Bernie Sanders rallied supporters in Iowa with political red meat Saturday, highlighting his ideological purity on issues of concern to liberals and saying he would not let Hillary Clinton “distort” his record.
“I am disturbed, I have to say, (that) the tone of Secretary Clinton’s campaign is such that they are just bringing forth a lot of inaccurate statements regarding what I believe,” Sanders told canvassers in Charles City.
Saturday night in Cedar Rapids, he really let it fly.
“I am disappointed by the tone of her campaign,” he said, citing recent Clinton attacks, including criticism of him calling Planned Parenthood part of the “establishment” and repeated jabs over his gun control record.
“My opponent has announced that she has raised tens of thousands of dollars from her super PAC for special interests,” Sanders said. “Let me tell you proudly, I have raised zero dollars.”
Sanders announced his campaign has received 3 million individual contributions.
“So yeah, my opponent can brag about raising tens of millions of dollars for her super PAC, but our average contribution is $27. I’m very proud of that.”
Trying to rally turnout
The Vermont senator spent much of Saturday at backers’ houses and in college classrooms, offering a fiery message designed to fire up his campaign’s ground troops. His goal: to ensure precinct captains show up at Monday night’s Iowa caucuses and rally support.
Sanders sought to present himself as a victim of negative campaigning by Clinton. He said his own campaign’s recent ad against the former secretary of state over speaking fees she received from Goldman Sachs was simply a matter of self-defense.
“Don’t tell me I am protecting or defending the gun lobby, don’t tell me I am attacking Planned Parenthood,” Sanders said in Charles City, visibly perturbed. “Let’s not go around distorting a record that I am very proud of.”
His canvassers listened to the senator in the garage of a supporter, with a makeshift speaking floor arranged to accommodate Sanders. A table of hand warmers, bumper stickers, and donuts fueled the 40 or so volunteers.
The final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll released Saturday night had Clinton winning 45% to 42%, but her edge was within the poll’s 4-point margin of error.
Central to any success for the Vermont senator will be whether first-time caucus-goers — a group far more likely to back Sanders than Clinton — will show up on Monday night.
Sanders’ refrain for the last couple days and the message he’s been leaving supporters and canvassers at every stop: we need turnout.
“We will win the caucus on Monday night if there is a large voter turnout. We will lose if there is a low voter turnout,” he reiterated all day Saturday. “In many way Iowa becomes a model for the rest of the country and the future of American democracy.”