Bernie Sanders Agrees That Democrats Are a Threat to Democracy

Well, this was interesting. 

I’ve only caught a few clips from the Bernie Sanders appearance on the Flagrant Podcast, but you have to hand it to Bernie, he is authentic and is willing to call the balls and strikes as he sees them. 

At least mostly. No politician is ever totally honest–I think it violates the Terms of Service or something–but Bernie Sanders appeals to Democrats who want “straight talk” in the way that Donald Trump appeals to MAGA. I think his “straight talk” is nonsense, but he rarely holds back. 

The Flagrant Podcast’s host is Andrew Schultz, along with his fellow comedians Akaash Singh and Mark Gagnon. They apparently are a thing, although not a thing that attracts me in most cases. 

Schultz is a lefty, and like many lefty true believers in the Sanders and AOC mold, he has become as alienated from the Democratic Party as the centrists who have walked away in disgust. He took the opportunity to quiz Bernie about his continued allegiance to a party that has betrayed its supporters, and Bernie…agreed with him. 

Democrats are a threat to Democracy. 

“Hasn’t been a fair Democratic primary since 2008.. Are they a threat to democracy?”

Sanders: “Yeah, I’m not going to argue with that”

pic.twitter.com/yCnGkASgOA

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) May 19, 2025

Ever since the reforms to the party nomination process that took place in response to the McGovern debacle, the Democrats have been finding ways to diminish the power of the grassroots Democrats to make their own choices about who should represent them in elections. 

Political parties have always found ways to impose the choices of the Establishment on the party faithful to some extent. The prevailing belief is that the “base” of the parties is too ideologically committed to act rationally, so the Establishment needs to impose a moderating influence to ensure that the choice of candidates is sufficiently safe. 

Republicans often try to do this, too, but in recent years, the Democrats have chosen to limit the choices so much that there is a complete disconnect between the desires of the party faithful and the outcomes. Republicans don’t have Superdelegates, who are usually the deciding votes when push comes to shove, and their establishment donors are usually more inclined to impose their preferences than Republicans are, if for no other reason than Republican big donors tend to be more ideologically diverse. 

The result? Donald Trump was able to wrest control of the Republican Party from its establishment; Democrats have had their candidates chosen for them by the establishment for decades. You could argue that Clinton was something of an insurgent, maybe, but Gore and Obama were establishment favorites. 

Excellent summary of the decades long erosion of Democratic Party support in most of the country (thread) 👇

I would add that the Dems didn’t do themselves any favors by essentially refusing to hold a real primary since 2008.

(2012 was Obama 2nd term, 2016 was “her turn”, 2020… https://t.co/6SWGSmN5Xo

— IT Guy (@ITGuy1959) December 11, 2024

Few people doubt that Bernie Sanders was the favorite of the Democratic Party base in 2016, but Hillary Clinton was able to manipulate the process and secure the support of the party establishment to push him out. Biden was installed, and in 2024 there wasn’t even a nod to the idea of letting voters have a say. The process was laid bare.

It went from a sham democracy to 100% party control. The mask was off. 

You could argue that if Democrats actually got to exercise a choice, the party’s electoral chances would be even worse. That is the Establishment’s judgment, and they are likely right. But once you realize that the Establishment has only its own interests at heart–access to money and power for its own sake–it’s also clear that every Democrat voter is a chump. Their role is to sit down, shut up, eat the s**t sandwich, and like it. 

The Democratic Party’s coalition is falling apart because the Establishment is no longer accountable to the base at all. Worse, the more alienated the base becomes, the more likely it is to radicalize and become even less able to attract others to their cause. Eventually, the coalition falls apart. 

The Democrats would likely have been better off if they had nominated Bernie Sanders and lost the election. It would have forced the Establishment and the base to work together. The base would not feel betrayed, the Establishment could make its case for “moderation,” and they would have come out stronger. 

Now? The Biden-Harris debacles have ensured that ordinary Americans distrust the Democrats, and base Democrats feel betrayed because they WERE betrayed. 

Democrats will come back–look how quickly Republicans recovered from Watergate–but they will depend on Republican missteps as much as a rebuilding of the party. And, if they are lucky, they will find a figure who can transform the party like Tony Blair did with Labour. Because the wilderness the Democrats are in is not the result of voter disgust at a scandal; it is a result of voter disgust at the institution itself. 

Democrats truly are a threat to democracy because they don’t trust voters. Even their own.