The last 16 hours or so has witnessed a debate over whether Secretary Clinton stated that Senator Sanders was “unqualified” to be the President of the United Stated. After believing that what was the case, Senator Sanders told a crowd of supporters he did not believe Secretary Clinton was qualified to be President.
Leaving aside who said what, both candidates’ backgrounds and qualifications should be revisited.
Biography: Secretary Clinton a Senator from New York; born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois; attended public school in Park Ridge, Illinois; graduated Wellesley College, BA 1969; graduated Yale Law School, JD 1973; attorney; counsel, impeachment inquiry staff, House Judiciary Committee 1974; First Lady of Arkansas 1979-1981, 1983-1993; First Lady of the United States 1993-2001; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 2000; reelected in 2006, and served from January 3, 2001, until her resignation on January 21, 2009, to accept a Cabinet position; an unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination for president in 2008; Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Barack Obama, 2009-2013.
Biography: Senator Sanders Senator and a Representative from Vermont; born in Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y., September 8, 1941; graduated from Madison High School, Brooklyn, N.Y.; B.S., University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., 1964; faculty, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1989; faculty, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y., 1990; carpenter; journalist; unsuccessful independent candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1972 and 1974; unsuccessful independent candidate for election for governor of Vermont in 1972, 1976 and 1986; mayor of Burlington, Vt., 1981-1989; unsuccessful independent candidate to the One Hundred First Congress in 1988; elected as an independent to the One Hundred Second and to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1991-January 3, 2007); was not a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives but was elected as an Independent to the United States Senate in 2006 for the term commencing January 3, 2007; reelected in 2012 for the term ending January 3, 2019; chair, Committee on Veterans Affairs (One Hundred Thirteenth Congress).
Based on biography I would argue the scale is tipped in the favor of Secretary Clinton. Her depth and breadth of experience is unmatched. She has a record of that is worthy of any person who ever sought the office of the presidency. Her service as a Senator is the experience needed in understanding the mechanics of government. As Secretary of State her background will serve the Presidency and the country well as we negotiate the unsettled waters of world affairs and diplomacy.
This is not to disparage Senator Sanders years in the Senate, instead let us look at that record as well. Senator Sanders states on his website “Do we continue the 40-year decline of our middle class and the growing gap between the very rich and everyone else, or do we fight for a progressive economic agenda that creates jobs, raises wages, protects the environment and provides health care for all? Are we prepared to take on the enormous economic and political power of the billionaire class, or do we continue to slide into economic and political oligarchy?” In order to accomplish the list of priorities that the Senator has so passionately described he will need partners in Congress. So it is only fair to review his effectiveness as the Independent Senator from Vermont. Let’s look at the latest report card for the Senator Sanders...
- Writing Bipartisan Bill : 1st lowest among All Senators
- Leadership Score all senator 5th lowest out of 100
- Cosponsors 4th lowest among Senate Cmte. Chairs/Rk Membs / all Senator 20th lowest out of 100
- Missed Votes highest 10% among All Senators
- Government Transparency highest 50% among Senate Cmte. Chairs/Rk Membs; tied with 5 others / All Senators21st highest (tied w/ 15) out of 100
- Powerful cosponsors lowest 50% among Senate Cmte. Chairs/Rk Membs; tied with 7 others All Senators 40th highest (tied w/ 12) out of 100
- Bills Introduced lowest 50% among Senate Cmte. Chairs/Rk Membs; tied with 1 other / All Senators 40th highest (tied w/ 2) out of 100
- Bills Cosponsored lowest 50% among Serving 10+ Years; tied with 1 other/ all Senator 43rd lowest (tied w/1) out of 100
- Bills out of Committee All Senator 1st lowest (tied w/18) out of 100
- Laws Enacted All Senators lowest along with 58 others out of 100
*Source govtrack.us
Now to be fair the comparison in some ways is apple to oranges. After all, the Secretary has not been a member of Congress since January 21, 2009. But if the basic premise of your campaign is leading a revolution that will include Universal Health Care, breaking up bank too large to fail, free college tuition for all, fixing the student loan crisis, campaign finance reform, raising the minimum raise, etc. it seems that your past legislative record might predictive of future successes. This is not to say that Senator Sanders has not enjoyed any success. He is known as the Amendment King on Capitol Hill. But let’s be straightforward the heavy lifting that will need to be done to enact a President Sanders agenda will not be done through amendments process alone.
The elephant in the room of qualifications looms large. Any President will need willing partner in both houses to introduce legislation to see shepherd their agenda through Congress. Before last night the “establishment” super-delegates, (if establishment means elected members of congress among others) were firmly in Secretary Clinton’s camp. After last night Senator Sanders qualified himself as less of a favorite among the very group his campaign had hope to convince to support him at the convention.
It will be an interesting next few weeks.