AS WE SPEAK, SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS IS TAKING PART IN THE
COME TOGETHER AND FIGHT BACK TOUR WITH DNC CHAIR TOM PEREZ,
THEY ARE DOING RALLIES AND SPEECHES, YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN
SOME OF THAT.
AS THAT IS GOING ON, THE WASHINGTON POST HAS AN
EDITORIAL BREAKING DOWN SOME OF THE REASONS THEY THINK BERNIE
SANDERS'S BEHAVIOR HAS BECOME WEIRD LATELY.
SOME OF THE THINGS
THEY CITE IS THAT HE'S STILL NOT TECHNICALLY A DEMOCRAT, WHICH IS
TRUE AND HAS BEEN FOR DECADES, HE CRITICIZED HILLARY CLINTON'S
SLOGAN I'M WITH HER RECENTLY, HE SAID TRUMP DID NOT WIN THE
ELECTION, DEMOCRATS LOST IT, WHICH SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID
OTHER PLACES AS WELL, HIS MESSAGE HAS DIFFERED FROM
PEREZ'S IN A COUPLE KEY WAYS.
YOU TAKE THESE THINGS, AND THE
FACT THAT HE WASN'T OUTSPOKEN IN FAVOR OF OSSOF IN GEORGIA, AND
WE HAVE ANOTHER CANDIDATE HE'S SUPPORTING, WHICH WE WILL GET
INTO, THEY THINK IT'S WEIRD.
CENK, DO YOU THINK HE'S BEING
TOO WEIRD LATELY?
I THINK THERE'S A CONCERTED ATTACK ON HIM BY THE
ESTABLISHMENT, USUALLY LED BY THE WASHINGTON POST, NOW LED BY
THE WASHINGTON POST AGAIN.
I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE IT UNTIL
RECENTLY, YESTERDAY A STORY FROM SLATE, YOU WANT TO TALK WEIRD,
THEY HAD A WEIRD ATTACK ON HIS PODCAST.
THIS IS OUT OF THE
BLUE.
IT TURNS OUT IT IS NOT, THE MEMO IS OUT BY THE
ESTABLISHMENT, WE ARE BACK TO HATING BERNIE SANDERS.
LET'S
BREAK IT DOWN, THEY SAY HE DISAGREES WITH TOM PEREZ ON SOME
STUFF.
THAT'S A SURPRISE?
OF COURSE HE DISAGREES WITH TOM
PEREZ ON SOME THINGS.
BERNIE SANDERS SAYS MEDICARE FOR ALL,
MOST ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS DON'T.
ON TYT POLITICS MICHAEL
TRACY DISCOVERED A DIANNE FEINSTEIN TOWN HALL, SHE'S NOT
FOR MEDICARE FOR ALL, TOM PEREZ SAYS WE THINK HEALTHCARE SHOULD
BE A RIGHT.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
WHICH LEGISLATION DO YOU
SUPPORT?
HE WON'T SAY.
HE WANTS TO PLEASE HIS DONORS.
AND
BERNIE, STILL A PROGRESSIVE, SO THEY DON'T AGREE.
AND IT GOES
DOWN THE LIST, EVERYTHING THEY SAID, YOU ARE SURPRISED THAT HE
THINKS DEMOCRATS LOST THE ELECTION?
OF COURSE THEY DID,
THEY LOST TO THE MOST UNPOPULAR PERSON EVER TO RUN FOR OFFICE.
DONALD TRUMP HAD A 37% APPROVAL RATING THE DATE OF THE ELECTION.
HE DIDN'T WIN IT, HILLARY QUENTIN LOST IT.
SO FOR THEM TO
FEIGN, LIKE, HOW DARE YOU, BERNIE SANDERS?
PART OF IT IS
OSSOF, I GET THAT IT'S A LEGITIMATE FIGHT, I'M ON
BERNIE'S SIDE, BUT THE REST OF IT IS, HE WON'T BEND A KNEE.
