Sanders: Obama, Dems need new message

Sen. Bernie Sanders said President Obama and the Democrats’ 2014 message played a significant role in the GOP’s takeover of the Senate.

In an interview on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” program, the Vermont legislator said Obama is partly to blame for the Republican rout.

“Some of the responsibility absolutely rests with President Obama. I think he’s not been as strong and clear about a message and legislation that will protect the interests of working families,” said Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats.

Sanders claimed Democratic candidates misread the electorate: “I think many of the Democratic candidates did not run on an agenda which resonated with working people…where the Democrats have been weak and individual Democratic candidates have been weak is not really coming up to the plate and saying, ‘You know what? We’re going to have to take on the billionaire class.’”

Democrats did not push hard enough for the minimum wage, Sanders added.

He credited Republicans for running a “very, very smart” campaign, though made clear he thinks it was deceitful. The GOP seized on the nation’s economic woes, Sanders pointed out.

“The Republicans said, ‘The problem is all Barack Obama. He caused it all. And any senator who has worked with Barack Obama — terrible, got to throw them out,’” he stated.

Sanders, who is thinking about running for president in 2016, declined to provide a timetable on when he will make a final decision, saying voters need a break from campaign politics. 

Asked to assess Hillary Clinton’s biggest weakness, the liberal lawmaker responded, “I’m not here to attack Hillary Clinton.”

Sanders has not decided if he will run as a Democrat or an independent, but he suggested he’s leaning toward the latter. Running as an independent would require setting up a political infrastructure in 50 states, which would take an enormous amount of money and energy, he noted.

Sanders admitted he’s a long shot to win the presidency. But he noted that he won 2 percent of the vote in his first election and 1 percent in his second. In his most recent election, Sanders attracted 71 percent of the vote.

He does have a sizable campaign war chest with more than $4.4 million cash on hand.

“Newsmakers” will air on C-SPAN on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.