CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Bernie Sanders

Interview

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Well, I hope and expect it will. The house has already passed H.R. 1 and that is sweeping legislation to protect voting rights, to deal with gerrymandering, and to take dark corporate money out of the political process, something we have got to do.

As you know, in the Senate, we can only get 50 votes and the challenge right now is on that particular piece of legislation. We've got to end the filibuster, and let majority rule.

I think, we, as a nation, Anderson, can disagree on policy. Disagree with me on healthcare, on education, on economics, that's fine. But you cannot disagree about whether or not ordinary Americans, in this case, African-Americans, Latinos, young people, people with disabilities have the right to vote. That's not debatable.

So, we are going to have to win that struggle in order to preserve American democracy and end this big lie of Trump that he won the election by a landslide. That is a sad day that so many of the Republican leaders actually perpetuate that lie.

COOPER: The Supreme Court, as you know, just recently upheld an Arizona voting law that restricts how ballots can be cast. Obviously, Republicans have taken that as an encouraging sign. They control 30 state legislatures across the country, Democrats control 18. How do you go state by state and stop voting restrictions from being passed into law with the political reality that you pointed out, which is you have to get rid of the filibuster in order to get movement in anything passed through the Senate? And that seems right now impossible.

SANDERS: Well, I don't know that it is impossible. It is something that many of us are working on. And I think we're going to do everything we can politically to rally the American people, everything that we can do legally and in the United States Senate, do everything we can to put pressure on our colleagues to finally stand up and say on this issue, at least I would go further -- on this issue, at least, majority should rule, 50 votes plus the Vice President says that we're going to pass a voting rights legislation and end this outrageous Republican attack on voting rights. That is what we've got to do.

COOPER: Do you see any change with Joe Manchin, some of the others who are Democrats who are not for getting rid of the filibuster?

SANDERS: Well, we are working on that end, Anderson, but what I've been focusing on, for the last many weeks, is what I believe to be the most consequential piece of legislation for working families that we have seen since the Great Depression.

It is no secret to the average American that the very rich are getting richer, and yet half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. People can't afford child care, people can't afford to put dentures in their mouth if they are on Medicare. People can't afford to go higher education.

Everybody, I hope understands that climate change is an existential threat to the existence of our entire planet and we have got to deal with that. So, what I have been working on with a number of my colleagues is a major, major piece of legislation, which finally addresses the long term crises facing the working families of this country, and I hope that we can get something passed within the next month.

COOPER: Just in terms of getting things passed, I want to play for our viewers something that a Republican Congressman, Chip Roy said. He was caught on video saying behind closed doors regarding what the G.O.P.'s strategy is, in regards to your priorities, President Biden's priorities in particular he was talking about. Take a look.

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REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): Honestly, right now for the next 18 months, our job is to do everything we can to slow all of that down to get to December of 2022 and then get in here and lead. I actually say, "Thank you Lord, 18 months more months of confusion and the inability to get stuff done. That's what we want.

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COOPER: I mean, you know, that's usually the kind of stuff maybe a Republican thinks inside their head and doesn't say out loud. He just basically said the silent part out loud. SANDERS: But let's give him credit for honestly, but you know, Mitch

McConnell has more or less said the same thing. Look, they understand that what we are trying to do, address the crisis in our infrastructure, the crisis in climate, the crisis in terms of childcare, or the crisis in terms of higher education, the crisis in terms of housing, basically, the fact that we are trying to address the real needs of working families is not only the right thing to do, Anderson, you know what, it is politically popular.

[20:25:23]

SANDERS: Look at the polling on virtually every single one of these issues, the American people say yes. You know, we need to make sure that our kids can afford to go to college. Yes, we need to build the affordable housing so that 18 million households are not paying half of their income in housing.

Yes, we need to pass paid family and medical leave. Yes, we need to extend the child tax credit so that if you have kids, you're going to get a $300.00 or $400.00 check every single month so that we don't have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on Earth.

It is not only the right thing to do, but what this Congressman knows, what Mitch McConnell knows, this is exactly what the American people want. So, it is good policy. It is good politics, and I and my colleagues are going to do everything we can to pass that legislation.

COOPER: Senator Bernie Sanders, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

SANDERS: Thank you.

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