Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sharply criticized the Democratic Party on Wednesday, blaming its focus away from working-class priorities for its recent losses in the White House and Senate. “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders said, following Vice President Harris’s projected popular vote loss by nearly 5 million votes and Democratic Senate losses in West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio.
Sanders argued that the party’s failure to address economic inequality, job loss due to technology, high healthcare costs, and U.S. support for the Gaza war reflects a disconnect with voters. He questioned whether the party’s leaders and consultants understood “the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing” or had any solutions to address economic power disparities.
As chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Sanders highlighted his unsuccessful efforts to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2028, expand Medicare, and tackle housing issues, citing pushback from centrist figures like Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.). Tensions between Sanders and Manchin peaked in 2021 during negotiations on Biden’s scaled-back “Build Back Better” agenda, which ultimately fell short of Sanders’s progressive ambitions.
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
