Bernie Sanders agrees Democratic Party is 'threat to democracy,' removed process from its constituents
"Over the last four elections, Democrats, we felt that we didn't have a say on who could be president," Schulz said on his "Flagrant" podcast. "We talk a lot about the Republicans being autocrats and oligarchs and taking over democracy. But from the Democrat perspective, and I'm a lifelong Democrat, I felt like the Democratic Party completely removed the democratic process from its constituents. And I think they need to have some accountability of that."
The progressive senator agreed, adding, "no argument here."
The Vermont senator has been touring the country with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for their "Fighting Oligarchy" tour that's drawn large crowds.
Schulz said he felt the party stole the nomination from Sanders in 2016, when he narrowly lost the Democratic primary to establishment favorite Hillary Clinton, who went on to lose to Donald Trump.
"And I'll be honest, it broke my heart when you supported them," Schulz told Sanders.
"In the world that I live in, you've got a choice. And I know a lot of people, including my wife, agree with you, but you're down to a choice," Sanders said. "Is it going to be Hillary Clinton? Or is it going to be Donald Trump? Not a great choice."
Singh posed another question to Sanders about the Democratic Party being a threat to democracy.
"Could we not also say, ostensibly, there hasn't been a fair primary for the Democrats since 2008, are they not also a threat to democracy?" he asked.
Sanders replied, "yes."
"Fair enough," he added. "I'm not going to argue with that point. And that's why I'm proudly an Independent."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
Eric Adams slams socialist Zohran Mamdani's ‘false promises' as sure to harm lower-income New Yorkers
Promises, promises. A dubious Eric Adams slammed his main mayoral rival Zohran Mamdani's socialist proposals as a bunch of 'false promises' sure to harm the upstart's lower-income supporters. Adams, in a newly released interview, made clear his disdain for Mamdani's arguably pie-in-the-sky solutions stemmed from his own hardscrabble childhood. Advertisement 4 Mayor Eric Adams attacked mayoral rival Zohran Mamdani's 'false promises.' Michael Nigro 'I truly believe the worst thing you can do as New Yorkers are struggling is to make broken promises,' he told The Post's Miranda Devine for her 'Pod Force One' podcast. 'I saw that as a child. My mother was raising six children. Oftentimes she would get those broken promises never to resolve the issues we were facing — and that is what (Mamdani's) doing,' Adams said. Advertisement Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington. Subscribe here! 'I think it's unfair to New Yorkers, and it's unfair to the direction that the city is moving in now, and it is in the right direction.' The attack against Mamdani — who clinched the nomination of Adams' Democratic Party in the mayoral primary by running a campaign relentlessly focused on affordability — didn't stop there during the mayor's wide-ranging conversation with Devine. 4 Mamdani is the mayoral frontrunner. James Messerschmidt Advertisement Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent on the 'Safe and Affordable' line, zeroed in on Mamdani's marquee proposals, arguing they simply won't work out in reality. The socialist's promise to make buses free 'sounds good,' Adams acknowledged. 'But it costs $3 billion and mayors don't have the ability to raise income taxes,' Adams said. Full Episode Advertisement '(Mamdani) stated he's going to raise income tax on the high 1% of New Yorkers, when at the same time he's saying that billionaires should not be in our city, so he can't raise the income taxes, so he's making these false promises.' Likewise, Adams argued Mamdani's plan to build a city-owned grocery store in each borough and freeze rents on rent-regulated apartments will eventually end up hurting working-class New Yorkers. 4 Mamdani's campaign relentlessly focused on affordability. Getty Images 'If the cost of running a building is higher than the rent roll of the building, then you're going to see eventually lack of repairs, lack of quality of life, and again, that is going to hurt low-income New Yorkers,' Adams said. Hizzoner also knocked Mamdani's repeated support for shuttering Rikers Island in 2027 and opening the doors to controversial borough-based jails in the Big Apple. Under that plan, though, whoever is in City Hall will have to relocate roughly 3,000 inmates, since Rikers has more than 7,000 people behind bars and the borough jails are only set to accommodate just over 4,000 accused criminals. Advertisement Mamdani has been scant on details on how to address the shortfall of beds with the Rikers replacement, only saying he'd work with the various district attorneys to release more people or enroll them in pretrial intervention. 4 Adams argues Mamdani's proposals will end up hurting working-class New Yorkers. Lev Radin/Shutterstock Adams, a former NYPD captain, likened the plan to empty Rikers to the state's 2019 bail reform legislation — which he maintains has let criminals run free in the city. 'If he empties out Rikers Island, those dangerous people are going to go back into the communities that they inflicted violence in in the first place, and they're largely black and brown communities,' Adams said. Advertisement 'So, the individuals he's stating he wants to help, he's actually hurting.' Adams knocked former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed bail reform into law. Cuomo is mounting a political comeback by running as an independent in the November mayoral election — after getting trounced by Mamdani in last month's Dem primary. And the mayor took time to slam another rival, too, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Advertisement 'When I look at the candidates that are in the race, one has no record,' he said, referring to Sliwa, who has never held an elected office. 'The other is running away from his records,' he said about Cuomo, 'such as bail reform of 15,000 of our seniors dying in nursing homes and other issues.'
