Obama’s request for a resolution authorizing U.S. military action against ISIS. [Sanders statement, 2/11/15]
Bernie Sanders formerly opposed authorization of a program to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. [New York Times, 9/19/14; CNN, 9/30/14; H J Res. 124, Vote #270, 9/18/14]
- Bernie Sanders: “I voted against that resolution a couple of weeks ago because I do not want to see the United States get involved in another quagmire in the Middle East.” [CNN, 9/30/15]
Sanders campaign: “Sanders on Friday expressed concern about President Barack Obama’s decision to dispatch U.S. special operations forces to Syria to help battle the Islamic State.” [Sanders statement, 10/30/15]
Bernie Sanders opposed the “surge” in Afghanistan saying, “I’ve got a real problem about expanding this war.” [ABC, 11/29/09]
Bernie Sanders on U.S. intervention in Libya: “I’m not quite sure we need a third war, and I hope the president tells us that our troops will be leaving there, that our military action in Libya will be ending very, very shortly.” [Fox News, 3/28/11]
Bernie Sanders accused President Obama of violating the War Powers Act by engaging in unauthorized military action in Libya for longer than 90 days. [Seven Days, June 22, 2011 – June 29, 2011]
NUMEROUS ANTI-OBAMA CAMPAIGN SURROGATES
Cornel West
Bernie Sanders has made a top surrogate out of noted Obama critic Cornel West. [MSNBC, 11/10/15]
Obama-critic Cornel West campaigned with Sanders in South Carolina. [Washington Post, 9/12/15]
Larry Cohen
Sanders Advisor and former CWA President Larry Cohen said of Obama that “the words uttered during a primary campaign bear little resemblance to presidential policies.” [Larry Cohen, Democracy Daily, Bernie 2016, 1/6/16]
CRITIC OF EFFORTS TO COMPROMISE WITH REPUBLICANS
Bernie Sanders criticized Obama for trying to compromise with Republicans. [Face the Nation, CBS, 7/12/15]
Bernie Sanders said Barack Obama made a mistake when he tried to “negotiate some fair compromises” with Republicans. [Bernie Sanders on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” 7/12/15]
Bernie Sanders criticized Barack Obama for trying, “time after time […] to work out agreements,” saying that that behavior causes the American people to “lose faith in politics.” [The Progressive, 11/13]
Bernie Sanders opposed Obama administration’s proposed deficit-reduct deal, saying it was ‘not only grossly unfair,’ but also ‘bad economic policy.’ [Sanders statement, 8/1/11]
- Bernie Sanders led the opposition to President Obama’s push to implement chained C.P.I. to Social Security. [New Yorker, 10/12/15]
ACCUSED OF ABANDONING 2008 MASS MOVEMENT
Bernie Sanders: President Obama abandoned the movement that brought him to the White House. [Politico, 6/1/15]