Claire McCaskill: ‘The Media Is Giving Bernie A Pass’ (VIDEO)

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Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) stood up for Hillary Clinton on Thursday, accusing Democratic presidential opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of being “extreme” and comparing his appeal to that of right-wing conservatives such as Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul.

In recent days, Sanders has received some favorable coverage from outlets like NPR and Bloomberg for his speeches, as well as polls showing nearly a quarter of likely Democratic primary voters support him in states Iowa and New Hampshire.

“I think that the media is giving Bernie a pass right now,” McCaskill told MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski. “I very rarely read in any coverage of Bernie that he’s a socialist.”

She argued Clinton’s poll numbers are so high that it’s hard to understand the media’s attitude of, “oh, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!”

“I think Bernie is too liberal to gather enough votes in this country to become President, and I think Hillary Clinton is gonna be a fantastic President,” she said.

Brzezinski noted that the Vermont senator was still drawing large crowds and gaining in certain polls.

“Well, um, you know, Rand Paul’s father got massive crowds, Ron Paul,” McCaskill said, “Pat Buchanan got massive crowds.”

“It’s not unusual for someone who has an extreme message to have a following, and massive is relative,” she added.

Watch the clip:

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Notable Replies

  1. And once again McCaskill reminds us she is, in fact, the Senator from MO-the worst-possible kind of congress-critter except for ANY Republican.

  2. What exactly is “extreme” about his message? I have read numerous article of his socialist background.

  3. Sanders is EXTREMELY honest and straightforward.

  4. I like Bernie and I have family in Vermont, which is a fantastic state. That being said, I think Claire’s point is well taken to the extent that Bernie hasn’t received the kind of scrutiny by the press that others, notably HRC, have received ad nauseum. How many of Bernie’s supporters are aware that Bernie voted against the Brady Bill when he was in the House, for example. Yet we endlessly deconstruct HRC’s vote on the Iraq War.There is a place in the Democratic Party for Bernie Sanders, assuming he keeps up his membership after the primary. However, that place is not the White House.

  5. Avatar for darcy darcy says:

    “It’s not unusual for someone who has an extreme message to have a following, and massive is relative,” she added.

    “extreme message”? Like what Claire? BTW Claire, FU.

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