Essay on Similarities and Differences Between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton

Every individual in the society is born with unique character traits because of the distinction in the parents genetic makeup. This difference makes the people in the community to be different from one another other, but there are things that these different people have in common. While both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are two separate characters, there are striking similarities between them, and at the same time, they have had varied opinions which make them dissimilar.

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To start with, both Sanders and Clinton are Democrats who have worked in Washington for decades as senators from various states and embraced the Obama administration. Clinton worked for several years as the United States secretary of state for President Obama and as the first lady of the United States during Bill Clintons presidency and later as the New York senator between 2001 and 2009. Sanders, too, represented Vermont in the Senate when he won his election in 2006 and re-election in 2012. They both maintained a close relationship with Barrack Obama because of similar party affiliation and were in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries which Clinton beat Sanders to clinch the nomination. Barrack Obama, who was then a senator, took part in Sanders campaign in Vermont in 2006 affirming their closeness.

Secondly, Sanders and Clinton have had similar opinions over the years on issues within and outside the United States. For instance, both opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, an oil pipeline between Canada and United States. Clinton opposed the completion of the project citing environmental concerns such as increased greenhouse gas emission and an eminent oil spillage along the line which could cause air pollution and harm wildlife. These harmful effects, according to Clinton, could impede the efforts by the United States to control climate change. Similarly, Sanders was also on the frontline against the pipeline project. Michaels notes that Sanders firmly stood by President Obamas plea of obstructing the Keystone pipeline because it would transport soiled fossil fuel to the United States which will harm American ecosystem (16).

Despite the striking similarities between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, there are a host of differences. For instance, Hillary Clinton supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq to get rid of weapons of mass destruction allegedly possessed Saddam Hussein, while Sanders voted against the invasion. During the Senate voting on whether to allow President Bush to use ground forces in the invasion of Iraq, Hillary Clinton supported him. She even joined the Senate Armed Committee to the astonishment of many Americans because they thought she was against the war. Bernie Sanders opposed the war because no one had given the estimates of American and Iraqi causalities during the war. He also voiced his concerns that the invasion was a threat to international law and would put the fight against terrorism in a serious jeopardy. The invasion of Iraq proved to be unpopular among many Americans, but Clinton emerged as one of the backers, unlike Sanders who stood firm against it.

Another striking difference between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement which focused on trade barriers, environmental protection, and good governance. Hillary Clinton praised the trade deal terming it as a good pact while Bernie Sanders advocated for the immediate blockage of the trade agreement. Sanders was on the lead against the fast tracking of free-trade agreements because of wage decline and loss of middle-class jobs in the US. He was also on the forefront on the opposition of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pushed by Bill Clinton and the Trans-Pacific Partnership which benefited big corporations but not the workers. This is because it was illegitimately negotiated, one-sided affair and is extremely biased towards the political and corporate interest of the United States. While Sanders was against the trade deal, Hillary Clinton was the chief spokesperson of the concept during its second meeting in San Francisco, and she said that the deal would serve as a bench mark for any future agreements and act as a platform for interaction between countries.

Climate change is another crucial factor that gives a clear difference between Sanders and Clinton. Sanders has talked tough about climate change and calls it a threat to the national security of the United States. He wants the green house gas emissions cut so as to combat climate change. Together with Senator Barbara Boxer, Bernie Sanders introduced a bill which proposed a taxation of carbon emissions from large companies which emit massive amounts of gases. Also, Sanders showed effort during his campaign by suggesting a summit with engineers, policy specialists, and activist if elected president, unlike Clinton has not signed any pact on climate change.

Moreover, Bernie Sanders opposed corporate money in politics while Hillary Clinton received millions of dollars from corporation during her campaign. Sanders spoke firmly against the corrupting influence of money received from corporate and did not accept any money from them. He started his campaigns in the grassroots without corporate money but raised dollars from individuals than any other candidate in the race. He did not have a super PAC and promised to overturn the law that limits the US government from limiting donations for these super PACs if elected president. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has collected millions in contributions from corporate organizations which surpass the amount Sanders received from individuals. Blumenthal cites that the primary super PAC which supported Hillary Clintons presidential campaign raised and spent more money as compared to any other PAC since 2010 as this group raised $176 in 10 months in 2015. This much money was realized because the Citizen United gave the green light to corporates to donate unrestricted sum of money to candidates.

Lastly, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have each had a scandal in their lifetime, but Clinton has had a myriad of scandals than Sanders. For example, Mann notes that Hillary Clinton found herself in the middle of a private email scandal where she used a private email and server for official communication (3). By so doing, she contravened the law by negligently losing sensitive national defense information. Her private email contained classified information which disclosed the whereabouts or the travel plans for Chris Stevens, a Unites States ambassador to Libya who was killed during the Benghazi attack in 2012. These emails were later deleted. In contrast, Bernie Sanders has had few scandals. He once wrote an essay about sex which drew mixed reactions from the readers as others felt it was liberation from harmful norms, while others saw the article encouraging men to rape women.

In conclusion, people are similar in some ways, yet some qualities and actions bring out the differences in them. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have striking similarities such as the shared opinions on the Keystone pipeline which connects Canada and the United States. They have worked together for the Obama administration and were in the Democratic Party presidential primaries in 2016. Regardless of the similarity, there are differences between the two. Bernie Sanders has had fewer scandals as compared to Hillary Clinton. Also, she had some donors who funded her campaign, unlike Sanders who raised money from individuals and resisted corporate from donating money towards his campaign.

Works cited

Blumenthal, Paul. Hillary Clintons Super PAC Has Raised More Money than Any Super PAC Ever. The Huffington Post. 27 Oct. 2016.

Mann, David. Hillary Clinton Email Scandal: The Private Email Server Controversy. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.

Michaels, Donalds. Bernie Sanders: The Pros and Cons: Why You Should and Should Not Vote For Him. 2016.