Sanders calls himself an 'existential threat to the corporate wing of the Democratic Party'

[left-of-center2012]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in an interview on Sunday called himself an “existential threat to the corporate wing of the Democratic Party.” Sanders made the remarks on ABC’s “This Week” while arguing that he can unite the Democratic Party if he is its nominee for president.

“What I said is 'I’m an existential threat to the corporate wing of the Democratic Party,' ” he said. “For too long the Democratic Party and leaders have been going to rich peoples’ homes raising money and they’ve ignored the working class and the middle class the low-income people in this country.”

“That has got to change,” he added. “We’ve got to open the doors of the Democratic Party to millions and millions of people.”

The presidential candidate responded to former Vice President Joe Biden’s earlier comments that Sanders would have “great trouble” in keeping control of the House and winning back the Senate.

https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/485347-sanders-calls-himself-an-existential-threat-to-the-corporate-wing

[lapucelle]

1. The doors to the Democratic Party are open to everyone.

BS, more than anyone, should know that.

[George II]

3. Yes they are. They're wide open for anyone to enter OR for anyone to leave.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. How very uniting of him.

The reality is that the party is a big tent that includes many people with views on a broad spectrum ranging from center-left to left. You can't destroy an entire wing of the party and expect to have enough of a base of support left over to win an election. How is he going to attract "millions and millions of people" to the party if he refuses to accept as legitimate the opinions of any who disagree with him?

[TwilightZone]

4. "We've got to open the doors" - we have been, Bernie.

We've been opening the doors to millions of people for decades, Bernie.

Meanwhile, you've been trashing the party and playing the "both sides are bad" game.

Which of those do you suppose has had better success at expanding the tent?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. The big mistake was opening the doors to Bernie.

[OhZone]

18. Yup!

[TwilightZone]

20. The big mistake was treating him with kid gloves.

Fundamentally, I don't have a problem with him caucusing with Democrats and being part of that coalition. The problem is that we've let him get away with behavior that hardly anyone else exhibits, starting with his "both sides are bad" refrain, and he's never been vetted to the same degree as other candidates (until starting now, perhaps).

His following is worse. Not all of his supporters, but many. Their behavior is an extension of his, though he's not as extreme, of course. The underlying hostility to the party, to other Democrats, to the "establishment" and so on comes from the top, however. He shouldn't be surprised when they go overboard.

We were so afraid of alienating his supporters in 2016 that Dems didn't vet him. Clinton didn't vet him for similar reasons and because, frankly, she didn't have to. It was all for naught, of course, because a lot of them stayed home or voted for Trump or Stein.

He's finally being vetted now to some degree, largely by Bloomberg, but it might be too late if we're going to salvage 2020. If we'd treated him like every other candidate, we'd probably be having a very different conversation.

[LuvLoogie]

6. This borders on the megalomaniacal.

Anyone can join the Democratic Party. Why won't Bernie join?

[bluedye33139]

7. You fundraise from wealthy people because they have money and because many of them are progressive

When Jayapal decided to run, she went to Palm Beach county in Florida and had a billionaire venture capitalist amass several million dollars to begin her campaign.

That's how politics is done.

[Docreed2003]

8. How about disclosing the "Our Revolution" donors??

You know, that superPAC that's totally not a superPAC?

[LakeArenal]

9. Sanders saying he's a threat to anything Democratic

Corporate, Establishment, or any “wing” of said Democratic Party should be immediate termination of his Democrat status.

If He wants to be independent of our party he should leave. Again. And stay that way.

[Enoki33]

10. BS can be very duplicitous when he wants to be. Be divisive to

self promote, while claiming he wants the Party to be more inclusive.

[Magoo48]

11. Let's hope he's a threat to the corporate right wing of every party.

Corporate wings will not carry us through the looming Climate Catastrophe. We will need brand new thinking, and Liz and Bernie are the only candidates willing to open the door to that new thinking.

[JudyM]

24. Agree. It's not the party that's the problem, it's the pandering.

[tarheelsunc]

12. I agree, if you take out the words "the corporate wing of". eom

[highplainsdem]

15. +1,000,000

[mcar]

14. Stop dividing us, Bernie

[evertonfc]

16. They want Bernie as a candidate. They know he will lose

[brush]

17. So tired of this crap. When is he going to stop dividing the party?

You just know this is shaping up to be 2016 deja vue all over again at our upcoming convention with Sanders and his supporters creating an ugly scene when he demands the nomination even if he doesn't have a majority of the delegates.

[Squinch]

19. I don't see the logic. Naming post offices, existential threat?

[beastie boy]

21. What has Bernie done as Senator to advance campaign finance reform except

Malign Democrats at every opportunity. How can he conceivably expect his toxic rhetoric to open doors to the Democratic Party for millions and millions of people?

[gulliver]

22. Disqualifying betrayal of the party.

He's throwing around false accusations and trying to wreck party unity.

[Gothmog]

23. Warren calling Bernie Sanders a massive failure. Fails to get things passed

This will be fun to watch

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

25. Keep talking, Bernie

[Laelth]

26. You have to admit. He has a point.

I'd still rather have a team player as my President, but Bernie's message isn't that far off-base.

-Laelth

[FoxNewsSucks]

27. Agreed.

All the squawking is to distract from the fact that he has a point. Corporations and billionaires are buying politicians, and buying influence with any political party they might want a favor from.

It's bad for us all. People want a party that responds to voters, not donors, and definitely not "owners".

[Enoki33]

30. Might be more productive to talk about campaign finance reform in

a manner that does not divide.

[Hoyt]

28. Yet everyone of his proposals/promises depends on profitable corporations and wealthy to tax.

[C_U_L8R]

29. Anti-business is a losing strategy.

Everyone wants to succeed.