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Sen. Bernie Sanders in Missoula denounces oligarchy, calls to expand Social Security and protect veterans' benefits
Summary
Sen. Bernie Sanders told a Missoula rally that extreme wealth concentration threatens democracy, warned against cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and Veterans Administration staffing, and urged expansion of social programs and higher wages.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told a Missoula audience that concentrated wealth and political power threaten democratic institutions and urged expansion of Social Security, protections for veterans, and stronger social-safety programs.
Sanders criticized billionaire influence on politics and singled out private actors he said were reshaping government priorities. He warned that cuts to the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration would have human consequences, saying of Social Security staffing cuts: "People who are old and with disabilities die when they can't get the benefits they are entitled to." He also warned against proposed deep Medicaid reductions and large tax breaks for the wealthy, repeating figures cited in the speech that link tax breaks for the top earners with cuts in social programs.
On veterans, Sanders said reductions in VA staffing would "mean lower quality health care for our veterans and delays in them getting the benefits that they deserve." He framed responses to those outcomes as both moral and political imperatives and called for organizing and sustained public pressure to preserve and expand social programs, including Social Security and a living wage: "No worker who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty."
Sanders criticized the Citizens United Supreme Court decision and urged public funding of elections as part of a set of reforms to reduce private money’s role in politics. He also addressed foreign policy and civil liberties briefly, saying that wars and authoritarian tactics abroad and at home require public vigilance; he urged universities and media institutions to resist pressure to censor or collapse under political pressure.
Sanders’s remarks were broad and rhetorical; he did not put forward a new legislative text in Missoula or announce votes by Montana officials. His remarks combined policy prescriptions (expand Social Security, oppose Medicaid/VA cuts) with calls for organizing and public pressure to influence congressional action.
