Senator Bernie Sanders: 'Congratulations Tom Coburn'

Source:Senator Bernie Sanders- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Democratic Socialist, Socialist Republic of Vermont) talking about Senator Tom Coburn and the Gang of Six's deficit reduction plan.

"Senator Sanders speaking about the disaster that would ensue if the American economy were to default, how to address the crisis that we now face with long-term deficit reduction, and the "Gang of Six's" proposal which include major cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and  Education." 

From Senator Bernie Sanders 

Senator Tom Coburn is not as far to the right as people can get or he would be a member of Congress who no one in Congress would be able to work with other then the Far Right (Senate or House) but he's as fiscally conservative as they come in the sense that he believes that the Federal Government should pay its bills and only pay for things that it should be doing and cut back on things that he believes we shouldn't be doing. Which I believe would qualify as common sense to most sane people. 

Senator Bernie Sanders isn't as far to the left as people can get but there isn't much room on the left to be to the left of him. (Communists and that's about it) He is an admitted Democratic Socialist (for crying out loud) and proud of it and believes in the welfare state and collectivism and that government, especially the Federal Government should play a big role in looking after the welfare of the people. 

Senator Sanders also believes that private enterprise, even though I don't believe Senator Sanders believes in nationalizing most industry's, can't be trusted to look after people and that the Federal Government should step in and provide a lot of these services. Everything from education, Health Care, Health Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, transportation, energy, and there's probably a lot more. (But in the interest of time...)

So when you are comparing a fiscally Conservative Senator like Tom Coburn who believes in limited government and there's a limit to what government especially the Federal Government should be doing and a big believer in private enterprise and private markets and is actually against corporate welfare and those tax loopholes, with a Democratic Socialist Senator like Bernie Sanders, two men who I don't tend to agree with a lot on but two men who I have a lot of respect for, you're talking about the opposites of political spectrum. A Socialist (in Bernie Sanders) versus a Christian-Conservative, who is also a fiscal Conservative. (In Tom Coburn)

Both Senators have admitted that deficit reduction has to be done for the good of the economy, you're going to see much different approaches in how to accomplish this. With Senator Coburn who actually believes in fiscal responsibility and there's a limit to what the Federal Government should be doing including on defense. 

If you look at the Coburn Back in Black deficit reduction plan, you'll find major defense cuts in it. As well as closing tax loopholes and entitlement reform, a means testing approach. With an approach from Senator Sanders thats more centered around defense cuts, closing tax loopholes,  and tax hikes probably on everyone, not just the wealthy.

Senator Tom Coburn and Senator Bernie Sanders both represent one thing thats right about the Federal Government, Congress, and Washington, because they represent their viewpoints and constituents as well as they can be represented because of their honesty. They say what they mean, what they believe and back up their views as well as they can be backed up.