THERE HE GOES AGAIN.
LET ME THROW THIS OUT THERE, HE IS BEING ATTACKED BY THE
ESTABLISHMENT, WHICH I THINK MEANS SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS,
BUT HE'S NOT JUST BEING ATTACKED BY THE ESTABLISHMENT, HE'S ALSO
BEING ATTACKED BY LIBS FOR BEING INVOLVED IN THIS TOUR AT ALL.
ANYTIME BERNIE SANDERS DOES ANYTHING WITH PEREZ, YOU HEAR
THE MURMUR LITTLE BIT, IS HE SELLING OUT?
I DON'T THINK THERE
IS ANYTHING INCONSISTENT WITH HIM BEING INVOLVED IN THIS
EFFORT AND TRYING TO ORGANIZE AND RALLY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY AND DISAGREEING WITH IT.
HE WANTS PEOPLE TO COME
TOGETHER, BUT HE WANTS THEM TO COME TOGETHER AROUND HIS
POSITIONS.
THAT'S WHAT HE SHOULD BE DOING.
YET I BELIEVE HE'S
BEING ATTACKED FROM BOTH SIDES ANYTIME HE IS SEEN AS BEING AN
ALLY OF SOMEONE LIKE TOM PEREZ.
WHAT IS THE INTENTION OF THIS TOUR?
I PLAYED BASKETBALL AND I
HAD THIS COACH WHO ALWAYS SAID WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION?
DON'T
JUST STAND THERE, WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION?
I LOOK AT THIS
BEHAVIOR AND I THINK YES, YOU PROBABLY THINK THEY WANT TO
BRING HIM BACK ON LINE, GET THEM ON THE SAME PAGE, BUT WHY EVEN
DO THE TOUR IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE AT ODDS?
BUT I HAVE A THEORY,
BERNIE IS A REALLY GOOD GUY, AND I WILL CRITICIZE HIM HERE IN A
SENSE, HE NAœVELY BELIEVED THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT LOST THE
ELECTION TO TRUMP, LOOK AT THIS POPULARITY, I'M THE MOST POPULAR
POLITICIAN IN THE COUNTRY, I CAN SHOW YOU THE POLLS WERE
PROGRESSIVES -- NOT JUST PROGRESSIVES -- AMERICANS WANT
THE PROGRESSIVE POLICIES.
HE NAœVELY THOUGHT THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY COULD GO IN THAT DIRECTION, HENCE THE EFFORT AT
UNITY.
BUT BERNIE, THEY WILL NEVER AGREE, BECAUSE THEIR
ENTIRE INCENTIVE STRUCTURE IS BASED AROUND DONORS.
THEY CAN'T
AGREE.
IT'S THE SAME MISTAKE OBAMA MADE IN A SENSE, HAVE A
BEER SUMMIT WITH MITCH MCCONNELL.
YOU WON'T CONVINCE
MITCH MCCONNELL OVER A BEER, HE GETS PAID TO DISAGREE WITH OBAMA
AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ESTABLISHMENT WILL NEVER AGREE
WITH BERNIE SANDERS.
SO THE TALK OF UNITY IS A MIRAGE.
I WOULDN'T
HAVE GONE ON THE TOUR, I KNOW THAT THEIR FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
ARE ALIGNED AGAINST US.
AND THEY USE UNITY AS A SLOGAN, A
PUNCHLINE, TO TRY TO GET PROGRESSIVES TO DO WHATEVER THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY WANTS.
IF YOU REALLY MEANT UNITY, WHY NOT
UNIFY BEHIND BERNIE SANDERS, THE MOST POPULAR POLITICIAN IN THE
COUNTRY?
ISN'T THAT LOGICAL?
BUT THEY WON'T, THEY WON'T DO
MEDICARE FOR ALL, THEY WON'T DO HIS PROPOSALS, THEY JUST WANT
HIM AS A MASCOT.
NOW YOU ARE LOOKING AT ME.
