Bernie Sanders Says That the Democrat Party Is a ‘Threat to Democracy’

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) acknowledged during an interview on Flagrant, hosted by Andrew Schulz, that the Democrat Party could fairly be seen as a “threat to democracy.” The discussion revolved around concerns that the Democratic primary process hasn’t been genuinely competitive since 2008.

Andrew Schulz, who introduced himself as a longtime Democrat, expressed frustration with Sanders’s decision to endorse Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race. He shared the sentiment that many Democrat voters have felt sidelined, especially in recent presidential elections, where Sanders appeared to be the popular choice for those seeking meaningful change, yet was repeatedly blocked by the party establishment.

“We felt that over the last four elections, Democrats, we felt that we didn’t have a say on who could be president,” Schulz stated. “We talk a lot about the Republicans being autocrats and oligarchs and taking over democracy, but from the Democrat perspective, and as I’m a lifelong Democrat, I felt like the Democratic Party completely removed the democratic process from its constituents.”

Recalling the events of 2016, Schulz said he was hopeful about Sanders’s campaign and devastated when it ended with a concession to the party’s choice. “I wanted you to, like, 2016 I was like, this is going to happen. This guy’s going to do it. And it felt like they, it felt like they stole it from you. And I’ll be honest, it broke my heart when you, when you supported them,” he admitted.

Sanders responded by pointing to the political realities he faced at the time. “Look, but you have, in the world that I live in, you got a choice,” he said. “And I mean, a lot of people, including my wife, agree with you, but you know, you’re down to a choice. Is it going to be Hillary Clinton or is it going to be Donald Trump? Not a great choice.”

Schulz then questioned the logic of playing along, noting that the outcome was Trump anyway. “Why don’t we burn it down?” he asked.

Sanders warned that such drastic action would have dire real-world consequences. “Burning it down” would result in “children are not going to have, you know, food to eat, that the schools will deteriorate. People will not have health care,” he explained.

“I’m an elected official. I got to represent the people. I can’t turn my back on—” Sanders began, before Singh interrupted with a pointed question: wasn’t it true that if there hasn’t been a legitimate primary since 2008, the Democrat Party itself posed a threat to democratic principles?

Sanders conceded the point. “Fair enough,” Sanders said. “That is, that is — yeah. I’m not going to argue with that.”

The senator’s remarks stand in contrast to his prior rhetoric, where he repeatedly attacked President Donald Trump and the Republican Party as endangering democracy. Back in 2020, Sanders labeled Trump “the greatest threat to this country in the modern history of this country.” That same year, he declared that authoritarianism had “taken root in our country.”

Yet it was under the Biden administration that some of the most aggressive government interventions occurred, particularly during the pandemic, when citizens were forced to choose between compliance and employment, effectively stripping them of personal autonomy.

And in a twist of political irony, despite Sanders’s earlier warnings about threats to democracy, the Democrat Party would go on to sideline its own sitting president, Joe Biden, replacing him with former Vice President Kamala Harris just months before the 2024 election—subverting the choice of its voters once again.

{Matzav.com}