MANCHESTER, NH — There was no wind up.
Bernie Sanders started pitching his top talking points to a packed house in Manchester, as soon as he hit the podium Friday morning.
For those who’ve been following Sanders’ rise, from relative obscurity as a third-party U.S. Senator from Vermont, to the last guy standing next to the Democratic monolith, Hillary Clinton, you know the drill.
On the campaign trail Sanders sticks to a short-list of talking points which revolve around reigniting democracy among the people, getting “big money” out of politics, stabilizing life for working families who are underpaid and under-insured, investing in education, and rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
On Tuesday, New Hampshire voters will decide which candidate speaks their language.
During Thursday night’s televised debate, Sanders and Clinton spent some time talking about what it means to be an “establishment” Democrat. On Friday, Sanders, who is a self-described democratic-socialist, spoke briefly about wealth redistribution in America.
“There has been a massive redistribution of wealth in the past 30 years. What’s gone on? Trillions of dollars have flown from the middle class to the richest,” said Sanders, setting up the rest of his hour-long talk to more than 300 business and political leaders at the Executive Court.
Sanders said he’s been described by his critics as Santa Claus, “they say I want to give away a bunch of free stuff, but don’t want to pay for it. Well that’s not true. We do,” said Sanders.
He said part of the nuts-and-bolts would be to spend $1 trillion over five years to rebuild roads and bridges and transport systems, making the U.S. safer and more efficient, while creating 13 million jobs. The money would come, in part, from closing “loopholes” that currently exist to allow big businesses and rich Americans to find off-short tax havens, he said.
“We have a large corporate loophole that allows multi-nationals and the rich to stash money in tax havens. In a given year, they’re not paying a nickel in income taxes. We’re losing $100 billion a year on that one loophole, and with that we can rebuild infrastructure and jobs,” Sanders said.
He also talked about funding his free public college plan by taxing Wall Street speculators, noting that when Wall Street was in trouble, it was hard-working Americans who bailed them out; now it’s their turn, Sanders said.
This campaign is about “talking truth” in a straight-forward way to the American people, said Sanders, and that no president, “not Bernie Sanders or anyone else,” can bring about changes without a “political revolution.”
He asked attendees to “think big, not small,” when it comes to what’s possible in the future.
“When it comes to politics in America, the media sees this as a football game or a soap opera. Maybe I’m an old-fashioned New Englander, but I see it as going to the doctor’s office, and saying, ‘Doc what’s the diganosis and how do I get better? That’s what politics in a democracy is — how do we solve problems,” Sanders said. “We spend far, far too little time discussing this.”
Sanders fielded a few questions — on how important the issue of Social Security is to him as a candidate (“very important”), on climate change and New Hampshire’s endangered moose population (also concerning) on what becomes of private colleges under his “free for all” plan (more Pell grants and work-study programs), raising the minimum wage and how that would affect businesses like Wal-Mart (“consumers have tough choices to make”) and also on New Hampshire’s heroin crisis (time to hold pharmaceuticals responsible for the proliferation of pain pills, and support recovery efforts).
Sanders was introduced by Neil Levesque, Executive Director of the NH Institute of Politics, who described Sanders as someone who “devoted his whole life to income inequality and serving our veterans.”
The political speaker series is co-sponsored by the New England Council and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. The New England Council has for more than 80 years represented the business interests of the Granite State. According to OpenSecrets.org, last year the New England Council spent $90,000 lobbying in Washington, D.C., on business matters.
If you’re interested, below is a list of where the candidates will be buzzing around, between Friday and Election Day, via Governing Under the Influence website.
