Washington insiders and the corporate media were blindsided by Donald Trump\u2019s victory because they have \u201clittle understanding\u201d of Americans\u2019 problems, Bernie Sanders said, adding that the US may want to \u201crethink\u201d the Electoral College.<\/p>\n
The independent senator from Vermont who made a bid for the Democratic nomination but lost the primary race to Hillary Clinton shrugged off questions about whether he could have defeated the Republican nominee in the general election.<\/p>\n
\nI come from the white working class, and I am deeply humiliated that the Democratic Party cannot talk to the people where I came from.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 14, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cMonday-morning quarterbacking is always easy,\u201d<\/em> Sanders told USA Today<\/a>. \u201cThe answer is, I don\u2019t know. Nobody knows. I certainly wish I had had that opportunity. Some of the polls out there suggest that might have been the case.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Sanders, however, was not shocked by the final outcome of the election.\u00a0 \u201cTrump very successfully understood a lot of people are angry. They feel the economy of this country is not working for them,\u201d<\/em> he told the paper. \u201cPeople are angry and they\u2019re frustrated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cThe punditry and the inside-the-Beltway mentality really has very little understanding of what\u2019s going on with working people. It\u2019s really almost embarrassing,\u201d<\/em> Sanders added.<\/p>\n
As a result, Republicans have achieved an unprecedented grip on power \u2013 with majorities in the House, Senate and governorships across the US \u2013 while holding opinions Sanders is convinced are wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are asking,\u201d<\/em> he said, \u201chow in God\u2019s name do these guys win elections? Well, the Democratic leadership of today hasn\u2019t figured this out. It is time for profound change.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Along with fellow Senate progressive Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Sanders is backing Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) to be the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He also seemed sympathetic toward protesters who have taken to streets of major US cities, denouncing Trump as \u201cnot their president.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are angry. People are upset. And they want to express their point of view that they are very frightened, in very, very strong disagreement with Mr. Trump, who has made bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign,\u201d<\/em> Sanders told USA Today.<\/p>\n
One of the protesters\u2019 demands is to abolish the Electoral College, a mechanism for electing presidents since the founding of the US, because Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton\u2019s 232, though the Democrat apparently won a slightly larger share of popular vote nationwide. Sanders favored \u201clooking into\u201d<\/em> the institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may want to take a look at the whole Electoral College, which is seating a man for president who didn\u2019t get the most votes. This is something we need a serious discussion on,\u201d<\/em> he said, noting that the election revolved around 15 \u201cbattleground\u201d<\/em> states while the \u201csafe\u201d<\/em> Democratic or Republican states were ignored. Sanders himself campaigned in 46 states.<\/p>\n
Asked if it was conceivable he could run for president in 2020, Sanders quipped it was \u201cconceivable that I may fly to the moon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cIf [SpaceX founder] Elon Musk called me, I could go to Mars,\u201d<\/em> he added. \u201cSee, you\u2019re wrong. I\u2019m going to make Mars a progressive planet. I\u2019ll be there first, planting the flag. People don\u2019t think big enough!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Sanders\u2019 book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In<\/em>, will be published Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Via RT<\/a>. This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission or license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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