In an interview with the Guardian from his home base in Burlington, Vermont, Sanders urged the Democratic president to inject more urgency into his bid for re-election. He said that unless the president was more direct in recognising the many crises faced by working-class families his Republican rival would win.

“We’ve got to see the White House move more aggressively on healthcare, on housing, on tax reform, on the high cost of prescription drugs,” Sanders said. “If we can get the president to move in that direction, he will win; if not, he’s going to lose.”

The US senator from Vermont added that he was in contact with the White House pressing that point. “We hope to make clear to the president and his team that they are not going to win this election unless they come up with a progressive agenda that speaks to the needs of the working class of this country.”

Sanders’ warning comes at a critical time in American politics. On Monday, Republicans in Iowa will gather for caucuses that mark the official start of the 2024 presidential election.

Biden faces no serious challenger in the Democratic primaries. But concern is mounting over how he would fare against Trump given a likely rematch between them in November.

  • @[email protected]
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    11 months ago

    Trump’s cultist ass should be getting crushed.

    Makes me wonder what might have happened if the DNC hadn’t f**ked Bernie over, twice.

    • @badbytes
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      2411 months ago

      Yeah, the DNC f-ing unknowingly gave that blowhard dictator his platform.

      • @[email protected]
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        1311 months ago

        Very explicitly knowingly *

        *FTFY.

        Democrats will suspend the constitution THEMSELVES before they go against our corporate overlords and run someone like Bernie.

      • @Linkerbaan
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        1011 months ago

        Unknowingly? They would rather have Trump than Bernie ruining their two party corruption. The DNC won in 2016.

      • @metalsonic00
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        611 months ago

        They didnt care. DNC would rather lose with Hillary/Biden then win with Bernie.

        • queermunist she/her
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          011 months ago

          The DNC loves losing. Losing means they can endlessly fundraise and not have to actually govern!

    • @chitak166
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      811 months ago

      Rich people would be getting richer slower and the world would be a better place.

    • oce 🐆
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      -811 months ago

      Maybe he would have lost his aura because he wouldn’t have had the means to do what he says should be done.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 months ago

        Maybe he would have lost his aura

        At this point Bernie’s lost at least some of it; I can’t disagree with those who’ve accused him of sheepdogging, although I think he was trying to do the best he could with what he had.

        • @[email protected]
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          111 months ago

          Sanders not burning his own party cost him much of his clout. Frankly they deserved it for what they did to him and his show of weakness backing the warhawk Clinton was awful to see from someone who usually has so much fire.

          • @[email protected]OP
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            411 months ago

            Bernie’s moral code includes supporting his party’s “democratic” ways, as anything else would be a coup in its own right.

            Even if I believe he’s off the mark in doing that, I admire him for it. It’s rare to see these days.

            • @Linkerbaan
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              -1011 months ago

              Admirable? Blind slavery to a corrupt system? I fail to see what is admirable about not trying to fix a country but instead keeping corruption alive.

              • Xhieron
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                611 months ago

                What alternative would you propose? Say what you will about Sanders, but he actually wants the Republic to last, imperfect though it may be. Apparently many of his critics prefer a politician who will throw a tantrum if things don’t go his way and then try to bring down the whole nation. That reminds me of someone else.

                • @Linkerbaan
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                  -611 months ago

                  What a brave man supporting genocide and imperialism. The empire must last a 1000 years and nobody should ever try to change it.

                  • Xhieron
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                    11 months ago

                    Your change involves kids in cages, dead immigrants in rivers, American military deployment in American cities, assassinated political opponents, and dead women in American hospitals. I think I prefer Joe Biden.

                    Just to be clear–I’m not a fan of the ongoing Palestinian genocide. It’s reprehensible. But Biden didn’t cause that. The US supports the state of Israel for complex geopolitical reasons that aren’t that different from why it also supports other regimes that lack stirling human rights records, and those reasons date back nearly a hundred years. That’s realpolitik, and you might not like how the diplomatic sausage is made. It’s not pretty for the US, and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it’s not pretty for other nations either. But guess what? If Bernie Sanders were president, or if Donald Trump were president, you know what would be different about America’s foreign policy position re Israel? Not a goddamned thing. Because this is as good as it gets. It’s a calculated diplomatic position. Not pretty, and not fun politically, but every alternative is as morally black or worse, and absolutely worse for US interests.

                    The US is an empire. It does empire things. Sometimes I don’t like those things. But I live here. So yeah, 1000 years sounds nice. Certainly beats trying to kill the whole experiment in less than four. That’s what the other guy wants. Personally, I’d rather keep it around to try to do some fixing.

                    But keep it coming with the hyperbole if it makes you feel righteous.

          • @[email protected]
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            311 months ago

            Sanders not burning his own party cost him much of his clout.

            Technically it’s not his own party since he’s an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, but otherwise I know exactly what you mean.

    • @Rusticus
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      -2511 months ago

      Well progressives are to blame for their incessant whining that any candidate that is not 100% progressive is absolute shit. Progressives are bitching about PEOPLE while corporatists are controlling the narrative about ISSUES.

      • @[email protected]
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        2311 months ago

        Progressives are bitching about PEOPLE while corporatists are controlling the narrative about ISSUES.

        Progressives have been banging the drum for universal health care (an ISSUE) for years, so far with no luck – (no) thanks to the corporatists.

        And as for Israel (also an ISSUE), don’t get me started…

        • @Rusticus
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          -1611 months ago

          The whole point is that progressives are getting CRUSHED by the corporatists because the whiners can’t stop eating their own.

          • @[email protected]
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            11 months ago

            progressives are getting CRUSHED by the corporatists

            Well yeah, because the corporatists control the purse strings.

            • @Rusticus
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              -911 months ago

              Until progressives learn to play and win the messaging game, we’re wasting our time. But it has to start with positive messaging not negative messaging. Trumpists have that market cornered.

              • @[email protected]
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                11 months ago

                Again, messaging takes money, and that’s controlled by the corporate wing of the party.

                Progressives are more or less wasting their time if they don’t leave the party.

              • @go_go_gadget
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                211 months ago

                It’s not a messaging issue. Boomers are intentionally voting against progressives and leftists in primaries because boomers are selfish pieces of shit who enjoy fucking over anybody younger than 65 years old.

          • @go_go_gadget
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            411 months ago

            What on earth are you talking about? Progressives and leftists didn’t lose the 2020 primaries due to infighting. Having multiple candidates running with similar perspectives is a sign of a healthy movement. I wanted Bernie but I would’ve happily supported others.

            But Boomers couldn’t resist the chance to vote against progressive and leftist efforts and since Biden was the only viable procorporate trash candidate they rallied around him.

            Fuck the Boomers.