A couple days ago Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders ran into each other at a meeting for the Senate Democratic Caucus. The New York Times reported that the two were friendly and congratulated each other on their campaigns.
Bernie is quoted as saying:
“I have known Secretary Clinton for 25 year, since she was first lady. I served with her in the Senate. I like and respect Hillary Clinton, but … ”
But they have a few areas where they think differently and the New York Times was nice enough to itemize some of them, and I share them with you below:
Trade Agreements: Mr. Sanders hates them; Mrs. Clinton is lukewarm, depending on the fine print.
The War in Iraq: He always opposed the war; she was for it before she was against it.
The Patriot Act: He voted against it; she voted for it as a senator and has been mostly mum about N.S.A. bulk data collection since.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Mr. Sanders strongly opposes the contentious North American oil pipeline loathed by environmentalists; Mrs. Clinton has not spoken out for or against the project, beyond voicing her general concerns about climate change.
Wall Street: He wants to see the big banks broken up and the 1933 Glass-Steagall regulatory provision reinstated; she wants increased regulation on banks and the so-called shadow banking industry of hedge funds and high-frequency trading, but she has not advocated to reinstate Glass-Steagall or break up the big banks (and is unlikely to do so).
Minimum Wage: He wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour; she has said that she, too, wants to raise the minimum wage, but has not specifically called for $15 an hour.
Debt-Free College: He has proposed a plan that would make public colleges and universities tuition free by putting into affect a financial transaction tax; she has pushed to make college “as debt-—free as possible,” but has not specified how and has not endorsed the financial transaction tax.
Other than that, it was just a friendly encounter between two old colleagues who ran into each other on a Tuesday afternoon in Washington.
For even more comparisons, and I think some of these may surprise you, click here.