Biden Highlights Sanders Mixed Record on Guns, Party Loyalty

[left-of-center2012]

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden took the chance to highlight Bernie Sanders’ history of votes in favor of the gun industry Thursday, an issue that’s one of Sanders’ biggest vulnerabilities with progressive voters. Asked if the Vermont senator’s public change of heart on the issue was genuine, Biden said he believed it was, but then offered a reminder of some of the votes Sanders has taken that aligned him with the National Rifle Association.

“I think Bernie has made his verbal amends for his record on guns,” Biden told reporters during a brief stop at a Dairy Queen in Pella, Iowa. “I think, you know, the fact he gave the gun manufacturers an exemption that no other industry in the world -- in the United States has, I think he regrets having done that,” Biden said. “It was in a campaign in Vermont, in a tough race for the Senate although, anyway,” stopping himself before digging deeper into the dynamics of decades-old state politics.

Sanders voted against five versions of what ultimately became the 1993 Brady Bill, which created the U.S. gun-buying background check system and a waiting period for gun purchases. In 2005, he voted in favor of granting gun manufacturers immunity in lawsuits involving violent crimes committed with guns. But Sanders has also cast several votes in favor of the assault weapons ban and other gun laws.

Biden was not so generous when it came to Sanders’ party affiliation. Pressed on his differences with the senator, he brought up Sanders’ refusal to fully embrace the Democratic Party. “I’m a Democrat,” he said. “He’s not a registered Democrat to the best of my knowledge.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-31/biden-highlights-sanders-mixed-record-on-guns-party-loyalty?srnd=premium

[Thekaspervote]

1. +1000

[ritapria]

2. Joe Please Get Your Facts Straight

Bernie did not sell out to the NRA because he was in a "tough race" for the Senate in 2006 .... Bernie won that race by a 2-1 margin ..He was re-elected in 2012 with 71% of the vote .. Bernie was re-elected in 2018 with 67% of the vote .. … Third Way and their stooges in the media never inform their readers about his massive popularity in his home state ..… That doesn't fit their narrative that Bernie is going to get crushed in the general against Trump ...Bernie gets a BIG Chunk of the Republican Vote in Vermont …. Once he got elected. to statewide office in 1990 , he turned a Presidential Red State blue …… .. Populism ….Try it … You'll Like it ..

[TomCADem]

3. Biden Has Been Trying to Be Positive, While Bernie Has Been Playing Dirty

Bernie has been ruthlessly attacking opponents from the get-go, and it was a mistake to try to avoid hitting Bernie's record. Bernie repeatedly voted against the Brady Bill and he voted for gun maker immunity.

Bernie has sided with large corporate gun makers against protecting victims of gun violence.