Hillary Clinton’s Latest Attack on Bernie Sanders Sounds a Lot Like Mitt Romney:
Fresh off a vindicating win in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton found herself embroiled in a controversy over remarks denigrating rival Bernie Sanders‘ policy proposals as “free everything” — an attack, critics charge, that echoes Republican talking points.
The former secretary of state actually delivered the jab on Thursday, as polls showed her locked in a tight contest with Sanders in the Silver State. But the remarks didn’t receive widespread attention until late this weekend, after Clinton defeated Sanders by more than 5 percentage points.
Speaking at a campaign rally, Clinton said, “I’m not just making speeches and not just promising free this and free that and free everything.” The line was widely interpreted as a dig at Sanders’ proposals for tuition-free public college and a single-payer, Medicare-for-All health system.
A familiar refrain? For many listeners, Clinton’s remarks evoked memories of Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, both patrician Republicans who came under fire for comments suggesting that Democrats sought to curry favor with voters by offering free benefits.
I think that there is a lot more of the “Hillary Rodham Goldwater Girl” from 1964 in her than I had previously realized.