Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing back against Democrats who are sounding the alarm about nominating a socialist.
While Sen. Amy Klobuchar was the only other presidential candidate on the debate stage last week that admitted she was afraid of having a Democratic socialist in the White House, arguing that Democrats need to nominate someone who can bring people together, others, including former Bill Clinton adviser James Carville, have been much more blunt, saying he was “scared to death” of the prospect.
"There's a certain part of the Democratic party that wants us to be a cult. I'm not interested in being in a cult," Carville said recently on MSNBC’s 'Morning Joe.' "Some people in this country want a revolution. They want disruption. They scream at people and bully people. And I don't know how you win an election: 78 years old, screaming in a microphone about the revolution but you gotta give people an alternative."
He said if Democrats become like the British Labor Party and nominate a figure like Jeremy Corbyn, “it’s going to be the end of days.”
Given an opportunity to respond to those comments on CNN, Sanders said Carville is a "political hack" who is an example of the establishment Democrats he is up against.
"Look, James, in all due respect, is a political hack who said very terrible things when he was working for Clinton against Barack Obama. I think he said some of the same things," Sanders said. "We are taking on the establishment. This is no secret to anybody."
He continued: "At the end of the day, the grassroots movement that we are putting together of young people, of working people, of people of color, want real change."
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders hits back after criticism from James Carville, calling the Democratic strategist “a political hack.”
— CNN (@CNN) February 13, 2020
“We are taking on Trump, the Republican establishment, Carville and the Democratic establishment.” https://t.co/iv31C0QKV1 pic.twitter.com/IZoIqzDNzd