Sen. Bernie Sanders reacts as Hillary Clinton speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, December 19, 2015. (Richard Perry / The New York Times)
Hillary Clinton just released a new ad characterizing an unnamed Bernie Sanders as an idealist pipe-dreamer whose ideas will “never make it in the real world”:
The American people can’t afford to wait for ideas that sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world … The grandmother who has to choose between paying for medicine and paying rent can’t wait. The single mom who desperately needs a raise can’t wait. The student with a mountain of debt can’t wait. We can make real progress right now.
Here is the truth: Congress is corrupted by both Republican and Democratic politicians who enjoy profitable, personal relationships with the corporations they pass legislation to help: in investments, campaign donations, lobbying, legislative help (like policy writing), and sometimes even employment.
In return, these politicians give more than $1 billion every year – some of them yours – in tax breaks, subsidies, grants, loans and the allowance of offshore tax havens, to the wealthy corporations often donating to their campaigns and lobbying them in Washington.
In other words, Congress is “rewarding [corporations] for ripping us off,” because Congress is profiting, too.