Leid Stories—Parsing Bernie Sanders’ Entreaty to the Democratic Party—06.14.17

2017-06-14

In an op-ed piece appearing yesterday in nytimes.com, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving Independent in Congress (although he caucuses with the Senate’s Democrats), took on the Democrats’ losing streak. The piece, titled “How Democrats Can Stop Losing Elections,” argued that the 2016 elections were “a clear manifestation of a failed political strategy by the party,” and that “for the sake of our country and the world, the Democratic Party in a very fundamental way must change direction.”

In an op-ed piece appearing yesterday in nytimes.com, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving Independent in Congress (although he caucuses with the Senate’s Democrats), took on the Democrats’ losing streak. The piece, titled “How Democrats Can Stop Losing Elections,” argued that the 2016 elections were “a clear manifestation of a failed political strategy by the party,” and that “for the sake of our country and the world, the Democratic Party in a very fundamental way must change direction.”

Sanders points to several heard-many-times-before reasons the party could bolster its appeal to voters if it acted aggressively on critical issues —including widespread disappointment with President Trump, income inequality, an unfair tax system, health-care coverage for all, criminal-justice reform, immigration, student debt, and climate change. But the party’s lackluster effort at pushing such issues is pushing people away, Sanders says.

Leid Stories questions why Sanders won’t say why the Democrats really are losing elections.

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