(Screenshot via Killer Mike/You Tube)
Dec 15, 2015
"I didn't get into politics to figure how I could become President or a senator. I got into politics because I give a damn," said Bernie Sanders, seated in a barbershop chair in Atlanta.
In an interview published on Tuesday, the senator from Vermont and presidential contender talked frankly with rapper and activist Killer Mike about everything from socialism to marijuana, from social justice to voter ID laws.
The six-part video was filmed when Sanders made a campaign stop in Georgia's capital city last month and was uploaded Tuesday to the rapper's You Tube channel with the title, "Talking Shop with Bernie Sanders and Killer Mike."
At one point, Killer Mike asks Sanders, "So what is socialism and what does it mean to the black community?"
Sanders responds:
What it means to me, what it means to the black community, what it means to the American community is the understanding that when we talk about rights--you have freedom of speech--but in order to be truly free you need economic rights as well. You can go out and give a speech but if you don't have any food in your stomach, you don't have a roof over your head, you don't have any education, are you really free? And I think in the richest country in the history of the world--which is what we are right now--we can do infinitely better in providing economic rights to our people.
What democratic socialism means to him, Sanders said, is "that everybody at least has a minimal standard of living and some dignity as a result of that."
Watch the entire six-part interview below.
Economic Freedom
Social Justice
Rigged Economy
Free Health Care: "It Ain't a Big Deal"
"This Country Was Started as an Act of Political Protest"
"Democrats Win When People Vote"
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
"I didn't get into politics to figure how I could become President or a senator. I got into politics because I give a damn," said Bernie Sanders, seated in a barbershop chair in Atlanta.
In an interview published on Tuesday, the senator from Vermont and presidential contender talked frankly with rapper and activist Killer Mike about everything from socialism to marijuana, from social justice to voter ID laws.
The six-part video was filmed when Sanders made a campaign stop in Georgia's capital city last month and was uploaded Tuesday to the rapper's You Tube channel with the title, "Talking Shop with Bernie Sanders and Killer Mike."
At one point, Killer Mike asks Sanders, "So what is socialism and what does it mean to the black community?"
Sanders responds:
What it means to me, what it means to the black community, what it means to the American community is the understanding that when we talk about rights--you have freedom of speech--but in order to be truly free you need economic rights as well. You can go out and give a speech but if you don't have any food in your stomach, you don't have a roof over your head, you don't have any education, are you really free? And I think in the richest country in the history of the world--which is what we are right now--we can do infinitely better in providing economic rights to our people.
What democratic socialism means to him, Sanders said, is "that everybody at least has a minimal standard of living and some dignity as a result of that."
Watch the entire six-part interview below.
Economic Freedom
Social Justice
Rigged Economy
Free Health Care: "It Ain't a Big Deal"
"This Country Was Started as an Act of Political Protest"
"Democrats Win When People Vote"
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
"I didn't get into politics to figure how I could become President or a senator. I got into politics because I give a damn," said Bernie Sanders, seated in a barbershop chair in Atlanta.
In an interview published on Tuesday, the senator from Vermont and presidential contender talked frankly with rapper and activist Killer Mike about everything from socialism to marijuana, from social justice to voter ID laws.
The six-part video was filmed when Sanders made a campaign stop in Georgia's capital city last month and was uploaded Tuesday to the rapper's You Tube channel with the title, "Talking Shop with Bernie Sanders and Killer Mike."
At one point, Killer Mike asks Sanders, "So what is socialism and what does it mean to the black community?"
Sanders responds:
What it means to me, what it means to the black community, what it means to the American community is the understanding that when we talk about rights--you have freedom of speech--but in order to be truly free you need economic rights as well. You can go out and give a speech but if you don't have any food in your stomach, you don't have a roof over your head, you don't have any education, are you really free? And I think in the richest country in the history of the world--which is what we are right now--we can do infinitely better in providing economic rights to our people.
What democratic socialism means to him, Sanders said, is "that everybody at least has a minimal standard of living and some dignity as a result of that."
Watch the entire six-part interview below.
Economic Freedom
Social Justice
Rigged Economy
Free Health Care: "It Ain't a Big Deal"
"This Country Was Started as an Act of Political Protest"
"Democrats Win When People Vote"
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