Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Democrats “lack a vision for the future” and, alongside Republicans, are “failing the working class,” but denied he was trying to start a third party on Sunday.
Sanders – who recently told the New York Times one of the goals of his tour of rallies across the country with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was to encourage progressive candidates to run as independents and not as Democrats – denied that he was attempting to start a third party when asked by NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker.
“We’re not trying to start a third party. What we are trying to do is strengthen American Democracy where faith in both the Democratic and Republican Parties is extremely low,” Sanders said.
“You want to run as a Democrat? Great. You want to run as an independent? That’s great, but you’ve got to get involved in the political process,” he added.
Sanders continued, “What Democrats lack right now is a vision for the future… The two-party system is failing the working class of this country.”
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been barnstorming the country on what they call their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. The duo have attracted large crowds at their rallies, which have been held in Arizona, Utah, California and other states, but have also attracted criticism.
The far-left lawmakers were spotted exiting a private jet costing a staggering $15,000 an hour in Sacramento, California on April 17. The self-identified Democratic Socialists chartered the jet to transport them to several West Coast stops on the tour.
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Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., recently called on the liberal lawmakers to stop using the term “oligarchy,” saying the term primarily resonates with coastal elites.
Sanders sharply rebuked the senator when asked if he should ditch the word, telling Welker, “I think the American people are not quite as dumb as Miss Slotkin thinks they are.”
“We had 36,000 people out in Los Angeles, 34,000 people in Colorado, we had 30,000 people in Folsom, California, which is kind of a rural area… When big money interests are able to control both political parties, they are living in an oligarchy, and these are precisely the issues that have got to be talked about,” he added.
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An April Fox News poll found that Democrats are at their lowest favorability rating ever, with just 41% of those surveyed having a favorable view of the party and 56% of respondents having an unfavorable view, leaving the party at a negative 15% rating. Democrats are still favored over the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, however.