Sanders’ speech at Georgetown.
[S]en. Bernie Sanders demystified democratic socialism in a speech Thursday, pointing to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a colleague of conviction who believed in an economic bill of rights and promoted programs labeled “socialist.”
FDR “combated cynicism, fear and despair,” Sanders told a receptive crowd of mostly students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. “He reinvigorated democracy, he transformed our country, and that is exactly what we have to do today.
“And by the way,” Sanders added, “almost everything he proposed — almost every program, every idea he introduced — was called socialist.”
Sanders mentioned a number of elements from Roosevelt’s proposed economic bill of rights in his remarks, including the rights to a decent job with decent pay, adequate food and clothing and time off work.
The long-anticipated talk was intended to dispel concerns some Americans have about what Sanders means when he uses the term “democratic socialism,” but he acknowledged the attacks would likely continue.
“The next time you hear me attacked as a Socialist — like tomorrow — remember this,” Sanders said. “I don’t believe government should take over the grocery store down the street or own the means of production.”
In addition to FDR, Sanders also invoked President Lyndon Johnson’s push for Medicare, Martin Luther King Jr.’s war on poverty and Pope Francis’ condemnation of greed and wealth as examples of policy ideas that are no more “radical” that what he has proposed.
The Democratic presidential hopeful listed nations that have adopted socialist policies he supports, going beyond Scandinavian countries to include Canada, France and Germany, among others.
“All over the world, countries have made the determination that all their people are entitled to health care,” Sanders said to applause.
Much of Sanders’ hour-long talk included policy proposals from his usual stump speech. He spoke about the need to offer free public education, raise the minimum wage and offer more paid family and medical leave. He tweaked his signature lines some, introducing many of his proposals with the words “Democratic socialism means to me …”
For example, he said :“Democratic socialism means me to that our government does everything it can to create a full employment economy.”
The Sanders campaign first announced the Vermont senator would make a major speech on democratic socialism in October, but remained hazy on details. Over the past few weeks, advisers have brushed off any talk about the speech, and Politico reported Tuesday that the talk was “postponed indefinitely because Sanders has not yet finished writing the high-risk speech, or agreed that he is ready to deliver it.”
A few hours later, on Wednesday, spokesman Michael Briggs blasted out a news release announcing that a speech would go forward Thursday outlining a “vision for creating an American future based on economic and social justice.”
Sanders, who is notorious for his insistence on writing every speech, brought a stack of papers to the podium before more than 700 people at Gaston Hall, a venue where international dignitaries including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former President Bill Clinton have delivered important remarks.
Sanders’ insistence that he is a democratic socialist has complicated his campaign from the start, with some connecting socialism to communism and authoritarian policies in Cold War Russia or China.
In the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas, moderator Anderson Cooper openly asked “How can any kind of Socialist win a general election in the United States?”
“We’re going to win, because first we’re going to explain what democratic socialism is,” Sanders responded.
