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CNN Live Event/Special
Sanders Addresses Supporters; CNN Projects He Wins Nevada; CNN Projects Sen. Bernie Sanders Wins Nevada Caucuses; Nevada Caucuses. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired February 22, 2020 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN NEWS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Wolf. Well, Pete Buttigieg is expected to take the stage in just moments. He is making his way here. This even actually was supposed to be held outside but it got completely rained out. And in just moments, we set up here inside and we're waiting for Pete Buttigieg to take the stage.
The campaign is feeling very good about where they're standing right now. They think that they're going to be able to make up some ground in some of these rural counties, be able to pull delegates from there.
They have 1,300 precinct captains in those -- most of them in those rural counties. And they're expecting that some of those precinct captains are going to be able to bring some of the voters from nonviable candidates over to Pete Buttigieg's side if he is viable.
Now, this is critically important because this is what played out in Iowa, Wolf, the same strategy. Even though Bernie Sanders won that popular vote, Pete Buttigieg walked away with the most delegates from Iowa. And they're hoping for a really good showing with these delegates here in Nevada -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN LEAD POLITICAL ANCHOR: All right, Vanessa, thank you. Ryan Nobles is over in San Antonio, Texas. That's where Bernie Sanders' campaign. They're -- you're getting ready to hear from Senator Sanders, right, Ryan?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf. This crowd has had a party atmosphere for the entire time they've been here. They started lighting up five hours before the event was set to take place. Many are telling me that they are here to participate in a victory party.
So, Sanders has had a busy day today. He started the day in El Paso, Texas. Flew here to San Antonio, arrived a little less than an hour ago. Is expected to address this crowd here in the next 20 minutes. And we do expect him to claim victory in Nevada. His campaign is going to talk about the momentum they feel is behind Bernie Sanders and his operation.
And they're already going to look ahead to the states that are further down the calendar. Of course, South Carolina, and then, of course, the big contest that takes place on Super Tuesday, including here in Texas. In fact, Sanders already telling the crowd in El Paso earlier today that if they win in Texas, that's going to send a message to Donald Trump. And even alluded to the fact --
BLITZER: Hold on, Ryan, because Pete Buttigieg is in Las Vegas. I want to listen to what he's about to say. He's just getting ready to speak. Let's listen in.
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (live): Thank you, assemblywoman Jauregui. Thank you, Congressman Brown. Thank you to Chasten, my love who got a little more than he bargained for on that first day. Thank you to our phenomenal leadership team, to our Nevada supporters. And thank you to all of you for making this a great day for our campaign here in Nevada (INAUDIBLE.)
To those who questioned whether a midwestern mayor could gather a national movement around a new kind of politics, you are the answer. And to everyone who believes in what we're building, this is your night. This is your campaign. It belongs to the most talented and energetic and kind team of organizers and staff and volunteers that I have ever seen.
It belongs to the nearly 1 million grassroots supporters who have gone, yes, to PeteforAmerica.com. And who I'm hoping will help us raise that $13 million we need by Super Tuesday to stay competitive and make sure we succeed.
It belongs to the students and the entrepreneurs, to the veterans and the culinary workers, to the people of every religion and of no religion who agree that God does not belong to a political party in the United States. It belongs to the dreamers, the Sonadores wondering if this country will ever be their own. (INAUDIBLE), you belong in this country. This campaign belongs to everyone ready not only to end the era of Donald Trump, but to launch the era that must come next.
Now, that bright, bright future lies before us, but it is far from certain. It will come only if we get this nomination right. And so, we are moving on from the battle born state with a battle on our hands.
[20:05:02]
I congratulate my competitors on a vigorous campaign here in Nevada. And I congratulate Senator Sanders on a strong showing today, knowing that we celebrate many of the same ideals. But before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this president, let us take a sober look at what is at stake for our party, for our values, and for those with the most to lose. There is so much on the line.
And one thing we know for sure is that we absolutely must defeat Donald Trump and everything that he represents in November. Now, this is important we share these ideals, but I believe the best way to defeat Donald Trump and deliver for the American people is to broaden and galvanize the majority that supports us on the critical issues.
Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans. I believe we can defeat Trump and deliver for the American people by empowering the American people to make their own health care choices with Medicare for all who want it.
Senator Sanders believes in taking away that choice, removing people from having the option of a private plan and replacing it with a public plan, whether you want it or not. I believe that we can bring an end to corporate recklessness and rebalance our economy, by empowering workers, raising wages, and insisting that those who gain the most must give contribute the most in order to keep the American dream going forward.
But that is different from Senator Sanders' vision of capitalism as the root of all evil. It would go beyond reform and reorder the economy in ways that most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, don't support. I believe we need to defeat Donald Trump and turn the page on this era in our politics by establishing a tone of belonging, bringing an end to the viciousness and the bullying that is tearing apart our country. We must change what it feels like to live in the United States of America.
