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Sanders responds to Warren claim he fails to get things done with two-minute list of things he got done

Elizabeth Warren calls Sanders ‘a senator who has good ideas but whose 30-year track record shows he consistently calls for things he fails to get done’

Chris Baynes
Tuesday 03 March 2020 12:53 GMT
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Bernie Sanders responds to claims he fails to get things done

Bernie Sanders has rejected accusations he is unable to turn his policies into action, responding to claims he “fails” to get things done by listing his political achievements for two minutes.

During a CNN interview on Monday, presenter Anderson Cooper challenged the veteran Vermont senator to respond to criticism from his Democratic presidential rival Elizabeth Warren.

Mr Sanders is “a senator who has good ideas but whose 30-year track record shows he consistently calls for things he fails to get done and consistently opposes things he nevertheless fails to stop,” Ms Warren said last week during a campaign event in Houston.

Mr Sanders said he “would respectfully disagree with Senator Warren” before launching into a list that he claimed proved her wrong.

He pointed to Amazon and Disney raising workers’ wages after he called for a minimum wage of $15 (£12) an hour, a rate that seven US states have also now adopted — although some Sanders campaign staffers have complained they earn less.

Mr Sanders added he had helped pass ”the most significant veterans’ bill” of recent history, put $11bn (£8.6bn) for community health centres into the Affordable Care Act, and force the US to end its involvement in the war in Yemen.

He suggested his calls for free university tuition had instigated “states, cities, counties moving in exactly that direction”, and claimed his focus on the climate emergency during the 2016 Democratic primaries had helped put the issue on the map.

Mr Sanders said he was “proud of his record”, which involved “year after year” passing more roll call amendments than any other member of the House of Representatives.

The socialist senator is leading in polls going into Super Tuesday, although there are signs former vice president Joe Biden may be closing the gap following the withdrawal of fellow moderate Pete Buttigieg.

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