Van Jones: Democratic Party ‘Has a Problem,’ ‘The Whitest Field’ Since 1992

CNN political commentator and former green jobs advisor to President Obama Van Jones argued the Democratic Party “has a problem” and “the whitest field that we have seen since 1992” on Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

Jones said that Democratic candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) picking up the endorsement of Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) “might make a difference” because “Keith Ellison is incredibly well respected. He’s African-American. He’s one of the few Muslims in Congress, and he’s very outspoken. He’s a leading indicator, a lot of people will take Sanders more seriously because of Keith.”

He continued, “I think this whole party has a problem. This is the whitest field that we have seen since 1992. There’s no Sharpton. There’s no Carol Moseley Braun. There’s no non-white people there, and this is a party that has to get, not 60%, not 70%, not 90%, but 94% of the black vote to win. This is a big problem for the whole party. The Clintons get the black vote by default, but nobody has made a case yet Jake, that they can do better. If Biden gets in, he might be able to make that case, but Bernie Sanders has so much room to grow with the black vote, he should take the opportunity tomorrow to make his case why a white guy from Vermont should get the support of a party with that much black participation.”

(h/t Daily Caller)

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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