Bernie Sanders Sounds Alarm over Corporate Influence in Democrat Party

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
Matt Rourke / Associated Press
Joshua Caplan

Appearing Sunday on Axios On HBO, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized the influence of corporation campaign contributions has on the Democrat Party.

A partial transcript is as follows: 

JONATHAN SWAN: I wonder what you think about this trend, it’s not just in America, but also in other Western countries where center-left and left parties, it’s the education divide. They’re becoming more reliant on college educated voters and they are losing no college education voters–

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: –And urban and rural as well.

SWAN: Urban and rural, forsure. Why do you think that’s happening.

SEN. SANDERS: I think if I am a working class person in this country, I’ve seen my job go to China, I’m working for $9 an hour when I used to make $20 an hour. I don’t have health care or a can’t afford prescription drugs. You’re resentful. Are we talking to those people. I think we’re beginning to see that under the last few months under Biden, but Democrats, traditionally, have been very tepid and feeble about going big.

SWAN: I think there’s a glossiness to it. A sort of San Francisco-New York gloss to the party.

SEN. SANDERS: (Imitation) I’m so smart! I’m really smart! We go to $100 dinners and who really cares about those working-class people?” (Imitation ends). I think it is fair to say, as a result of heavy duty corporate campaign contributions, the Democrat Party has drifted away from the part of FDR and even Harry Truman and being understood and perceived correctly as the working-class party.

SWAN: If that can’t be changed, if that trend of the Democrat Party becomes the party of the college educated, Republicans become the party of the not, do you think that’s sustainable for a progressive party?

SEN. SANDERS: No. And I don’t think it’s sustainable for American democracy.

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