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Bernie Sanders Pushes Message Of "Not Me. Us." At El Paso Rally

Bernie Sanders/Facebook
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El Paso - February 22, 2020

Before winning the Nevada caucus on Saturday, Democratic Presidential candidate U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders spoke in El Paso.  

To a standing room only crowd at the Abraham Chavez Theater, Sanders said he will fight for immigration reform and remarked he would end ICE raids and Trump’s policy of detaining children.

But the focus of the speech was economic inequality, and Sanders received loud applause for promising a $15 an hour minimum wage and universal healthcare.

“We’re going to win this election, because the American people understand there is something profoundly wrong in the richest country in the history of the world, when we have more income and wealth inequality today than at any time in the last hundred years.  It is not acceptable to working people in this country that three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society,” Sanders said.

Those comments are reflective of Sanders' campaign slogan, "Not Me. Us.", advocating for the public interest as opposed to special interests. 

Outside the theater, many Trump supporters wore hats with the “Make America Great Again” slogan and carried signs saying, “No Bernie! No socialism, socialism leads to communism.”   

It’s the clear talking point of Republicans in advance of November elections.  But it’s one that may prove difficult.  An analysis of the Trump tax cuts highlights the challenge. 

While Sanders calls for government benefits for all citizens, Trump’s tax cuts heavily favored the rich and corporations.  The Institute on Taxation on Economic Policy looked at Fortune 500 companies, and its analysis found 91, including Amazon, IBM, and Halliburton, did not pay federal taxes on 2018 income.  Another 56 firms had an average effective tax rate of just 2.2 percent.

Early voting is underway in the Texas primary, which concludes on Super Tuesday, March 3.