Advertisement Sanders on Clinton: ‘Too late for establishment politics, economics’ Vermont senator also blasts ‘bigotry and lies...from people like Donald Trump’ Share Shares Copy Link Copy

With former President Bill Clinton about 25 miles away in Nashua stumping for his wife, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told high school and college students from three dozen states Monday that while he respects Hillary Clinton, it is time for the country to part ways with what he called establishment politics.“I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 25 years,” Sanders told about 500 students at the 2016 New Hampshire Primary Student Convention, hosted by New England College at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Manchester. He said he has “an enormous amount of respect” for her and considers her a friend.But, responding to a question posed by a student, he said, “When you look at the major issues facing our country today -- the issue of income and wealth inequality, the issue of a corrupt campaign finance system, the issue of climate change, the issue of Wall Street and the incredible power that Wall Street has over the economic and political life of this country, I think if you look at those issues, what you conclude is that at this moment in our history, it is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics.“What we need now is leadership that’s going to stand up to the billionaire class, stand up to corporate America and Wall Street, and stand up to the (conservative billionaire) Koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry, stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and say, ‘You guys cannot have it all,’” Sanders said.“At this moment in history we need proven leadership that’s prepared to stand up to the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country.”Sanders said he has a “good chance” of winning both the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses.“And if we win in Iowa and New Hampshire, I believe we have a path toward victory, not just to win the Democratic nomination and the presidency, but more important, together we have a real unique opportunity to create a political revolution and transform the United States of America.”Sanders was the lone presidential candidate to speak to students, who were of various political persuasions, on Monday afternoon. Five Republican candidates and Democratic former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley are scheduled to address the group and answer questions on Tuesday.NEC political science professor Wayne Lesperance, an organizer of the event, said that students from 36 states attended, with 70 percent of those in attendance from New Hampshire.Sanders spoke after a fellow Vermonter, former Gov. Howard Dean, who ran for president in 2004, addressed the group as a surrogate for Hillary Clinton.Former President Clinton, in Nashua, said his wife is the only candidate who is able to restore the United States to prosperity.Sanders, though, focused on his familiar messages to the students, and received enthusiastic responses from some, but not all, of those in attendance – many of whom were supporters of Clinton and GOP candidates.On immigration, Sanders said, “I’ll tell you what I would do even before I were president, and that is I will stop the bigotry and lies that are coming from people like Donald Trump with regard to Latinos.”He said that while there are legitimate disagreements on immigration reform, “Do not tell the American people that the people who come into this country from Mexico and elsewhere are criminals and rapists and drug dealers. That is a lie, and that is just old-fashioned bigotry.”He called for passage of comprehensive immigration reform, but he said, “You’ll have to ask the Republicans who come up here what they will do, because we are getting virtually no support in terms of bipartisan immigration reform.”Sanders, asked how he would address race relations, called for “strong criminal justice reform” and said police officers must be held accountable when they break the law.“We have got to demilitarize our local police departments so they do not look like invading armies,” Sanders said, also calling for more diversity in police departments in urban communities.Sanders also called for decriminalization of marijuana possession, saying it should be removed from the Federal Controlled Substances Act and possession should no longer be a federal crime.He repeated his call for free public college tuition and said that overall, “Frankly, in America, we do not prioritize education the way we should.”Sanders called for an end to income inequality, saying the current economy “is a rigged economy benefiting a handful of very wealthy people.”And, he said, “One of the reasons that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer is that we have a corrupt campaign finance system; a system that is undermining the very foundations of American democracy.”He said the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Citizens United decision in 2010, “gave the wealthy the ability to own this country.”Sanders did not bring up, nor was he asked about, how to combat terrorism or gun violence.But, he said, “When we talk about our responsibility as human beings, there is nothing more important than leaving this planet in a way that is healthy and habitable to all of you, your children and your grandchildren.”He said he has introduced “the most comprehensive climate change legislation in the history of the United States Senate,” which, he said, imposes a “heavy” carbon tax and “invests very heavily in energy efficiency” and sustainable energy sources.