Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders must win on truthful arguments
Clinton’s campaign is spinning a new lie about guns & Vermont and by inference Bernie Sanders that will likely continue to put her honesty in question. While Hillary Clinton’s and Bernie Sanders’ most dedicated supporters have been much too aggressive, the two campaigns, for the most part, ran on issues.
Here is a reality. So far Hillary Clinton’s more conservative and incremental tact has been winning the day. Why? Big change is hard, uncomfortable, and risky. Many Bernie Sanders supporters found that hard to accept. They reacted with anger instead of simply making the case for change in a more positive and widespread manner. With singular
With the singular focus in recent weeks, the Bernie Sanders’ revolutionaries have done just that, and it has paid off. He won two big states he was supposed to lose, Michigan and Wisconsin, the latter by a wide margin. Sanders won the seven of the last eight contests. Yes, Sanders has momentum.
But it is more than momentum. The message has always resonated. The risk many Democrats feel for voting for him is attenuating. This shows up in the national polls as well. He has closed the gap 49.4%/41.8% substantially. He even led in one.
So far, Clinton has been moving closer to Sanders’ policies, the ones most Americans want. To many it is not good enough and the most recent elections are probative.
How does the Clinton campaign respond? They throw many low blows. They question whether Sanders’ is a real Democrat. As an independent social Democrat, more so than most, Sanders values are the values of the Democratic platform.
Most recently, according to Politico via WCAX,
According to Politico, Clinton on Monday told a private gathering of New York lawmakers that statistics are coming out soon that show many of the guns used by New York criminals come across the border from Vermont. …
Tuesday, Gov. Peter Shumlin, a supporter of Clinton’s, chalked up her comments– in part– to election year rhetoric. “It is campaign season, therefore, things are sometimes said by all the candidates that sometimes aren’t entirely accurate. I would just say this, I think you’d have a hard time convincing Vermonters that New York’s crime problems are coming from Vermont,” said Shumlin, D-Vermont. Shumlin also said that there’s no question that heroin in Vermont comes from out of state and is often brought in by New Yorkers.
U.S. Uncut dispelled that fallacy.
That’s probably because it’s not even close to true.
Out of the 7,686 firearms recovered and traced in New York in 2014, only 55 were first purchased in Vermont, according to the ATF. In 2013, that number was 61 out of 8,539. As such, Vermont accounts for less than 1% of the total guns traced in either year, despite Vermont bordering New York.
Meanwhile, 395 guns were sourced to Virginia in 2014, and 423 in 2013. The New York Times wrote an in-depth report that showed the vast majority of guns used in New York City actually come from Southern states via I-95, in a system they dubbed “The Iron Pipeline.”
Nevertheless, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook repeated the bogus attack on CNN.
It will do well if both candidates stick with the issues and let the voters decide who best represent their values. Lies and distortions on any side will hurt the entire brand.