Sanders Campaign Press Release - Sanders' Record vs. Clinton's Rhetoric

SOUTH BOSTON, Mass. – Contrasting his record and her rhetoric, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday laid out key differences with Hillary Clinton in their contest for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

"People need to know the difference between hastily-adopted campaign rhetoric and the real record and long-held ideas of the candidates," Sanders said during a news conference at a labor union hall. He spelled out differences with Clinton on trade policy and talked about the difference between his people-powered campaign and her Wall Street-bankrolled Super PAC.

He called for overturning the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United. The disastrous 2010 decision led to creation of super PACs, like Clinton's Priorities USA, which take unlimited sums from millionaires and billionaires. There is what Sanders called "a very profound difference" between his campaign – funded by more than 4 million individual donations averaging $27 apiece – and Clinton's super PAC, which in the last half of 2015 raised $25 million from powerful special interests including $15 million from Wall Street.

"Now I know that every candidate who has ever received special-interest money always says that the millions of dollars they receive will never influence them. Never, never, never. Well, Americans need to ask a simple question. If these contributions from powerful special interests have no influence over the candidates, why are they making huge campaign contributions?" Sanders asked.

On trade, Sanders welcomed Clinton's new-found resistance to a proposed Pacific Rim trade deal but noted that she was sympathetic to it in the past and favored other bad trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement. The trade pacts promoted by multi-national corporations have contributed to the shutdown of 60,000 U.S. factories and resulted in the loss of good-paying jobs in the United States. While Clinton may have shifted stands recently, Sanders noted that Thomas Donahue, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, predicted she would do another about-face and support the business-backed deal if she wins the White House.

At the same news conference, Sanders was endorsed by People's Politics, a grassroots group that fights for racial and economic justice.

"I hold many identities within me," Maria Elena Letona, executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts Action, said. "I am an Afro-Latina, immigrant, woman. Like me, no one in our country is simply one thing. The crisis we face today is complex. We need a leader who won't separate economic inequality from the fight to end racism. We need a leader who represents us as a whole people. The promise of Bernie Sanders' campaign is that the political revolution is big enough for all of us."

Organizations with leaders participating in People's Politics include Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts Action, Maine People's Alliance, Vocal-N.Y. Action Fund, Community Voices Heard Power of New York and SouthWest Organizing Project Action of New Mexico. Organizations with leaders in People's Politics who have already endorsed Sanders include The Reclaim Campaign/The People's Lobby of Illinois, Rights and Democracy of Vermont and New Hampshire and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action, have already endorsed Sanders bid for the White House.

Sanders flew to Massachusetts for the news conference here and a rally in Amherst after campaigning in South Carolina, where Democrats vote on Saturday. Voters in Massachusetts and 11 other states hold caucuses or go to the polls in one week on Super Tuesday.