Fri 02/5 | 8:30am | Coffee with Carly | Carly Fiorina | Millyard Museum | Manchester | ||
Fri 02/05 | 9:00am | Town Hall | Chris Christie | Strafford Farms Restaurant | Dover | ||
Fri 02/05 | 10:00am | Town Hall | John Kasich | Atkinson Country Club | Atkinson | ||
Fri 02/05 | 10:00am | employees-only town hall | Carly Fiorina | Dyn | Manchester | ||
Fri 02/05 | 10:00am | Politics and Eggs | Bernie Sanders | Executive Court | Manchester | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 11:30am | Employees only event | Chris Christie | Timberland | Stratham | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 12:00pm | Town Hall | Carly Fiorina | Upper meeting room in the Epping Town Hall | Epping | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 12:15pm | Manchester Canvass Kick-Off | Hillary Clinton | YWCA | Manchester | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 12:30pm | Town Hall | Donald Trump | Londonderry Lions Club | Londonderry | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 12:30pm | Town Hall | John Kasich | Lawrence Barn Community Center | Hollis | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 1:00pm | Get Out the Vote Rally | Bernie Sanders | Exeter Town Hall | Exeter | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 2:30pm | Town Hall | Chris Christie | Bruchetti’s Pizzeria | Sandown | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 2:30pm | NH Rebellion | Jim Gilmore | Veterans Park | Manchester | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 3:30pm | speak with employees | Carly Fiorina | Fidelity | Merrimack | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 4:30pm | Rally | Marco Rubio | Hood Middle School Cafeteria | Derry | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 5:00pm | McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Celebration | Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders | Verizon Wireless Arena | Manchester | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 5:30pm | Town Hall | Jeb Bush | Abbot-Downing School | Concord | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 6:00pm | Town Hall | Chris Christie | Mary A. Fisk Elementary School | Salem | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 6:00pm | 100th Town Hall | John Kasich | Southeastern Regional Education Service Center | Bedford | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 6:00pm | Town Hall | Carly Fiorina | Merrimack America Legion | Merrimack | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 6:00pm | Town Hall | Ted Cruz | Lancaster School | Salem | ||
Fri 02/05/2016 | 8:00pm | Greet returning service members | Jim Gilmore | Pease Airport | Portsmouth | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 8:15am | Tour and Employee Forum | Ben Carson | BAE Systems Company | Nashua | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 9:30am | Town Hall | Chris Christie | Harvest Market Plaza | Bedford | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 10:00am | Meet & greet | Ben Carson | Campaign headquarters | Manchester | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 10:00am | Town Hall | Carly Fiorina | Maple Avenue Elementary School | Goffstown | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 10:30am | Retail Stop | Ben Carson | Airport Diner | Manchester | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 11:00am | Town Hall | Jeb Bush | McKelvie Intermediate School | Bedford | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 11:30am | Rally | Hillary Clinton | Rundlett Middle School | Concord | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 5:45pm | Portsmouth Get Out the Vote event with Hillary Clinton | Hillary Clinton | Great Bay Community College | Portsmouth | ||
Sat 02/06/2016 | 8:00pm | GOP Debate | Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Ben Carson,Jeb Bush, John Kasich | St. Anselm College | Manchester | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 8:00am | Pancake Breakfast | Marco Rubio | Londonderry High School Cafeteria | Londonderry | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 10:00am | Town Hall | Jeb Bush | Woodbury School | Salem | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 10:00am | Town Hall | Chris Christie | Hampton Academy Cafeteria | Hampton | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 10:45am | Town Hall | Marco Rubio | McKelvie Intermediate School Cafeteria | Bedford | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 12:30pm | Town Hall | Jeb Bush | Broad Street Elementary School | Nashua | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 12:30pm | Town Hall | Marco Rubio | Hudson VFW | Hudson | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 1:00pm | Rally | Donald Trump | Plymouth State University ALLWell North | Holderness | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 1:00pm | Town Hall | John Kasich | Nashua Community College- Cafeteria | Nashua | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 1:00pm | Town Hall | Carly Fiorina | Cheshire County Historical Society | Keene | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 1:30pm | Town Hall | Ted Cruz | Peterborough Town House | Peterborough | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 3:00pm | Super Bowl Pre-Game Party | Carly Fiorina | The Yard Restaurant | Manchester | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 3:30pm | Town Hall | John Kasich | Concord High School-Cafeteria | Concord | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 4:15pm | Meet & Greet | Ted Cruz | Pedraza’s Mexican Restaurant | Keene | ||
Sun 02/07/2016 | 4:30pm | Super Bowl Watch Party | Marco Rubio | Derryfield Country Club | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 8:30am | Coffee with Carly | Carly Fiorina | Blake’s restaurant | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 9:00am | Town Hall | Chris Christie | Gilchrist Metal Company | Hudson | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 10:00am | Town Hall | John Kasich | Plaistow Public Library | Plaistow | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 10:30am | Town Hall | Ted Cruz | Turbocam | Barrington | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 11:30am | Town Hall | Chris Christie | BeanTowne Coffee House | Hampstead | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 12:00pm | GOTV Organizing Event | Hillary Clinton | Manchester Community College | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 12:00pm | Rotary luncheon | Jeb Bush | Nashua Country Club | Nashua | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 12:30pm | Town Hall | John Kasich | Searles School and Chapel | Windham | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 1:30pm | Meet and Greet | Ted Cruz | Tuckaway Tavern and Butcher (Barn Room) | Raymond | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 3:30pm | Fidelity Investments Employee Town Hall | John Kasich | Fidelity Investments | Merrimack | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 3:30pm | Meet & Greet | Ted Cruz | American Legion Henry J. Sweeney Post | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 5:00pm | Rally | Donald Trump | Verizon Wireless Arena | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 5:30pm | Rally | Marco Rubio | Nashua Community College (Automotive Building) | Nashua | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 6:00pm | Town Hall | Chris Christie | St. George Greek Orthodox Church | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 6:00pm | Town Hall | John Kasich | Derryfield Restaurant | Manchester | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 6:30pm | Town Hall | Carly Fiorina | UNH Law School (Rudman Center) | Concord | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 7:30pm | Election Eve Rally | John Kasich | Robie’s General Store | Hooksett | ||
Mon 02/08/2016 | 7:30pm | Town Hall | Jeb Bush | Frank Jones Center | Portsmouth |