Bernie Sanders Talks Health Care, Cows During Franklin County Visit

AUG 14, 2017 AT 8:08 PM



Excerpts:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) seemed comfortable Monday during a swing through Franklin County to meet with core constituents, including health care professionals, senior citizens and dairy farmers. At all three stops, Vermont's junior senator discussed his “Medicare-for-all” proposal — but he refused to address questions about how hard he’ll push Democrats to back the plan.

Outside in the parking lot, Sanders dismissed a reporter’s question about whether he would back primary challengers to Democrats running in 2018 who don’t embrace his health care proposal — a concern among some in the party.

“Uh, that’s political gossip which I’m not particularly interested in,” Sanders said, ignoring reporters' attempts at follow-up questions.


Sanders final stop of the day was to Paul and Linda Stanley’s hillside dairy farm in East Fairfield. A camera crew from VICE News, dressed in black, filmed as Linda introduced Sanders to a day-old calf named Pinky. “Holy moly!” a delighted Sanders exclaimed as it ran wobbly legged by him. After meeting the cow, the senator snacked on fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes at a picnic table and discussed the plight of the state's dairy farms, which are struggling with low milk prices and environmental regulations.

The conversation, though, never strayed far from the topic du jour. During a lull in the discussion about the farmers’ concerns, Sanders asked, “What about health care?”




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