Sanders and Clinton on the Major Issues

Compiled as a public service by a supporter of Bernie Sanders. Chris Landry 4/11/16 (v15).

ISSUE

BERNIE SANDERS

HILLARY CLINTON

NOTES

REPUBLICANS

WALL STREET VS. MAIN STREET

MINIMUM WAGE

Supports raising to
$15.

Supports raising to
$12.

$12/hr = $24,960 for a full-time worker before taxes. $15/hr

= $31,200.

Keep as is.

2001 BANKRUPTCY

Opposed.

Voted for.

Hillary Clinton opposed such legislation during Bill Clintons

presidency but voted for it as senator.

Voted for.

TARP WALL ST
BAILOUT

Voted against the bill.

Voted for.

Sanders voted against it because it did not address too big

to fail and it did not have enough oversight.

Voted for.

BREAK UP BIGGEST

For.

Against.

Between 2001 and 2014 Bill Clinton earned more than $5

million from UBS, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America,
Deutsche Bank, and Barclays Capital.

Against.

For.

Against.

BILL

BANKS
REINSTATEMENT OF
GLASS- STEAGALL

Against.
Of the nearly $10 million Hillary Clinton earned in lecture
fees in 2013 alone, about $1.6 million came from Goldman
Sachs, UBS, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and
Deutsche Bank.

Repeal of this 1933 law in

1998 is blamed in part for the
financial crisis of 2007-08.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Wants to expand by
raising amount of
income subject to
payroll tax.

Wants to protect it, is

not yet sure the best
way to do so.

Clinton has hinted at means testing (most recently in the

debate on 2/11/16), which Democrats have always seen as
the beginning of the end of Social Security, because it turns
it into a welfare program vulnerable to attack.

Privatize and/or
raise retirement
age.

COLLEGE TUITION

Wants public college

tuition to be free,
paid for by a tax on
Wall St speculation.

Would provide more

federal aid to states.

Both want the government to no longer make a profit from

student loans.

No plans to help
students.

1996 WELFARE

Voted against, calling

it an assault on the
poor, women and
children, minorities,
and immigrants.

Supported the bill

and wanted a formal
role inpassing it.

98% of Republicans voted for the bill, 85% of Democrats

voted against it. Its author was Republican presidential
candidate John Kasich. Hillarys support of it caused a
break with Childrens Defense Fund founder Marion Wright
Edelman, who said they were no longer friends in politics.

Voted for.

REFORM

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT

KXL PIPELINE

Opposed.

Supported as
Secretary of State,
came out against in
September, 2015.

The Huffington Post reported that Nearly all of the lobbyists

bundling contributions for Democratic presidential candidate
Hillary Clintons campaign have at one time or another
worked for the fossil fuel industry.

Support.

OFFSHORE DRILLING

Opposes.

Supported until
December, 2015.

Campaigning in NH, Hillary said she would not oppose

fossil fuel extraction on public lands.

Support.

FRACKING

Opposes.

Supports.

Clinton encouraged fracking around the world as Secretary

of State and is taking money from fracking interests.

Support.

PRICE ON CARBON

Supports.

No public position.

The candidates have big differences on climate policy.

Oppose.

HEALTH CARE AS A HUMAN RIGHT

AFFORDABLE CARE
ACT

Wants single payer

but amended ACA to
fund Community
Health Centers and
voted for the bill.

Supports universal
coverage but with
private insurance, not
single payer.

MARIJUANA

Supports right of
states to legalize.

Would reclassify to a
lower legal category.

Clinton has taken in roughly $13.2 million in campaign

contributions from the health sector. Since 2013 she has
received $2.8 million in speaking fees from the industry.

Oppose.

No change.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
IRAQ WAR

Voted against.

Voted for.

Voted for.

MILITARY SPENDING

Supports reduced
spending.

Has not called for

reduced spending.

No cuts.

REGIME CHANGE

Opposes illegal
regime change by
the United States.

Has supported
regime change in at
least six countries.

Read this article and this one, both by Jeffrey Sachs, to

learn more about Clintons positions on war and regime
change.

Support.

TRANS-PACIFIC

Opposes.

Supported until
October, 2015. Now
opposes but only in
its current form.

Clinton advocated for the TPP 45 times as Secretary of

State, now says she is against it. Read here and here for
why TPP is opposed by unions and environmental groups
and here and here on why her TPP stand is not credible.

Support.

Supported regimes in
Colombia and
elsewhere as Bill and
their foundation were
given more than $100
million.

There were at least 13 occasions worth $2.5 million

when Bill Clinton received a speaking fee from corporations
or trade groups that were at the time engaged in lobbying at
the State Department while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of
State. Regimes in Colombia and Haiti and elsewhere have
been direct beneficiaries of her policies. Read this for more.

PARTNERSHIP

LOBBYING AND
CONFLICT OF
INTEREST

CIVIL LIBERTIES
Voted against.

Voted for.

Voted for.

DOMESTIC SPYING

Opposes.

Supports.

Support.

REPRODUCTIVE

100% rating from

Planned Parenthood.

100% rating from

Planned Parenthood.

PATRIOT ACT 2001

AND 2006

RIGHTS

Clinton has been a leader in introducing legislation to

protect & expand access to reproductive health care.
Sanders believes all decisions are between a woman and
her doctor, not government.

Oppose.

CIVIL RIGHTS
SAME SEX MARRIAGE

Spoke out in support

in 2009.

Opposed same-sex
marriage in 2008 run,
changed her position
in 2013.

Sanders was one of the few in Congress who voted against

DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) in 1996. Clinton supported
DOMA until at least 2008. Watch this excellent Rachel
Maddows segment for more on this topic.

Oppose.

IMMIGRATION

In favor of expanding
Obamas action on
immigration.

Supports Obamas
action on immigration

Read here and here on their immigration differences.

Want to limit
severely.

RACIAL JUSTICE

Supports affirmative
action and restoring
the Voting Rights Act
and would appoint
Justices in support.
Does not support
reparations

Supports affirmative
action and restoring
the Voting Rights Act
and would appoint
Justices in support.
Does not support
reparations

Clinton supported the 1994 crime bill (which Sanders voted

for) and the 1996 welfare reform bill that disproportionally
hurt black families without helping them out of poverty.
The Clinton campaign brought up the 1960s, so here are
the facts. Sanders was active in CORE by 1961 and was
arrested in 1963 for protesting segregation. Hillary Clinton
supported the segregationist Goldwater (whom MLK called
morally indefensible) in 1964 and went to the Republican
convention in 1968 as a volunteer for Rockefeller at the
same time she was also supporting McCarthy.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
DEATH PENALTY

Opposes.

Supports.

Support.

GUNS

Supports instant
background checks
and control of assault
rifles. Has voted
against Brady bill.

Supports instant
background checks
and control of assault
rifles.

Sanders has changed his position and now opposes

immunity to gun manufacturers and distributors. Clinton
described herself as a pro-gun churchgoer in 2008
campaign.

Oppose Brady
bill.

PRIVATELY RUN
PRISONS

Opposes.

Opposes as of
October, 2015.

Under pressure from Black Lives Matter and others, Clinton

officially cut ties with the prison industry but still raises
campaign money from industry lobbyists.

Support.

MONEY IN POLITICS
PAC MONEY

$20,000. Opposes
Super PACs.

Approaching $1
billion

Clinton campaign is raising huge amounts from

corporations with significant issues at stake.

SPEECHES

Made $1,867 for

three appearances in
2015.

The Clintons have

been paid $153
million for speeches
to corporations and
trade associations.

Read about the Clintons fundraising in this Washington

Post article and this NY Review of Books article.