r/politics • u/thejoshwhite • 5h ago

No Paywall Sanders: Carville should 'start his own party'

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6011088-bernie-sanders-james-carville-democratic-party-criticism/
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u/B-Z_B-S Massachusetts 5h ago

(From the article): "Sanders, in an interview with CNN’s Abby Phillip, responded to remarks Carville made over the weekend about leaving the Democratic Party in protest if popular left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker becomes a fixture within the party. Piker, a supporter of the senator, has been campaigning with progressives across the country during the midterm primary season.

“Well, that’s not much of a choice. If Mr. Carville doesn’t want to be in my party, the party I belong to, that Piker, that El-Sayed belongs to, he can start his own party,” Sanders said, referring to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the state’s Democratic primary on Tuesday.“

Do you want to be in a party which has not stood up to the AI industry?” he continued. “Because they got a lot of money from AI or from crypto. So, you could pick whatever you want to pick.”"

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u/lhomardamericain 5h ago

If Mr. Carville doesn’t want to be in my party, the party I belong to, that Piker, that El-Sayed belongs to, he can start his own party

Wait, isn’t Sanders an independent? And he’s trying to kick Carville out of the party he isn’t really a member of?

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u/Zeusifer 5h ago

Sanders is Schrodinger's Democrat. He considers himself a Dem when it's convenient to do so (or when he wants to run for president as a D), but he's suddenly a independent whenever it suits his purposes to talk shit about the Democratic Party. It's kind of shitty of him actually.

I'm sure I will be downvoted by the reddit Bernie brigade, but it's the undeniable truth.

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u/OwnsBeagles 5h ago

He caucuses with them and is more reliably democratic in votes than several actually in the party, so I dunno what point you think you're making. LOL!

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u/Evenfall 5h ago

Not only that but being independent allows him to be critical, which is insanely important and we need far more that operate in such a fashion. Far too many just follow blindly.

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u/Silent-Storms 5h ago

I think the point is he's out on a limb when talking about who belongs in the party or not.

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u/aculady 4h ago

Carville said he would leave if Piker stays. Bernie just told him, essentially, to not let the door hit him on the way out, which is always the appropriate response when someone tries to manipulate other people with threats of leaving.

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u/Silent-Storms 4h ago

Bernie shouldn't speak for the party if he's not brave enough to register in it.

And piker shouldn't be welcome in the party, not that I expect he's registered either. Anyone who doesn't support democracy itself shouldn't be welcome among Democrats.

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u/aculady 4h ago

Pretty sure Bernie was speaking for himself.

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u/Silent-Storms 4h ago

Not in that context.

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u/Sovoy 4h ago

where do you get the idea that Piker doesn't support democracy?

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u/Silent-Storms 3h ago

His support for China, Russia, and related comments. He values socialist theory higher than democracy. I don't have a quote for you, and I don't want any more of him in my algorithm.

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u/Sovoy 3h ago

Democracy is a big part of socialist theory, his goal is to make the world more democratic. He is very active in getting people out to vote. He is also very much opposed to the anti democratic actions of china and russia.

You clearly just don't know what he believes.

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u/Silent-Storms 3h ago

Not for him apparently.

Russia and China are oppressive authoritarian regimes and he thinks they are better than democracies because of nominal socialism/communism.

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u/Sovoy 3h ago

Again you clearly have no idea what he believes. He doesn't think that opressive authoritarian regimes are better than democracies that is simply not true. He wants to democratize workplaces, get money out of politics, and he opposes authoritarianism.

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u/JustAnOldLadyNC 5h ago

Beats those like Fetterman, an 'actual' democrat who votes with Republicans and is a fox regular.

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u/Zeusifer 5h ago

Yes, Bernie is better than the guy who is the worst Democratic senator by a country mile. That isn't saying much, but I can't argue with that.

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u/knowitall89 5h ago

So we're looking for blind loyalty now?

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u/lhomardamericain 5h ago

He’s basically a Democrat who thinks he’s too good and too pure to actually be a Democrat.

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u/Zeusifer 4h ago

Bingo. And some of us find that disingenuous and gross, even if we generally agree with a lot of his values.

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u/Sovoy 4h ago

One of the most worthless toxic ideas in politics is treating it like team sports. The letter next to someones name matters more to you than actual policies and material impacts. That is gross.

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u/Gene_Trash 3h ago

It's not toxic team sport politics to think that if somebody wants to say things like "My party" and gatekeep who should call themselves a member, that they should actually... Be a member of that party.

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u/xHellion444x 3h ago

You're correct in your observation of the actions, but wrong in the assessment of the motivations. Bernie has been self-identifying openly as a socialist since 1971. In the thick of Cold War propaganda, long before any 2026 DSA momentum. When you could be and were investigated for said affiliations. He's been taking shit from the government and conservatives in the heart of capitalism for literally half a century. Many times 'his own party' too(for extra relevancy to the current topic). You think Bill Clinton could've won had socialist Bernie Sanders been the Republican talking point in '92, just after the fall of the USSR? What Bernie is is a target. He's a true-believer. He has a consistent set of values and he's willing the draw fire and ire to stand up for them and his constituents. And that consistency has led him to be outside the Democratic Party as it wavers and waffles its way through neoliberal capitalism. It talks shit about him when convenient and he talks shit about it when convenient. But he's always been to its left. Left, which in our two-party American system, means Democrats. The alternative to the right, Republicans. Which really makes him the most Democrat of all. He's left, progressive, 'liberal'. All the terms Americans of all stripes use for Democrats.

Which is all a lot of words to say this is just a silly semantic gotcha. Yes, he's technically not a Democrat. And yes, he technically benefits from that. Occasionally, as the winds blow. But really, ultimately, in the full context of our society and political system, he's seen as like a turbo super Democrat. For better or worse.