Bernie Sanders promises to filibuster if White House proposes ‘piece of crap’

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) warned Friday that President Obama faces turmoil in the Senate and in his reelection campaign if he includes Social Security cuts in any debt-ceiling deal.

The senators said the White House has not communicated effectively to Senate Democrats and they and their rank-and-file colleagues are being frozen out of the process.

“I have talked to some of my colleagues, including some that you might not expect, who say if [White House officials] bring to the Senate a piece of crap that comes down heavy on working families and children and the elderly and they expect me to matter-of-factly vote for it, they’ll have another thing coming,” Sanders said. He added that he would filibuster such a deal.

“I do worry that the White House is misreading the Senate and taking things for granted,” Whitehouse said. “There has not been enough communication to alleviate that potential misreading.”

Sanders wants Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to rule out any benefit cuts, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has done.

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Bernie Sanders To Call For Shared Sacrifice Today At 4:00PM – Sign The Letter

Dear Mr. President,

This is a pivotal moment in the history of our country. Decisions are being made about the national budget that will impact the lives of virtually every American for decades to come. As we address the issue of deficit reduction we must not ignore the painful economic reality of today – which is that the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing. In fact, the United States today has, by far, the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth.

Everyone understands that over the long-term we have got to reduce the deficit – a deficit that was caused mainly by Wall Street greed, tax breaks for the rich, two wars, and a prescription drug program written by the drug and ins ur ance com panies. It is absolutely imperative, however, that as we go forward with deficit reduction we completely reject the Republican approach that demands savage cuts in desperately-needed programs for working families, the elderly, the sick, our children and the poor, while not asking the wealthiest among us to contribute one penny.

Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share. At least 50 percent of any deficit reduction package must come from revenue raised by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and eliminating tax loopholes that benefit large, profitable corporations and Wall Street financial institutions. A sensible deficit reduction package must also include significant cuts to unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon spending.

Please do not yield to outrageous Republican demands that would greatly increase suffering for the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. Now is the time to stand with the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to survive economically, not with the millionaires and billiona ires who have never had it so good.

Respectfully,
Sen. Bernie Sanders

Sign the letter

Bernie Sanders to Make Major Budget Address

“Don’t yield, Mr. President,” Bernie said after congressional Republicans walked out of budget talks on Thursday. Bernie announced plans for a major speech on Monday. A member of the Senate Budget Committee, he says at least half the reduction in red ink must come from new revenue from the wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations. “The budget must not be balanced on the backs of working families, the elderly, the sick and the poor while the wealthiest people laugh all the way to the bank,” he said. Shared sacrifice is his term for asking as much from the millionaires as from the millions of Americans. He talked about the White House role at this pivotal moment during an interview with Cenk Uygur. “The American people have got to chime in very loudly and say, ‘Hey Mr. President, stand with us and be prepared to take on the big money interests and we’ll be at your back.”
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