GO, GO.
I LOVE BERNIE SANDERS, I THINK HE'S GREAT.
HE HAS HAD HIS
DAY ON THIS STUFF, AND IF HE'S GOING TO GO OUT WITH TOM PEREZ
HE SHOULD GO OUT WITH HIM, NOT COWER AND STAND DOWN FROM WHAT
HE BELIEVES, BUT DO WHAT THE MISSION IS, AND IF NOT SAY NO,
I'M NOT GOING OUT ON THIS TOUR.
WITH OSSOF, I DON'T THINK HE
SHOULD'VE ENDORSED HIM, BUT I DON'T THINK HE SHOULD'VE
SAID I'M NOT ENDORSING HIM.
TODAY HE HAS ENDORSED HIM FOR THE NEXT ELECTION.
BUT THAT'S EASIER, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR OSSOF --
HE'S HAPPY TO HAVE HIM, HE'S SOMEONE WHO COMMENDS SO MUCH
RESPECT FROM SO MANY VOTERS, AND HE MAY IN FACT HELP HIM THERE.
BERNIE HAS NOTHING TO LOSE, BECAUSE IF OSSOF WINS,
PROGRESSIVES CAN SAY BERNIE ENDORSED HIM AND LOOK WHAT
HAPPENED, BUT I'M SURE TOM PEREZ SAID BERNIE, YOU HAVE TO DO
THIS.
ANOTHER THING TO REMEMBER, TOM PEREZ WORKED FOR OVER A YEAR
TO NOT GET BERNIE SANDERS ELECTED.
HE WORKED WITH HILLARY
CLINTON FOR A LONG TIME, THEY PROBABLY SEE A LOT ALIKE, THEY
WORKED TOGETHER ON CIVIL RIGHTS BEFORE ANY CAMPAIGN FOR
PRESIDENT EXISTED BEFORE CLINTON AND SANDERS, SANDERS AND PEREZ
WORKED TOGETHER, BUT THAT'S THE POINT, DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO
DO THIS 50 STATE STRATEGY.
IF YOU CAN'T GO ALL IN WHETHER YOU
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOU ARE BETTER OFF SAYING I'M NOT GOING
TO GO OUT AND DO THIS WITH TOM PEREZ.
IT'S EASIER SAID THAN
DONE, BUT I THINK THAT IS WHAT SANDERS SHOULD HAVE DONE.
I ALSO
THINK WHEN YOU INJECT YOURSELF INTO THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION,
AS SANDERS HAS DONE, AND HAS COME BACK INTO DOING, THAT YOU
SET YOURSELF UP FOR WHATEVER CRITICISM THAT MIGHT ENGENDER.
WHICH IS FINE.
THAT'S ALL GOOD, I WILL JUST ASK THE PRESS TO DO TWO THINGS.
ONE, DON'T FLIP OUT IF BERNIE SANDERS AND OTHER DEMOCRATS
DON'T AGREE.
WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?
AND WHY IS IT BERNIE
SANDERS'S STRANGE BEHAVIOR?
WHY NOT TOM PEREZ'S STRANGE
BEHAVIOR?
WHY DID TOM PEREZ INVITE BERNIE SANDERS ON A UNITY
TOUR?
IT'S A GOOD IDEA IF YOU ARE TOM PEREZ --
WE JUST SAID WHY DIDN'T BERNIE CHECK, RIGHT?
I JUST SAID BERNIE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT -- IT'S THERE
TOUR, IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO PLAY THEIR SONGS -- ARE NOT
SAYING YOU HAVE TO, BUT HE'S ENDORSING HIM A MAYORAL
CANDIDATE IN THE BREAST EVEN THOUGH HE'S PRO-LIFE,
THAT'S NOT CONSISTENT WITH BERNIE, BUT HE'S DOING IT.
TO SAY THAT IT'S PEREZ'S PARTY, OKAY, BUT WHO IS THE
MOST POPULAR ELECTED POLITICIAN IN THAT PARTY?
