Meteor Blades — Sanders invokes FDR, LBJ, and Martin Luther King Jr. to define his version of 'democratic socialism'

Going on the offensive after being tarred as a self-identified "socialist." Bernie should have called himself a social democrat (opposed to neoliberalism) from the get-go. Now he is stuck with bad branding. Amateurish politically.

So let me define for you, simply and straightforwardly, what democratic socialism means to me. [Come on Bernie, "social democracy."] It builds on what Franklin Delano Roosevelt said when he fought for guaranteed economic rights for all Americans. And it builds on what Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1968 when he stated that; “This country has socialism for the rich, and rugged individualism for the poor.” It builds on the success of many other countries around the world that have done a far better job than we have in protecting the needs of their working families, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor.

Democratic socialism means that we must create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy.

Democratic socialism means that we must reform a political system in America today which is not only grossly unfair but, in many respects, corrupt. [...]

In my view, it’s time we had democratic socialism for working families, not just for Wall Street, billionaires and large corporations. It means that we should not be providing welfare for corporations, it means we should not be providing huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country, or trade policies which boost corporate profits as workers lose their jobs. It means that we create a government that works for works for all of us, not just powerful special interests. It means that economic rights must be an essential part of what America stands for.

It means that health care should be a right of all people, not a privilege.

He seems to be stuck on the individualism versus socialism thing.

Daily Kos
Sanders invokes FDR, LBJ, and Martin Luther King Jr. to define his version of 'democratic socialism'

Meteor Blades