‘Those of us concerned about grassroots democracy and economic justice need to have some very serious discussions,’ Sanders said.
After the Democratic Party posted losses during the 2024 election, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for a realignment of sorts within the Democratic coalition to focus on “working class people.”
On Nov. 6, the longtime senator released a lengthy statement and didn’t mince words in his criticism of the party. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate, accused Democrats of “[abandoning] working class people” and said that because of that, “the working class has abandoned them.”
“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,” said Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who ran in 2016 and 2020 in the Democratic Party’s primaries for president.
His statement focused on what he described as wealth inequality, a declining standard of living in the United States, and a poor health care system, as well as how the Democratic Party has largely backed Israel’s military campaigns.
“We continue to spend billions funding [the Israeli government’s war],” Sanders said. “Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?
“Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.”
Because of inflation, the real “weekly wages for the average American worker are actually lower now than they were 50 years ago,” he said.
“Today, despite an explosion of technology and worker productivity, many young people will have a worse standard of living than their parents,” Sanders said.
The senator then ended his statement by calling on the Democratic Party to examine its own future.
“Those of us concerned about grassroots democracy and economic justice need to have some very serious discussions,” he said.
During the Biden administration, Sanders has worked closely with the White House to craft its domestic policy goals on health care, education, child care, and workers’ issues. He is the longest-serving independent in Congress.
He currently chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and often focuses on health care, higher taxes on wealthier people, lower spending on defense, and climate-related policies.
Sanders, a critic of President-elect Donald Trump, had endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Over the past year or so, he has disagreed strongly with Biden on aid for Israel’s year-long war with Hamas and has sought to block U.S. arms sales to Israel.
During the 2024 election, Trump decisively defeated Harris, winning crucial battleground states and on track to win the popular vote.
Other than Sanders, several other congressional Democrats made note of the seismic shift that occurred in the American electorate following Trump’s victory.
“This is a realignment. Our country has moved to the right. It’s not center left. Our party needs to grapple with it and find its footing in that world,” Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) told NBC News this week. “It takes time. Finger-pointing is not worth it at all. This was a message. The voters were speaking to us. It would be to our detriment to not hear it.”
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) told the outlet that Democrats need to work with Republicans in Congress, saying the American people have given the GOP a mandate to do so. He also said he’s not sure if there should be a switch in the Democratic Party’s leadership.
“To be determined, I couldn’t point to anyone. It’s a vacuum. Bring back James Carville,” he said, referring to the longtime Democratic strategist who helped propel former President Bill Clinton to victory in the 1990s.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.