BERNIE SANDERS.
HE'S NOT IN THAT PARTY, HE'S INDEPENDENT.
IF YOU SAY COME TOUR WITH ME, AND YOU DON'T LISTEN TO
HIM, I COULD ARGUE IT'S TOM PEREZ'S STRANGE BEHAVIOR.
I DISAGREE.
DEMOCRATS HAVE LISTENED TO BERNIE SANDERS.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN A THING.
JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T MOVE ON EVERY ISSUE --
BIKES HAVE THEY MOVED ON LEGISLATION?
THEY ARE THE MINORITY IN THE SENATE.
A BUNCH OF DEMOCRATS HAVE MOVED FOR MEDICARE FOR ALL.
PROGRESSIVES HAVE AFTER A LOT OF PRESSURE FROM JUSTICE
DEMOCRATS AND PROGRESSIVES.
ARE THEY GOING TO HAVE MEDICARE FOR ALL BY THURSDAY?
NO, BUT SANDERS IS MAKING OTHER DEMOCRATS FEEL BRAVE ABOUT
SOMETHING WE DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD FEEL BRAVE ABOUT,
THEY SHOULD JUST BE DOING.
THAT'S GREAT.
SO WE ARE ALL AGREED AND I HOPE THE MEDIA AGREES AS WELL,
STOP CALLING WHAT BERNIE SANDERS IS DOING STRANGE IF HE DISAGREES
WITH DEMOCRATS.
THE SECOND THING I WILL ASK THE MEDIA TO DO IS
NOT ASSUME THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ESTABLISHMENT IS RIGHT IN
EVERY INSTANCE.
THAT IS THEIR GIVEN ASSUMPTION.
OBVIOUSLY
DEMOCRATS ARE BACKING THIS CANDIDATE, THAT IS THE CORRECT
CANDIDATE, A PROGRESSIVE DIDN'T BACK THEM?
BOO, WEIRDO.
NO, WHY
NOT ASSUME THAT THE MOST POPULAR PERSON ON THAT SIDE OF THE
AISLE, IN FACT THE MOST POPULAR POLITICIAN IN THE COUNTRY,
MAYBE HE IS CORRECT.
I DON'T THINK THAT IS FAIR.
THEY AREN'T SAYING HE'S
NECESSARILY THE RIGHT GUY, THEY ARE SAYING THIS IS THE GUY THE
DEMOCRATS ARE PUTTING THEIR MONEY AND RESOURCES AND
ATTENTION BEHIND.
AND IF BERNIE SANDERS IS OUT THERE WITH THE
DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT ON THIS TOUR SAYING WERE ALIGNED,
THEN HE DOESN'T BACK HIM --
I DISAGREE.
LET ME IT'S PLAIN WHY, THIS WAS A JUNGLE PRIMARY,
IF YOU GOT OVER 50% THAT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE, YOU WOULD HAVE
WON OUTRIGHT.
THERE I MIGHT EVEN DISAGREE WITH BERNIE SANDERS,
BECAUSE GOING INTO THE ELECTION IT WAS SO CLOSE AND NO OTHER
DEMOCRAT HAD A REAL CHANCE, I LOOK AT THAT IN A PRAGMATIC WAY.
BUT IF IT WAS A REGULAR PRIMARY, THEY SAID MANCHIN HAS ALL THE
MONEY BEHIND HIM, DON'T OPPOSE HIM -- I DON'T AGREE.
I DON'T
CARE HOW MUCH THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WANTS TO WASTE ON JOE
MANCHIN, NO, WE ARE GOING TO PRIMARY HIM AND HAVE A REAL
PROGRESSIVE IN THAT RACE.
BERNIE SANDERS SHOULD AGREE TO THAT, WHY DO WE HAVE TO BOW
MY HEAD TO CORPORATE MONEY?
YOU DON'T, BUT BERNIE SANDERS IS NOT A DEMOCRAT.
