July 17, 2021

Bernie Sanders gave Washington whiplash this week — and it was all part of his plan.

Barely 24 hours after the Vermont senator publicly rejected a $3.5 trillion spending deal following a Monday meeting with President Joe Biden, he turned around to tout it as the most transformational policy proposal in nearly 100 years.

The shift in tone was a tactic Sanders used to coax moderate Democrats into going far higher than they might have otherwise felt comfortable. After he had insisted on shooting for the moon with a $6 trillion budget proposal, $3.5 trillion suddenly looked pretty reasonable.

Read more:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/17/bernie-sanders-pragmatic-499835