Bernie Sanders Aganst Grand Bargain

Sen. Bernie Sanders sent out a press release stating he will not vote for the grand bargain that President Barack Obama has proposed for the sequester.

Not a Grand Bargain President Obama stepped up efforts to cut Social Security benefits and lower payments for disabled veterans and their survivors. “It’s a horrendous idea. It is totally absurd because for a start, Social Security has not contributed one penny to the deficit … But it`s not just seniors on Social Security. If you can believe it, this chained CPI [consumer price index] will make devastating cuts for disabled veterans. The men and women who lost arms and legs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the widows of people who were killed in Iraq, it will mean significant cuts for them,” Sanders said Thursday on MSNBC. Obama pushed his “grand bargain” over dinner Wednesday with 12 Republican senators and at lunch Thursday at the White House with House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan “The president historically has not been a strong negotiator,” Sanders said. “The fear is he is going to get a deal that will probably not be strong enough on revenue. That does worry some of us.”

It should be noted that Sen. Sanders hinted he was not going to vote for a health care bill without a public option. Sanders ended up voting for the Affordable Care Act. Republicans are likely to vote against any legislation to end the sequester. Harry Reid is going to ask Sanders to swallow his pride and vote for a compromise.