'Go Forward, Not Back':
Dismissing Clinton Jabs, Sanders Says He's Focused on Issues at Hand
"Our job is to go
forward."
That was Sen. Bernie Sanders'
(I-Vt.) terse response Wednesday when asked about leaked excerpts of former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's highly anticipated 2016 election memoir,
which both paint Sanders' policy ideas as unrealistic
and heap
blame on him for hampering Clinton's chances against Donald Trump in the
general election.
Speaking to The Hill, Sanders insisted
he is not interested in relitigating the 2016 Democratic primary or
"playing the blame game," particularly given the significance of the
issues facing the United States in the present moment.
"I'm working overtime now
to see we overturn Trump's decision on DACA, pass a $15-an-hour minimum wage,
and next week I'll be offering a Medicare-for-all single-payer system,"
Sanders said.
"Right now," Sanders
concluded, "it's appropriate to look forward and not backward."
Since excerpts of Clinton's
memoir What Happened, set to be released next Thursday, began to emerge earlier
this week, progressives and Democratic lawmakers have questioned the political
wisdom—and the
accuracy—of Clinton's attacks on Sanders, warning that they could intensify
divisions between the mainstream of the Democratic Party and its burgeoning
progressive wing at a time when Republicans control Congress and the
presidency.
Responding to excerpts in
which Clinton claims Sanders' criticism of her Wall Street speeches did
"lasting damage" to her general election chances, Rep. Jared Huffman
(D-Calif.) wrote:
"Please Hillary, don't go there."
"I supported you,"
Huffman added. "Bernie showed restraint and class and ran an aspirational
campaign."
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