Boston Globe
a few seconds ago
- Boston Globe
A Vermont country girl becomes a Boston city slicker
There's the equally common sight of unkempt fields with disheveled, melancholy cows separated from the scarred pavement by nothing except a halfhearted wooden fence. Then there's the tire-popping back roads that toss up rocks and dirt, enough to coat your lungs like ash, and the famously New England smell of ammonia and sulfur (courtesy of the cows) that seeps through car windows and even plugged noses. Vermont is accustomed to frequent clichés and assumptions. Like anyone who grew up in rural Vermont, I fiercely defend the picturesque quality of a state whose claims to fame include Ben and Jerry's, Bernie Sanders, Noah Kahan, and maple syrup. Advertisement But as a 20-something college student living in Boston for the first time, I often fall into the cynical perspective that the rural New England of my youth is characterized by slow-moving days and even slower driving. Conversely, in Boston, constant horns and sirens breach any possibility of peace and quiet, unfinished construction abounds, and if you need a reminder you're never alone, a brisk walk through the Common will do. There's also the fact that Boston boasts several thousand more people (around 673,000 according to the Advertisement There's a big wealth gap between Vermont and Massachusetts, too. According to the Vermont Department of Health, While some fled to Vermont for more space and remote work during the COVID pandemic, recent data indicate a A house in Plainfield, Vt., remained covered in dirt and silt earlier this month as the owners awaited word on government buyout programs. Paul Heintz for The Boston Globe Advertisement Cows grazed on a dairy farm in Salisbury, Vt. Amanda Swinhart/Associated Press Homes in Vermont, whether they are imposing, historical farmhouses lining the roadside, mid-'90s ranch-style houses, or quaint cottages stuck deep in the woods, often sit on open space. Sprawling acres of cleared land mix with dense forests, farms, or wide rivers. Thinking of Boston homes conjures the image of old brownstones or row houses stacked atop each other, lining the narrow streets. The town of Hartford, Vt., has an average home value of $417,766, At age 21, I am more familiar with renting than owning. The average rent back home would be about Since being in Boston, I've found that despite the occasional unreliability of the MBTA, everything is right there for you. A midnight ER visit is a 10-minute walk, a morning coffee run is on the way to work, and there's certainly more to do for a college-age person pursuing a career and enjoying a social scene. Boston is a perpetual college city, while Hartford is a town of families with a side of tourists, if you stop by the Advertisement The cacophonous rush of the city — sirens, rap music pouring out of car windows, swarms of people everywhere you look — has become home to me. Compared with rural northern New England, Boston is a head-spinning cold plunge into early adulthood and city life. While I can't say I miss the thick, manure-laden air, the mud-flecked late-winter slush, or the appallingly low amount of cell service, there is nothing quite like returning home to crickets and frogs chirping under a sky freckled with countless stars and the peaceful silence of mountains and back roads. Haley Clough can be reached .
