Bernie Sanders Warns Dems Are Headed for a Thumping in November: ‘Can’t Win an Election’ Just By Saying ‘The Other Side is Worse’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned that Democrats are headed for a thumping in November, saying that elections can’t be won only by saying “the other side is worse.”

“You really can’t win an election with a bumper sticker that says: ‘Well, we can’t do much, but the other side is worse,’” he told Politico on Tuesday. “The Republicans stand an excellent chance of gaining control of the House and quite possibly the Senate.”

Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, added that gun control and abortion won’t be enough for Democrats to hang on in the midterms. He said those who “think that they’re gonna march to victory based on those issues, I think that that is not correct.”

The senator blasted Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) without calling them out by name.

“Say to the American people: ‘Look, we don’t have the votes to do it right now. We have two corporate Democrats who are not going to be with us,’” he said.

“The leadership has got to go out and say we don’t have the votes to pass anything significant right now. Sorry. You got 48 votes. And we need more to pass it. That should be the message of this campaign.”

In response, Manchin told Politico, “I have never berated Sen. Sanders for his socialist views. It is a shame he refuses to accept the more moderate views I share with my constituents.”

Sinema declined to comment.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!