__
Yes, yes, of course: Reasonable people differ… shrill… not helpful to attack natural allies… coalition of one… changing government is haaaard, etc. But I’m glad there’s still one brave person standing up and yelling at the clouds floating between his fellow Congresscritters’ ears:
As the debate over deficits ramped up in Washington on Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders laid out the compelling case not to slash programs for working families. Any deficit reduction package must rely on new revenue for at least half the reduction in red ink, he added in a major address in the Senate. Sanders spoke at length about what caused deficits (wars, Wall Street bailouts, tax breaks for the rich) and how to shrink them (more revenue from the wealthiest Americans to match spending cuts). He urged fellow senators not to yield to Republican congressional leaders who “acted like schoolyard bullies” when they walked out of budget negotiations. He summed up the situation in a letter to the president that had been signed by more than 16,000 people by the time he completed his speech.
__
Sign the letter »
Transcript of Sanders’ full 90-minute speech is up at his website. (I’m imagining John Quincy Adams, another Congressional pest with a penchant for unpopular opinions, applauding from his seat in Valhalla.) Signature count stands at 60,508 as I type this, and there are Facebook / Tweet link buttons, too.