Writing that, "If elected, (Hillary) Clinton will be another 'war president' at a time when America urgently needs peace," The Nation magazine has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president. It's a good choice.
In an editorial in the current (Feb. 8) issue, the liberal magazine said Sanders "inspired working people across the country" by his call for a "political revolution" whose essentials include single-payer health care, tuition-free college, a $15-an-hour minimum wage, the breaking up of the big banks, and requiring the rich to pay their fair share of taxes.
The magazine pointed out that in the crucial area of foreign policy Ms. Clinton backed President Bush's 2002 invasion of Iraq, (which she later admitted was a mistake) and was a "leading advocate" for the overthrow of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. This action, The Nation continued, "Left behind a failed state that provides ISIS with an alternative base."
What's more, Ms. Clinton "supported calls for the United States to help oust Bashar al-Assad in Syria, an approach that has added fuel to a horrific civil war." To make matters worse, "She now advocates a confrontation with Russia in Syria by calling for no-fly zone," The Nation says.
By contrast, the editorial endorsement says that Sanders was "An opponent of the Iraq War from the start" and is a candidate who criticizes the notion of 'regime change' and "the presumption that America alone must police the world."
Concerning electability, The Nation contrasts "the huge crowds" at the Sanders rallies with "the modest audiences at Clinton's campaign stops."Galvanized by his demands for economic and social justice, hundreds of thousands of Americans have packed (the Sanders rallies, and over 1 million small donors have helped his campaign shatter fund-raising records while breaking the stranglehold of corporate money."
"He has summoned the people to a 'political revolution,' arguing that the changes our country so desperately needs can only happen when we wrest our democracy back from the corrupt grip of Wall Street bankers and billionaires," the magazine editorial said. "We believe such a revolution is not only possible but necessary---and that's why we're endorsing Bernie Sanders for president."
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(Sherwood Ross, a former civil rights activist and wire service correspondent, is a Miami,Florida-based public relations consultant for good causes.)
Sherwood Ross worked as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News and contributed a regular "Workplace" column for Reuters. He has contributed to national magazines and hosted a talk show on WOL, Washington, D.C. In the Sixties he was active as public (
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