Over the weekend, Bernie Sanders supporters have voiced concerns over Hillary Clinton’s way of obtaining campaign money. The rhetoric heard throughout the media ranges anywhere from Clinton’s paid speeches, obtaining money from the 1%, etc.
But let’s think about this for a second: Does Hillary not have a right to make money? There was a time Bernie Sanders agreed.
In October, as [his campaign] gathered at a hotel outside of Las Vegas to prepare for the first Democratic debate, Mr. Sander’s advisers urged him to challenge Mrs. Clinton’ over accepting $650,000 from Goldman Sachs for delivering three speeches, according to two Sanders advisers.
But Mr. Sanders hunched over a U-shaped conference table, rejected the it as a personal attack on Mrs. Clinton’s income—the sort of character attack he has long opposed. She has the right to make money, he offered.
Read more: www.nytimes.com/...
Moreover, Did Mrs. Clinton benefit from these paid speeches? Not as much as Sanders would like you to believe.
In 2014, Politico covered this story:
Hillary Clinton on Friday said that she has donated all the money she has earned from her public speaking appearances at colleges and universities in the past year and a half to the Clinton Foundation.
“All of the fees have been donated to the Clinton Foundation for it to continue its life-changing and life-saving work,” she told ABC News. “So it goes from a foundation at a university to another foundation.” The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation is a nonprofit focusing on global issues that was founded by former President Bill Clinton in 2001.
Read more: www.politico.com/...
In addition, in the Clinton Foundation’s website, the non-profit organization provides a list of donations Hillary made via speeches. Below is an example:
Amount: $250,001 to $500,000
Organization
Beijing Huaduo Enterprise Consulting Company Ltd.#
Business for Change Events#
Carlyle Investment Management, LLC+
China Real Estate Development Group, Ltd.#
Citibank, N.A.+
Colgate University+
Fundacion Telmex+
Goldman, Sachs and Co.+
Hamilton College+
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.+
Korea Economic Daily#
Ministry of Energy, Thailand#
Qatar First Investment Bank#
Tanmiah Commercial Group#
UB Foundation Activities, Inc.+
Unica#
University of California Los Angeles+
U.S. Islamic World Conference#
World Celebrity Golf Ltd.#
Read more: www.clintonfoundation.org/...
Lastly, one point to consider: according to Bloomberg, Sanders raised $16 million from the unemployed and retired population. Considering that on Tuesday he will not win NY, further decreasing his chances of obtaining the Democratic nomination, if he really cared about the poor and those in need, should he not give his money back or donate it to charity?