Story highlights Bernie Sanders appeared on CNN's "Crossfire" several times

Some of his 2016 campaign trail statements are different than in those television shows

(CNN) Bernie Sanders has proved to be a durable Democratic presidential candidate based on his vision of democratic socialism. But while the Vermont senator's ideas may be new to many, he's actually been articulating them for decades -- including as a frequent guest on CNN's former debate show "Crossfire."

Show transcripts from 1998 to 2014 show he's been remarkably consistent. Much of Sanders' language could be taken straight out his 2016 stump speech. Though on some issues, such as health care, foreign policy, and the VA scandal, his views have shifted slightly in the midst of his run for the highest office in the land.

One key change has been on the Affordable Care Act. While Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is a longtime backer of Obamacare, Sanders hopes to replace it with a single payer " Medicare-for-al l" program. Speaking on "Crossfire" in 2013 and 2014, during the show's second run, Sanders called President Barack Obama's signature legislation a "Republican Romney-type program" and a "Republican plan."

On the 2016 campaign trail, though, Sanders has avoided openly criticizing the President's plan, even going so far as to say that he helped write the law and that it was an "important step forward" and had "done a lot of good things."

Sanders has tried to differentiate himself from Clinton on foreign policy, as well. He has long touted his 2002 vote against the Iraq war as a sign of his wisdom in foreign affairs. He was vocal in criticizing the war from the very beginning. Speaking on "Crossfire" in the lead-up to the war, he said "we are going to undermine the United Nations, undermine international law, (and) plunge this world into international anarchy."

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