Why does Bernie Sanders continue to avoid a foreign policy platform? (Guardian)

[DanTex]

Bernie Sanders did not want to run a campaign on foreign policy. Now, after the attacks in Paris, he has to.

It’s clear that Sanders would rather focus on his longtime hobby horse: political revolution and class-based economics. “I understand there are some who think that because of this attack we no longer have the capability to address the collapse of the American middle class. I disagree,” Sanders said in a speech in Cleveland on Monday night. “Our country and the world can and will defeat Isis and at the same time, we will rebuild our disappearing middle class.”

...

The senator’s lack of interest in foreign policy, long apparent, has never been more problematic than in the days following the deadly terror attacks in Paris. But it is not terribly surprising. After all, he’s been side-stepping criticism for his lack of foreign policy bona fides for the first eight months of his campaign.

Until September, Sanders didn’t even have a foreign policy page on his campaign website. And when his office blasted out a press release several days ahead of the first Democratic debate under the banner “Sanders foreign policy experience”, the contents focused exclusively on his vote not to go to war in Iraq, and offered no other policy-making insights.

...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/17/bernie-sanders-foreign-policy-platform-lacking

[riversedge]

1. "Until September, Sanders didn’t even have a foreign policy page on his campaign website"

This will get him only so far. We have to deal with the present--and the future.


.....Until September, Sanders didn’t even have a foreign policy page on his campaign website. And when his office blasted out a press release several days ahead of the first Democratic debate under the banner “Sanders foreign policy experience”, the contents focused exclusively on his vote not to go to war in Iraq, and offered no other policy-making insights. ...........

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. Are you suggesting that a senator from a rural and homogeneous state might have an...

Are you suggesting that a senator from a rural and homogeneous state might have an outlook that can be fairly described as provincial?

[NCTraveler]

3. It's very clear from the debate over the weekend...

That Sanders isn't familiar with the countries in the ME, their leaders, or the issues facing them today. I really don't think it is going to hurt him with his supporters in any way. Many of them are truly isolationists of the Paul bent.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Isolationism is a recognized school of thought...

If the Vermont independent believes the United States should pursue an isolationist policy which would include removing the military personnel we have in one hundred thirty stations and what that would entail he should say so and it explain it to the American people.

[NCTraveler]

7. I don't think that is Sanders belief as much as about half of his support.

I have stated my beliefs in this area before here. About half of Sanders support is from what were Kucinich supporters in previous elections. They are some of the best supporters the party has. Truly an excellent group of people overall. The second half of Sanders support is from disillusioned Paul supporters. Yes, that is pretty fucking far disillusioned. This group is supporting Sanders because they believe he will be economics or bust at best, cripple the economy at worst. They believe it is necessary to create change. Those are the isolationists. They are here on this board.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. Nature abhors a vacuum.

If the United States retreats from the world some other power will occupy the space it has left.

[Chan790]

16. Good. Let them.

It's been a sucker's bet and a honeypot trap for three millennia. It has run-down and brought low every nation that didn't voluntarily abandon the global hegemonic role. Let's get off the rat-wheel before we run ourselves to death.

The best thing to be is the most-powerful nation not exercising a robust global authority. Let China or Russia fuck themselves over by stepping into the gap...we'll refocus domestically and thrive.

[Cha]

4. Yeah, too bad there's so much more going on when you're POTUS than one issue that you've

"been honing for years".

[bigtree]

5. or make a major speech outlining his policy intentions?

Martin O'Malley speech to the Truman National Security Project, June 2015 - 30 days after he announced.

...maybe we'll hear part of a speech today.

Senator Sanders on Democratic Socialism and Defeating ISIS live at 2 PM EST on C-SPAN.org
http://www.c-span.org/video/?400961-1/senator-bernie-sanders-address-democratic-socialism

[NurseJackie]

10. Just thirty days? Well *obviously* he rushed through it and just phoned-it-in.

Did anyone check to see how much of it was cribbed from Wikipedia? If he was thoughtful and deliberate like Bernie, he'd still be working on it. After all, being a candidate is hard work.<winky>

[bahrbearian]

9. To have any Foreign Policy credentials you have to have helped plan at least 1 War or 1 Coop

Last edited Thu Nov 19, 2015, 03:18 PM - Edit history (1)

[William769]

11. Kick & highly recommended!

[mcar]

12. A definite problem

Presidents must deal with all manner of issues, not just one.

[Alfresco]

13. Today's excellent speech by Hillary will force him to respond.

We shall see how well he does.

[HerbChestnut]

14. I doubt many in this thread will care

But Bernie's been talking about foreign policy a lot lately. If you ***DID. YOUR. RESEARCH.*** you would know this. He just did a 30 minute interview with Katie Couric where they talked about foreign policy at length.

[Chan790]

15. I'm going to go out of a limb here...

and say "It's probably because he's slightly-isolationist and has no real intentions of having much of an administration focus on foreign policy. He's running to spend 8 years not fighting wars, not being globalists, not negotiating FTAs, focusing on domestic issues and infrastructure."

That's just a guess.

For such a candidate, the question makes as much sense as Why doesn't Clinton have a platform on scaling down the defense budget?

[leftofcool]

17. He doesn't need one.

All he has to do is control climate change and that will stop all those terrorists attacks.