Knowing he will probably be outgunned in the fundraising battle, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) kicked off his presidential bid on Thursday by asking for the upcoming campaign to be settled in debates–venues where the Independent from Vermont feels more comfortable against the Clinton campaign machine.
“What elections are about are serious debates over serious issues. Not political gossip,” the democratic socialist said, speaking from a podium outside the US Capitol—an image that presented a stark contrast from the branded and well-choreographed presidential announcements of those who have already entered the fray.
He even, unlike other major candidates, took questions from reporters.
Sanders’ call to the media to allow the candidates to discuss the “important issues facing America” was, however, met with indifference inside the Capitol, at its highest levels.
When asked if, in light of Sen. Sanders’ bid officially launching, she would support the staging of formal debates during the Democratic primary,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) seemed indifferent.
“That’s not up to me,” the leader said. She added that she does support, in general, an exchange of ideas throughout the campaign. But actual televised debates in which Clinton is forced to defend policy positions when prodded by contenders are something that Pelosi seemed fine without.
“That will be wholesome,” she said, “If we have it.”
“If we don’t have it, then we’ll just get moving with what we have,” she added.
Pelosi hasn’t officially endorsed any candidate for president. Earlier this month, she rebuffed reporters prodding on the issue before opining that “Hillary Clinton will be a great candidate for president” and that there’s “great enthusiasm for her candidacy.”
She has not yet offered the same platitudes about Sanders’ candidacy.
With the campaign heading into full-swing soon, there are some lamentations within Democratic circles that the party brass will treat the primaries as a drawn-out Clinton coronation—a concern that could prove valid now that Sanders has entered the race.
Sources who met with Democratic Party officials told the National Journal in January that they were waiting to see what the field is going to look like before making any formal debate plans, and that “there’s a scenario where Hillary is the only kind of serious credible candidate, in which case they might want zero debates or very, very few.”
In an announcement that highlighted rising wealth inequality, money in politics, and climate change, Sanders said the one thing he won’t do is fight in the mud.
“I’ve never run a negative ad in my life,” he told reporters, adding that he will, however, run a “vigorous campaign.”
Seizing on what worked for President Obama, Sanders stressed that he “voted against the war in Iraq,” and that many things he’s said about the situation over there “have turned out to be true.”
He noted that he was also helping lead the effort against the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Keystone XL pipeline.
“Those are some of my views and we’ll see where Secretary Clinton comes out,” Sanders said.
As the longest serving Independent Senator, Sanders did admit part of his campaign is to test a hypothesis.
“I wonder now in this day in age whether it’s possible for any candidate who’s not a billionaire, or who is not beholden to the billionaire class, to be able to run successful campaigns,” he said, noting he likely won’t receive money from the Koch brothers or other billionaires.
That doesn’t mean he’s running just to make a statement or to prove that an American left exists outside of the liberal Democratic Party’s corporate-friendly elite.
“We’re in this race to win,” Sanders said.