BLITZER: All right, you can see Pete Buttigieg. He's very happy with his result. Let's see how that unfolds. But he's really going after Bernie Sanders who is doing really well in the Nevada caucuses. Dana, what do you think?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I thought that the turner phrase that he chose to go into his whole riff about why Bernie Sanders is bad for the party and for the country was really telling. He said, before we rush to nominate Bernie Sanders. He said out loud what everybody is thinking, that Senator Sanders is on a glide path to do just that. And so, he was very blunt about trying to set the table for why he thought that that shouldn't happen.
It's also noteworthy that, yes, Pete Buttigieg and others have started to go after Bernie Sanders on the big debate stage, but not as aggressively as they have other candidates. I mean, think about what Pete Buttigieg did -- Pete Buttigieg did with Amy Klobuchar, for example. They got really, really into it on an issue that is not that relevant to the big picture which is what he talked about tonight which is Bernie Sanders.
And that is very telling. And it has allowed Bernie Sanders to get to the place where he is. It's not just that he hasn't been attacked to give him the props that he deserves. It's because he has a real movement behind him. But it didn't hurt him the way other candidates have been hurt by getting attacked.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He's trying to plant a very important flag. The question is, how solid is the ground he's trying to plant it in, in the sense that he wants to be -- Bernie Sanders has this momentum. Bernie Sanders has the liberal lane of the party locked up. He wants to be the centrist alternative.
But it looks like Joe Biden's going to come in second in Nevada tonight. It -- Joe Biden says he's going to win South Carolina. Pete Buttigieg has yet to prove himself with Latino and African-American voters. We'll see what the final numbers are in Nevada tonight. But here is a candidate who narrowly won Iowa. He ran a very close second to Senator Sanders in New Hampshire. Had a moment. The question is, can he make something of that moment? Can he go from there and build on it?
[20:10:00]
And the question, you know, is how? A distant third in Nevada. Is that enough? He needs to follow it up quickly, Wolf, with South Carolina. So, he's trying to plant a flag. The question is, will voters agree with him?
BLITZER: All right, we have a major projection to make right now. And CNN can now project that Bernie Sanders is the winner of the Nevada caucuses. This is another important victory for the senator in the most diverse state to vote so far. And it catapults his campaign and the progressive movement forward. It strengthens his status as the clear Democratic front-runner. Bernie Sanders, the winner of the Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucuses.
Let's go to Ryan Nobles. He's over in San Antonio, Texas. That's where Bernie Sanders' campaign headquarters is right now. They're clearly watching CNN right now. They are very, very happy, Ryan.
NOBLES: You got that right, Wolf. This crowd has been paying attention to the speakers, not looking at their phones, not paying attention to the news outside of this room and learning for the first time right here that Bernie Sanders has become the winner of the Nevada caucuses according to this CNN prediction.
Obviously, this is a very excited crowd, passionate about Sanders and his campaign. And it's important for the momentum to be behind a group like this, Wolf. The state of Texas, very crucial to the vote here in the next couple of weeks, March third on Super Tuesday.
And what's very impressive about this particular crowd, Wolf, is it is a group of many different races and colors, a lot of different speakers speaking Spanish. Latino supporters as well, an area and a group that Bernie Sanders has reached out to in a major way and has made incredible inroads with. It will be crucial for the vote in Texas. And it was crucial for the vote in Nevada as well.
Now, Senator Sanders is expected to speak here in the next 10 minutes or so. And that's where he will, for the first time, claim victory in the Nevada caucuses. From the Sanders campaign's perspective, this is three in a row. They won the popular vote in Iowa, obviously not the winner yet. No one's been declared the winner there yet. They won in New Hampshire. And now, able to claim victory in Nevada before heading into South Carolina.
Wolf, they've been considered the front-runner since that win in New Hampshire. The win here in November, though, very impressive. It's the first one that they've had by a significant margin which is so important, symbolically, as this campaign moves forward.
So, you can hear the response here from this crowd, Wolf. Very excited and very happy about this win for Bernie Sanders and what it means for him and his campaign going forward -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, they certainly should be very happy, very excited. Important win for Bernie Sanders.
Dana, this is three in a row, basically. He did really well in Iowa, really well in New Hampshire, now he's projected to be the winner in Nevada.
BASH: And what you saw there, the energy there, is kind of a snapshot of the really big movement that he has, not just in Nevada, not just in those states that you talked about, but, most importantly, across the country.
