Sen. Bernard Sanders says the Democratic Party needs a “total transformation” that emphasizes its opposition to corporate power in order to bring working people back into the party.
“We need a total transformation,” Mr. Sanders said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We’ve got to open up the party to working people, to young people, and make it crystal clear that the Democratic Party is going to take on Wall Street.”
The Vermont senator’s comments come the day after Tom Perez, former secretary of labor in the Obama administration, won the race to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee in a hotly contested race with Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota.
Mr. Sander endorsed Mr. Ellison in the race and said he ran a “great campaign.”
“He took on, in essence, Democratic insiders, yet he came close to winning,” Mr. Sanders said. “That was a very impressive effort, when you realize that he was playing inside the establishment’s house.”
He said Mr. Perez “has a real opportunity in his hands” to realign the party with the interests of the working class.
“And I hope he seizes it,” he said. “And that is to understand, that in fact the way the Democratic Party has been run for decades has not worked.”
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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