Hillary Clinton to Sanders: No, you’re part of the ‘establishment’

WASHINGTON (AP) – Recall this 2008 storyline: Hillary Clinton enters the presidential campaign as the Democratic front-runner, runs into an inspirational candidate who generates big crowds and enthusiasm. She said his ideas sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world. “If you nominate Trump or Cruz”, Graham told reporters, “I think you get the same outcome”. The former secretary of state is getting more nervous about her previously unchallenged primary win.

Also conspicuously absent: The stinging tone of her critiques which accused Sanders of espousing a string of unachievable goals in foreign policy and health care.

Bill Clinton, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation, has been phoning campaign manager Robby Mook nearly daily to express concerns about the campaign’s organization in the March voting states, which includes delegate bonanzas in Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Texas.

Hillary Clinton delivered a blistering assessment of Bernie Sanders’ credentials here on Thursday and implored Iowa voters to scrutinize his policies and readiness for the White House, declaring, “Theory isn’t enough”.

Though Sanders has dismissed questions about Clinton’s use of a private email account and server as secretary of state and how she responded to the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks, some Democrats say she needs a better response to his critique of her ties to Wall Street, which they argue reinforces months of Republican attacks on her character. It’s an issue Clinton has recently used in attacks against her opponent, painting Sanders with an irresponsible record on firearm legislation while in Congress.

“Rather than build on the progress we’ve made, he wants to start over from scratch with a whole new system”, Clinton said, referring to Sanders’ single-payer health care plan. Clinton held a rally in Iowa City with pop star Demi Lovato last night.

Clinton has been hammering Sanders on a few specific issues in an effort to draw distinctions and peel away some of his support. She said the brief concert was worthwhile for the candidate.

Sanders, an independent who aligns with Democrats on Capitol Hill, has far less backing among the party establishment than Clinton. “Bernie Sanders represents that caricature that Republicans like to put forward”.

The Vermont senator is leading Clinton by 27 percentage points in New Hampshire, a new CNN/WMUR poll has found. Sanders is the favorite choice of 60 percent of likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire compared to 33 percent for Clinton.

“It’s a recipe for gridlock, and her position is we can’t afford to wait”, Clinton said.

“When he points to the people in this room and he declares that you are what’s wrong with America, and part of the establishment that he’s up against, he is just dead wrong”, she said. “For example, he suggested we invite Iranian troops into Syria”.