Fox News
a minute ago
- Fox News
George Clooney silent after Hunter Biden blasts actor for op-ed that helped end Biden campaign
George Clooney is keeping quiet after Hunter Biden unleashed a string of vulgar attacks on the Hollywood actor. Hunter, 55, accused Clooney, 64, of turning on his father, former President Joe Biden, and helping lead the charge to push him out of the 2024 race. "I love George Clooney's movies, but I don't really give a s--- what he thinks about who should be the nominee for the Democratic Party," Hunter said on the "At Our Table" podcast. "I was about to say I really like George Clooney as an actor, but the truth of the matter is, the truth is, I'll be honest, I really don't like George Clooney as an actor or as a person." Hunter recalled tensions between Clooney and his father behind the scenes at an event prior to the election. "George Clooney, before that event … literally threatened to pull out of the event — how many times? Five, six times? Over and over again, saying that he was so upset because my dad refused to recognize the arrest warrant for Netanyahu," Hunter said as he referred to the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. Hunter claimed Clooney's behavior at the event was distant and alleged the actor only stayed for five minutes, spoke to no one except Barack Obama and ignored the rest of the crowd. "Literally, I was whispering in [Biden's] ear saying, 'Dad, f--- him.' … You got to be kidding me because I was so mad," Hunter added. "And he claims in his arrogance that my dad, the president of the United States, didn't know who the actor was." Reps for Clooney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Clooney has yet to comment publicly on Hunter's comments, even as the president's son continues his media blitz. In a separate appearance with Andrew Callaghan on his "Channel 5" podcast over the weekend, Hunter's criticism of Clooney escalated into a full-blown, hourslong meltdown accusing the "Ocean's 11" star of sabotaging his father's re-election effort. Hunter said the alleged move was made with "the blessing" of former President Obama and his cohorts. "F--- him! F--- him and f--- everybody around him," Hunter said bluntly. "I don't have to be f---ing nice. No. 1, I agree with Quentin Tarantino. George Clooney is not a f---ing actor. He is a f---ing, I don't know what he is. He's a brand." The former president's son's rage emerged as they discussed Clooney's infamous New York Times op-ed, which was published days after his father's widely criticized debate performance. Clooney called for Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee at the time. "It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe 'big f---ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020," Clooney wrote. "He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate." Clooney's statement appeared to trigger a furious response from Hunter, who blasted the actor for spreading what he called false claims about his father's mental health. WATCH: GEORGE CLOONEY TALKS FAMILY LIFE AT KENNEDY CENTER HONORS "Why do I have to f---ing listen to you?" Hunter asked during the podcast. "What do you have to do with f---ing anything?… What right do you have to step on a man who's given 52 years of his f---ing life to the service of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full-page ad in the f---ing New York Times to undermine the president?" Biden withdrew from the race July 21, 2024, and was replaced on the Democratic ticket by Kamala Harris. Hunter also noted Clooney was friends with former President Obama and only published his essay with the "blessing of the Obama team." "You know what George Clooney did? Because he sat down with, I guess, because he was given a blessing by the Obama team, the Obama people and whoever else," he said. In April, Clooney spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper about writing the op-ed, saying it was his "civic duty." "It was a civic duty because I found that people on my side of the street — you know, I'm a Democrat in Kentucky, so I get it. When I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time to … some people [are mad], sure. That's OK, you know. Listen, the idea of freedom of speech is you can't demand freedom of speech and then say, 'But don't say bad things about me,'" Clooney said. While on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in February, Clooney spoke about Harris losing to Donald Trump in the presidential election. "I was raised a Democrat in Kentucky … and you know I've lost a lot of elections. … You know, this is democracy and this is how it works," he said. "It didn't work out. That's what happens. It's part of democracy. … And, you know, there's people that agree and people who disagree, and most of us still like each other. We're all gonna get through it." Clooney spoke about President Trump again in April during an interview with Patti LuPone for Variety's "Actors on Actors: Broadway." "He's charismatic. There's no taking that away from him. He's a television star. But eventually we'll find our better angels. We have every other time," he said. "If you're a Democrat, we have to find some people to represent us better, who have a sense of humor and who have a sense of purpose. I think we'll get the House back in a year and a half, and I think that'll be a check and balance on power." Earlier this year, Clooney was thrust into the spotlight as questions about his family's future in the U.S. under President Trump's administration arose. Clooney's wife, Amal, is an international human rights lawyer born in Lebanon and raised in the U.K., and she holds legal credentials in both Britain and the United States. Amal reportedly gave legal advice in a war crimes case against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza, according to the Financial Times. A Trump executive order claimed the court "engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel. The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. "The United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC's transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members." Clooney proposed to Amal in April 2014, and the couple married five months later in Venice, Italy. In 2017, the Clooneys welcomed twins Alexander and Ella.
