via RealPolitics.com
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Well, I think what is clear to anyone who looks at where the Democratic Party today is, that the model of the Democratic Party is failing.
We have a Republican president who ran as a candidate as the most unpopular candidate in modern history of this country. Republicans control the House, the Senate, two-thirds of governor's chairs. And in the last eight years, they have picked up 900 legislative seats.
Clearly, the Democratic Party has got to change. And, in my view, what it has got to become is a grassroots party, a party which makes decisions from the bottom on up, a party which is more dependent on small donations than large donations, a party, John, that speaks to the pain of the working class in this country.
The middle class is shrinking, 43 million people living in poverty. Almost all new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent. People can't afford to send their kids to college. They can't afford child care. They can't afford health care. The Democratic Party has got to take the lead, rally people, young people, working people, stand up to the billionaire class.
And when we do that, you're going to see voter turnout swell. You're going to see people coming in and running for office. You're going to see Democrats regain control of the United States Congress.
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