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Bernie Sanders' Strict Requirements For Clinton

by Alexi McCammond

The race to becoming the presidential nominee for each party is quickly approaching, so candidates are constantly asked whether they would support the current front-runners (Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton) if they become the nominees. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders and Clinton have led a tight race, until recently when Clinton has taken the lead both in primary and caucus wins, as well as total delegate count. During an interview with the progressive Internet show The Young Turks, Sanders revealed his strict requirements to endorse Clinton.

Sanders made it clear that he plans to stay in the race for as long as possible. However, as the general elections gets closer and an eventual nominee will be selected, Sanders has to consider the possibility of losing to Clinton. This would inevitably put Sanders in an unwanted position, but the people want to know whether or not he will support Clinton as the Democratic nominee. During the interview, Sanders said that he would endorse Clinton if she met his very strict demands — all of which would push his own personal agenda and visions for America forward.

Because of the nature of these requirements, it is unlikely that Clinton would agree to them and therefore unlikely that Sanders would actually support her as the nominee. But of course Sanders couldn't say that he doesn't plan on endorsing Clinton if she beats him, because, well, #politics.

Throughout the interview, Sanders proved that no matter what happens with the nomination, his priorities remain with ensuring that the Democratic party will expands its base and embrace his anti-establishment views. "If I can’t make it — and we’re going to try as hard as we can until the last vote is cast — we want to completely revitalize the Democratic Party and make it a party of the people rather than one of large campaign contributors," Sanders said in the interview.

If Clinton becomes the nominee, Sanders listed five demands that he would require of her before he gave his official endorsement. All of them were proposed policy changes that Clinton would have to adopt in order to receive Sanders' support, and all of them are things that Clinton has not fully supported on her own yet.

Sanders' strict requirements include: a single-payer health care system, tougher regulation of the finance industry, a $15 per hour minimum wage, closing corporate tax loopholes, and a legitimate effort to address climate change. Let's break down where Clinton currently stands on these issues. Clinton has said that a single-payer health care system will never happen; she has received generous campaign donations from Wall Street; she would support a $12 hourly minimum wage rate. Clinton and Sanders have both proposed increasing taxes on the rich, and Clinton released a climate change plan in July 2015.

There's one flaw in Sanders' interview and proposed requirements to support Clinton: He contradicts himself on consistency. “What we need is to create a movement which holds elected officials accountable and not let them flip,” Sanders said during the interview, referencing politicians' tendency to change their minds on various issues once elected. However, by demanding these things of Clinton — things that she clearly disagrees with — Sanders is essentially asking Clinton to flip on these issues, and that seems counterintuitive to his entire argument.

Sanders' endorsement of Clinton will come down to how strict he will be on his already strict requirements. Since Clinton disagrees with at least three of his demands, it will be interesting to see how this plays out if Clinton becomes the nominee. Until then, you can watch the entire Sanders interview with The Young Turks below.