SO WHAT, HE'S A PROGRESSIVE.
THAT'S FINE, BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT GOING OUT WITH THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE DNC.
I'M NOT SAYING YOU AREN'T RIGHT TO FIELD
SOMEONE AGAINST JOE MANCHIN, WE HAVE OUR DISAGREEMENTS
ABOUT THE EFFICACY OF THAT, BUT IF BERNIE SANDERS IS GOING
OUT WITH THE HEAD OF THE DNC IT'S DIFFERENT.
YOU ARE BUYING INTO SOMETHING THEY ARE SELLING.
OR TRYING TO SELL ALONGSIDE THEM, AND HOPE THEY WILL SEE THE
DIFFERENCE IN THE CROWD'S REACTION WHEN HE SPEAKS AND WHEN
TOM PEREZ SPEAKS.
IT MIGHT BE THAT THEY DO THIS WHOLE THING
AND HE WAS NAœVE AND IT HAS NO EFFECT, YOU MIGHT JUDGE AND SAY
IT MAYBE HAS A 5% CHANCE OF WORKING, BUT SITTING ON THE
SIDELINES HAS A 0% CHANCE OF WORKING.
WE CAN BE MAD AT THEM
FOR NOT BRINGING HIM ALONG, BUT WE WOULD BE MADDER IF THEY
DIDN'T BRING HIM AT ALL.
AND I THINK BERNIE SANDERS HAS BEEN
FIGHTING ON THESE ISSUES FOR DECADES AND DECADES, AND THERE
ARE ALWAYS POINTS WHERE PEOPLE COULD SO YOU TRIED UP UNTIL THIS
POINT, WHY TRY NOW?
BUT IF YOU START NOW, TRUMP WILL STILL
FIGHT FOR THESE POSITIONS, YOU ARE NOW WASTING YOUR TIME, WE
SHOULD DRAFT BERNIE OR IT SHOULD BE A THIRD-PARTY THING, BERNIE
SANDERS UNDERSTANDS THOSE OPTIONS.
HE UNDERSTOOD THEM
DURING THE LAST ELECTION, HE COULD HAVE RUN AS A THIRD-PARTY
CANDIDATE.
YOU AREN'T GOING TO EDUCATE BERNIE SANDERS ABOUT
THESE THINGS.
HE COULD BE WRONG IN THE END BUT HE HAS MADE THE
DECISION THAT HOWEVER DIFFICULT THE PATH IS, OR HOW LONG IT WILL
TAKE, THIS IS THE BEST BET TO GET HIS POLICIES ACTUALLY
ENACTED.
I THINK HE'S FAR MORE PRACTICAL THAN PEOPLE GIVE
THEM CREDIT FOR.
I AGREE, THAT'S WHAT HE'S DOING.
OTHERWISE HE WOULD HAVE RUN AS A THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATE WHICH IS
IMPRACTICAL.
THAT'S WHY WE SET UP THE JUSTICE DEMOCRATS WITHIN
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, YOU CAN TAKE OVER THE PARTY AND BE
PROGRESSIVE AND STRONG AND NOT TAKE CORPORATE MONEY.
THERE WILL
BE A WAR WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, IT'S UNAVOIDABLE.
THIS
TALK OF UNITY IS NONSENSE.
ONE SIDE THINKS THEY SHOULD TAKE THE
DONOR MONEY AND LARGELY DO WHAT THE DONORS WANT.
THAT'S THE
ESTABLISHMENT SIDE, THE OTHER SIDE DOESN'T WANT TO DO THAT,
THEY DON'T AGREE, THEY WILL FIGHT AND ONE OF THEM WILL WIN.
THIS IDEA OF UNITY IS A FANTASY, AND IT'S A SLOGAN BY THE
ESTABLISHMENT TO GET PROGRESSIVES TO BOW THEIR
HEADS AND DO WHATEVER THE MONEYED INTERESTS WANT.
WE DON'T AGREE, WE NEVER WILL AGREE.