And, as we move into South Carolina, which is going to be the next, obviously, important state, but then into Super Tuesday and beyond, where you're going to have Michael Bloomberg, who is spending, you know, more money than we even can imagine. The only person who's going to be able to compete with that when it comes to money, at this point, is Bernie Sanders. Because he's got a -- you know, got the wallet and he's got small donors and the base who can keep that wallet full to be able to go up against him.
KING: What a fascinating moment for Senator Sanders who was the underdog throughout 2016. Now he has the baton. He's the leader of the race. He will be aware, if he didn't see it himself, in his -- where he's in his holding room of what Mayor Buttigieg has just said. He knows what is coming.
This will be a disaster for the party. You can't nominate Bernie Sanders. How does he deal with that? Number one, winning is how you deal with that. All these people keep saying, I can't beat Trump. Well, I keep beating them. That's one of the ways you answer that, by continuing to win.
But it will be very interesting in his tone here to see if he counters that, if he tries to reach out. He is in Nevada. Based on the entrance polls, we don't have anywhere near the final number yet. He is expanding his coalition. It does look like he's going to have a big margin there. That certainly helps you rebut your critics.
Now, the rest of the party is saying, lily the white Iowa, lily white New Hampshire, disproportionate electorate in Nevada. Those things may all be true but Bernie Sanders has momentum. It is the most cherished gift in politics, and he has it.
BASH: And there's one other point that I think is important to make and that is this has been such a very big field since the beginning. And there were a lot of candidates, not just Elizabeth Warren, but others who were Bernie Sanders-like progressives.
And the question at the beginning was, is it time for Bernie Sanders to pass that baton that he has? Is it time for other candidates, who are like minded, to get a chance? And what the Bernie Sanders' campaign said is, you know, why would you go for new Coke when you have Coke Classic on the ballot?
[20:15:04]
And the answer is, they're going for Coke Classic, at least at the beginning here. And his support is about -- yes, it's about the movement, but it's also about him, his ideas. And it didn't translate to some of the other lesser-known candidates who were trying to push some of the same ideas.
BLITZER: And, once again, CNN has now projected that Bernie Sanders has won the Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucus. We're standing by to hear directly from Senator Sanders. He's about to speak. We'll have special coverage right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:02]
BLITZER: All right, Bernie Sanders is the winner of the Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucus. We expect to hear from him, momentarily. He is getting ready to speak. He's in San Antonio, Texas right now. Texas on March third. They will have their primary on March third. He's getting ready, clearly, for that Super Tuesday.
Dana, he's -- obviously, they're very excited at Bernie Sanders' campaign headquarters right now in San Antonio. He's about to speak, as I said. But this is a moment for him, because it will, presumably, energize that base of his.
BASH: Yes, and it should be. And he could be coming out in any a second. And when he does, I'll stop talking. But, you know, he had so much energy -- oh, there he is.
BLITZER: He's going to accept the applause for a minute or so. There he is with his wife. And he's obviously very happy and understandably very happy. He deserves a lot of credit.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (live): Thank you. Thank you. And let me introduce to you to the next first lady of the United States, Jane Sanders.
CROWD: Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane.
SANDERS: You will be very proud of her as first lady. You know, based on what I have seen today in Texas, we were in El Paso. We're here now. Don't tell -- don't tell anybody. I don't want to get them nervous. We're going to win the Democratic primary in Texas.
And, you know -- you know, this is also important. The president gets very, very upset easily, so don't tell him that we're going to beat him here in Texas. And now I'm delighted to bring you some pretty good news. I think all of you know we won the popular vote in Iowa. We won the New Hampshire primary. And, according to three networks and the A.P., we have now won the Nevada caucus.
CROWD: Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. SANDERS: So, let me -- let me thank the people of Nevada for their support. In Nevada, we have just put together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition which is going to not only win in Nevada, it's going to sweep this country.
And in Nevada, and in New Hampshire, and in Iowa, what we showed is that our volunteers are prepared to knock on hundreds and hundreds of thousands of doors. That no campaign has a grassroots movement like we do which is another reason why we're going to win this election.
In Nevada, I want to thank our rank-and-file union members. I want to thank Make the Road and all of the grassroots organizations that helped us win there. We are going to win here in Texas. We are going to -- we are going to win across the country.
[20:25:01]
Because the American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all of the time. They are sick and tired of a corrupt administration. They are sick and tired of a president who is undermining American democracy, who thinks he is above the law, and who, apparently, has never read the Constitution in this country.
The American people are sick and tired of a government which is based on greed, corruption and lies. They want an administration which is based on the principles of justice, economic justice, social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice.
Now, Trump and his friends think they are going to win this election. They think they're going to win this election by dividing our people up, based on the color of their skin or where they were born or their religion or their sexual orientation.
We are going to win because we are doing exactly the opposite. We're bringing our people together. We are bringing our people together, black and white and Latino, native American, Asian-American, gay and straights.
