Sanders says Dems can't win elections with message: 'We can’t do much, but the other side is worse'

Progressive leader Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says without a swift change in the messaging, the Democratic party is on course to lose big in November.

"You really can’t win an election with a bumper sticker that says: 'Well, we can’t do much, but the other side is worse,' " he said in a recent Politico interview. "The Republicans stand an excellent chance of gaining control of the House and quite possibly the Senate."

He also said that despite the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned and the GOP's general opposition to gun-control legislation, Democrats should not feel safe or comfortable about running on those issues alone.

If Democratic Party leaders believe "they're gonna march to victory based on those issues, I think that that is not correct," he said.

"Say to the American people: 'Look, we don’t have the votes to do it right now. We have two corporate Democrats who are not going to be with us,' " he said, referring to moderate Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin (W.V.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona.)

"The leadership has got to go out and say we don’t have the votes to pass anything significant right now. Sorry. You got 48 votes. And we need more to pass it. That should be the message of this campaign," he continued.

Following the Democrats' passage last year of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, followed by a so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill, the ability of Senate Democrats to pass significant legislation has stalled – in part because so much money in the economy as a results of those spending bills has contributed to record inflation.

Sanders also said Manchin and Sinema "sabotaged" Build Back Better – essentially a second COVID-19-related spending package, proposed by President Biden that focuses more on an economic recovery from the pandemic.

In a statement to Politico, Manchin said, "I have never berated Sen. Sanders for his socialist views. It is a shame he refuses to accept the more moderate views I share with my constituents."