Today I step back from the republican circus (sorry folks, no clowns, buffoons or gallows humour in today’s post) to take a look at the two (yes, only two) candidates who are running for president on the democratic ticket this year.  Two candidates as opposed to a dozen or so makes meaningful analysis significantly easier and the fact that both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders actually have political platforms provides a great deal more clarity than I have thus far been able to provide on the republican side.

In terms of experience, both Clinton and Sanders have experience in the federal government, he as a Senator from Vermont (10 years) and previously in the House of Representatives (16 years), she as Secretary of State (4 years) and previously as Senator (8 years).  Though Sanders has more years of experience in federal government, neither are political lightweights.

Both are well-educated, although Clinton takes the lead with a JD from Yale (1973) and a BA from Wellesley (1969), as compared to Sanders’ BS from University of Chicago (1964).

On the issues, there are really only two areas in which they differ:  gun control/regulation, and the role of the U.S. in relation to other nations.  Other than those, while one may feel more strongly than the other on certain issues, they are politically speaking, almost the Bobbsey Twins!  I will tackle the issues that they disagree on in a minute, but first, a brief summary of the issues that they basically agree on:

• Abortion – both are strongly pro-choice
• Legally require hiring women & minorities – both strongly agree
• Support same-sex marriage – both strongly agree
• Keep religion out of government – both agree, though Sanders more strongly
• Support current or higher level of EPA regulations – both agree, she more so than he
• Make voter registration easier – both strongly agree
• Expand ACA (Obamacare) – both strongly agree
• Vouchers for school choice – both strongly disagree
• Prioritize green energy – both strongly agree
• Marijuana is a gateway drug – both disagree, he more strongly than she
• Stimulus better than market-led recovery – both strongly agree
• Higher taxes on the wealthy – both strongly agree
• Pathways to citizenship for immigrants – both agree
• Privatize social security – both strongly disagree
• Support and expand free trade – both disagree, he more strongly than she
• Expand the military – both disagree (to be addressed in a future post)

Since it is my intention in this particular post to inform rather than to opine, I will not dwell on my personal view, but let me just say that in reference to the above issues, I agree with both on every issue save one.  Anybody care to guess which one?

And now on to the two areas of discord:

• Gun Control/Regulation – While Clinton has sworn to “take on” the NRA, Bernie Sanders has voted against the Brady bill, supported allowing guns on Amtrak trains, is against holding gun manufacturers responsible for mass shootings. Sanders does, however, support closing the “loophole” in gun-show purchases, is against “certain types” of semi-automatic weapons and supports stronger, more effective background checks.  Hillary Clinton supports closing the “loophole” in gun-show show purchases, and supports stronger, more effective background checks.  Wait just a minute … and this is the area on which they disagree????  I suspect that Clinton would like to take a stronger anti-gun position but has come to understand that it would be political suicide.
• Avoid foreign entanglements – Bernie Sanders prefers to focus on domestic rather than international issues, stating that we are not “the policeman of the world”. Still, he does acknowledge a need to combat terrorism, though he does not support unilateral actions.  He believes that drone strikes need to be limited, that we should support democracy in China, though not at the expense of U.S. workers, and he rather grudgingly supports the U.N.  He also believes that Putin now regrets his aggressive actions against Crimea and the Ukraine and was simply attempting to salvage Russia’s economy.  Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, favours taking a harder line with Putin, supports a higher level of cooperation with China on issues such as the environment, and is generally more amenable to U.S. intervention in the Middle East, but no surprise there … she was Secretary of State, so I would be quite surprised if she were in favour of curtailing foreign “entanglements”.

My take:

Both Sanders and Clinton support policies that very nearly mirror my own, and obviously each other’s.  Thus far, their campaigns have been relatively civil, peaceful and respectful on the democratic side, with Bernie and Hillary both supporting one another against attacks by the GOP candidates.  I, for one, appreciate that, as negativity in this campaign is counter-productive and demeaning to the voters.  Conversely, the discussion of platforms and agendas enables us to actually hear their views on the issues.  All things being equal, I would be hard pressed to choose between them.  However, all things are not equal and each has his or her Achilles heel.  For Sanders, the Achilles heel is a single word:  socialist.  The masses, misled by the republican party, have opted to focus only on that single word which, taken out of context, means something entirely different than “democratic-socialist”, which is what Sanders is (this will be defined, discussed, and compared in a later post, likely by the end of this week).  At the beginning of this campaign, I believed that the label would render Sanders non-viable as a serious candidate, but it seems that, if Iowa and New Hampshire are reliable indicators, his charisma, his platform, and Hillary’s Achilles heel(s) have helped him to rise above the label.

Hillary Clinton … Ahhhhh … where to begin?  First, there was Benghazi which, while the killings at Benghazi were not her fault, the republicans in Congress did their dandiest to make it an issue that would pull down her ratings during the election season.  Thankfully, they failed in that, making a spectacle only of themselves. But then comes the great “e-mail scandal”!  I cannot predict just yet where this may end up, as there are still too many unknown variables.  My fear, however, is that if she were to win the democratic nomination and then be charged with criminal activity, I am not sure where that would leave the democratic party.  It is the only scenario under which I can actually see Trump being elected president.

In conclusion, I think that either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton are very capable of doing the job of president of the U.S., I think that they are both highly qualified and both have the conscience and values that closely mirror those of most moderates and liberals.  I have not yet decided which one I prefer.  It is probably a good thing, in light of uncertainties regarding Hillary’s situation, that we have another few months before the nominating convention (July).

Disclaimer:  The views and platforms of the candidates have been taken from speeches and advertisements.  As is the case with every politician, their views may vary or alter depending on circumstances, environment, audience, time of day, day of the week, weather, etc.