(Host) Senator Bernie Sanders says Democrats should reject any deficit reduction deal if it cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
Sanders says that would allow Democrats to frame the 2012 election debates.
But as VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports, the Democrats in Vermont’s congressional delegation disagree.
(Kinzel) Sanders says the next few weeks could be a critical time for the Democrats because he says they have an opportunity to develop a clear economic alternative to the Republicans.
But Sanders is worried that the Democrats won’t take advantage of this opportunity.
That’s because a number of Democratic leaders have expressed support for a compromise plan that raises some new revenue and also reforms entitlement programs. Sanders strongly opposes this approach:
(Sanders) "To say on one hand, ‘Yeah, we’re going to ask for sacrifice from millionaires and billionaires but we have to match that with a sacrifice from the children, the elderly, and the sick and the poor’ – no, I do not think that that is a fair equation."
(Kinzel) Sanders thinks the Democrats have a lot to gain if they reject the so called "balanced" approach.
(Sanders) "I think if the Democrats can finally make it clear to the American people that they are on the side of working families and the middle class and are finally going to stand tall in opposition to the big moneyed interests, I think they can win a big victory in November. And in fact, they come up with some serious deficit reduction in a fair and progressive way."
(Kinzel) And Sanders thinks the credibility of the Democratic Party is on the line with this issue.
(Sanders) "We need some social justice in this country. And if the Democrats can’t do that, I think you’re going to have a very dispirited electorate and people are going to say, ‘Hey, what is the difference between these two parties?’"
(Kinzel) Sanders’ opposition to a package of new revenue and entitlement reforms puts him at odds with the other two members of Vermont’s congressional delegation.
Senator Patrick Leahy:
(Leahy) "There’s no way you can look at just revenues or just cuts or just reforms. It has to be all of it."
(Kinzel) And Congressman Peter Welch is part of a bipartisan effort in the House that’s urging the super committee to support a much larger deficit reduction plan using the "balanced" approach.
(Welch) "So you had Democrats acknowledging that all our programs have to be on the table. There are ways in my view that we can do it to totally protect them. But the Republicans acknowledge that revenues have to be part of it. To get from where we are to where we need to be we have to, a) work together; and, b) have everything on the table."
(Kinzel) Sanders will headline a rally on Thursday in Washington that will urge the Super Committee not to cut any benefits for Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid as part of their final deficit reduction plan.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier