Bernie Sanders tells Stephen Colbert why he thinks a 'socialist' can win in 2016
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was on Stephen Colbert's Late Show on Friday, and Colbert asked the liberal, socialist Democratic presidential candidate about people calling him a liberal and a socialist: "Why will you not accept those two terms as the insults they're meant to be?" Sanders, who often refers to himself as a Scandinavian-style democratic socialist, told Colbert, "I prefer the term to be, actually, progressive." The reason, he added — joking that it's a "radical idea" — is that he believes the government, like in Scandinavia, "should actually represent working people and the middle class rather than wealthy campaign donors."
Colbert later noted that Clinton would agree with Sanders' vision, and asked what he'd say to people who plan to vote for Clinton because they don't think Sanders is electable. Sanders said that even with low name recognition, he's still doing almost as well as Clinton in head-to-head polls against Republicans, that he is turning out huge crowds, and that Democrats win in high-turnout elections.
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Colbert was softer on Sanders in his introductory segment, and offered his own explanation for Sanders' success. "Why on Earth is Sanders doing so well, especially with the hip young people?" he asked. Maybe it's because he's originally from Brooklyn, or that "while every other candidate is as an MP3 player, Bernie is as warm as old vinyl." You can watch that below. Peter Weber
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