Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Thursday that President Barack Obama—not for lack of trying—has been unable to leverage his “presidential leadership” to bridge the gap between Congress and its constituents.
“There’s a huge gap right now between Congress and the American people. What presidential leadership is about closing that gap,” Sanders told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt in a preview of an interview set to air Thursday night.
Sanders told Hunt that Obama has not succeeded in closing that gap.
“I mean, I think he has made the effort,” Sanders said. “But I think what we need, when I talk about a political revolution, is bringing millions and millions of people into the political process in a way that does not exist right now.”
Sanders said advancing his own campaign promises would require mobilizing “millions and millions of people” to get into politics and engage with their government.
So those millions and millions will camp out on the Hill and force Congress to do such-and-such? Or what?
We heard after the 2008 election how all the Obama supporters would stay very involved, and could be called upon at any time to lobby Congress to help achieve Obama’s aims. How’d that work out?
Call my cynical, but that’s not going to happen. Americans are apathetic and disgusted with politics. Just look at the midterm elections. I wish more people would vote. I wish more people would be involved, but the reality is that most Americans don’t care either way and won’t lift a finger to change things.
I’m not sure I see where he’s going with that. The only reason such a huge gap exists is gerrymandering and race (of Pres. Obama).
And a President Bernie Sanders would close that gap?
So calling for a Revolution at the same time that Barack Obama is President will “close the gap between Congress and the American people”?
If anything it is opening a gap between Bernie Sanders and those of us who think Barack Obama has been a very effective President.