Bernie Sanders says Americans back his agenda — and he’s mostly right
At a breakfast in Washington on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dismissed any perception that he's radically outside the American mainstream. Referring to his core campaign positions, he said: "It is not a radical agenda. In virtually every instance, what I'm saying is supported by a significant majority of the American people."
That's a claim worth double-checking. We pulled the key components of his announcement speech and looked at the most recent polling on each to see just how much support Sanders's proposals had. It doesn't take very long before we get mired in the ways polling can fail to capture the nuance of the issue but, spoiler alert: Sanders was generally right.
His positions and the polling on them are below. All positions are quoted verbatim from his Web site.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: At a time when our roads, bridges, water systems, rail and airports are decaying, the most effective way to rapidly create meaningful jobs is to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation which would invest $1 trillion over 5 years to modernize our country’s physical infrastructure.
A Fox News poll from earlier this year would suggest that Americans aren't as enthusiastic about this plan as Sanders thinks. A large majority oppose spending on infrastructure ... if their taxes go up.
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Which, of course, is a giant caveat. Last November, a poll without that qualification showed that Americans "strongly" or "mildly" support infrastructure spending by a wide margin.
https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=
Verdict: America agrees with Sanders, if it doesn't cost them more.
More here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/12/bernie-sanders-says-americans-back-his-agenda-and-hes-mostly-right/
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