In a recent issue of the D.O., one columnist explained why she will be supporting Hillary Clinton for the upcoming Democratic primary. While the column provided a strong contrast between Clinton and the Republican nominees, I found that it failed to sufficiently distinguish Clinton from her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders. Furthermore, the article also mischaracterized Sanders’ position on one of the most important issues to the Democratic Party, health care. Clinton has sought to cast herself as the candidate which would retain the status quo of Barack Obama’s administration. As one example in the D.O. column, Clinton plans to maintain and build upon Obamacare rather than “gut and renovate it completely, as she believes Sanders is proposing to do,” a wholly false statement.

While Obamacare has made progress in providing affordable health care to many Americans, millions of others still do not have healthcare, the U.S. still pays more per capita in health care than any major industrialized nation in the world, and is also one of the few major countries on Earth which does not guarantee health care as a right. In order to bridge these disparities, Sanders has proposed a single-payer Medicare for-all program, a proposal Clinton and other establishment Democrats have called unrealistic. The absurdity to this argument is that similar systems have been hugely successful in countries like Europe and Canada. Under this plan the average person would have to pay higher taxes, but they will be ultimately saving thousands of dollars by not having to pay for more expensive health care through private insurance.

Finally, at the heart of Sanders’ campaign is his opposition to the campaign finance system, and the presence of corporate money interests in politics. Sanders is the only presidential candidate who does not have his own Super PAC. Meanwhile, Clinton recently received a campaign donation to her Super PAC of $8 million from billionaire hedge fund owner George Soros, who said with regards to Clinton, “that he’s always been impressed that he can always call/meet with you (Clinton) on an issue of policy.” If we are truly to reform our political and economic systems, how are we to do so with political leaders bankrolled by individuals who profit the most from these systems, and have only further driven the incredible income inequality in our country?

Cody Webb Jr.
Syracuse University
Graduate Student, Chemistry