We are bringing our people together around an agenda that works for the working people of this country, not the one percent. All over this country, workers are sick and tired of earning starvation wages. You can't make it on nine bucks an hour, or 11 bucks an hour, or 12 bucks an hour. We are going to raise the federal minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.
We are going to provide equal pay for equal work for women. We are going to make it easier for workers to join unions. We're going to create millions of good-paying union jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. And building the 10 million units of low-income and affordable housing this country desperately needs.
We're going to win this election, because we believe in education. We are going to have high-quality, affordable, universal childcare. We are going to triple funding for low-income, title-one schools. And we need great teachers in this country. We need more Latino teachers. We need more African-American teachers. And because we know the vitally important work that teachers do, we're going to fight to make sure that no teacher in America earns less than $60,000 a year.
[20:30:07]
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And because we believe in education, we believe that all of our people, regardless of their income, are entitled to a higher education.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And that is why we're going to make public colleges and universities tuition free.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And we're going to cancel all student debt in this country.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
By imposing a modest tax on Wall Street speculation.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Twelve years ago, we bailed out the crooks on Wall Street. Now it is their turn to help the working families in this country.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And together, we are going to end the international embarrassment of the United States of America, our great country, being the only major country on Earth, not to guarantee health care to all people.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
So let me be as clear as I can be. Health care is a human right, not a privilege.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
We are going to end the absurd situation in which we now are spending twice as much per person on health care as the people of any other country. Yet, 87 million of us are uninsured or underinsured, 30,000 die each year, and 500,000 people go bankrupt because of medically related debt.
(BOOS)
In America, you should not go bankrupt because you're struggling with cancer.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
The function of a rational and humane health care system is to guarantee health care to all, not make 100 billion in profits for the drug companies and the insurance companies.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And we are going to take on the greed and corruption of the pharmaceutical industry.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Under our administration, the American people will not pay, in some cases, 10 times more for the same prescription drugs sold in Mexico, Canada, or Europe. And when we talk about the major crises facing this country, it is a sad state of affairs when we have a president of the United States who believes that climate change is a hoax.
Well, the scientific community has a slight disagreement with Mr. Trump. They think that climate change is an existential threat to this planet. And our administration believes in science, not right wing extremism.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And that is why, together, we are going to adopt the principles of the Green New Deal.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Which creates up to 20 million good paying jobs as we transform our energy system away from fossil fuel, the energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Brothers and sisters, this is a moral issue. We must make sure that the planet we leave our children and grandchildren is a planet that is healthy and habitable.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And when we talk about issues that must be dealt with, we, in fact, are going to reform a broken and racist criminal justice system.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
[20:35:11]
We do not want to continue a situation where we have more people in jail than any other country, including China four times our size. And the people in jail are disproportionately African American, Latino and Native American. And that is why we are going to invest in our young people in jobs, in education.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Not more jails and incarceration.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) That is why we are going to end private prisons and detention centers.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
That is why we are going to end the war on drugs and legalized marijuana in every state in this country.
Let me ask you all a question. Let me ask you a serious question. How many people in this room tonight know somebody who was arrested for possession of marijuana?
We are going to move forward to expunge the records of those arrested for possession of marijuana.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And when we talk about broken and racist systems, we are going to bring about fundamental reform to our immigration system.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
I am the son of an immigrant. My father came to this country from Poland without a nickel in his pocket, couldn't speak a word of English, had very little education. I know something about the immigrant experience.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Together, we are going to end the demonization of the undocumented in this country.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
On our first day in office, through executive order, we rescind all of Trump's racist immigration executive orders.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
On our first day in office through executive order, we restore the legal status of the 1.8 million young people and their parents eligible for DACA.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
On our first day in office, we end a border policy, which today allows federal agents to grab babies from the arms of their mothers. And throw children into cages. That is not what America is about. And together, we will do what the American people have wanted to do for years and that is past comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Earlier today, Jane and I were In El Paso at the memorial at that terrible shooting, terrible shooting in El Paso, at the Walmart store there. And this is my promise to you, our gun safety legislation, which the American people want because they are disgusted by the amount of gun violence and mass killings in this country.
Our gun safety legislation will be written by the American people, not the NRA.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
We will have universal background checks. We will end the gun show loophole. And we will do what the American people want and that is end the sale and distribution of assault weapons in this country.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
[20:40:04]
Senator Bernie Sanders is the winner of the Nevada Democratic presidential caucuses. We're about to have extensive analysis of where this campaign, his campaign, the other campaigns go from here, much more of our special coverage right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to our continuing coverage of the Nevada caucuses. We just heard from Senator Bernie Sanders, we've heard from pretty much all the candidates except Elizabeth Warren, so far.
Let's talk to the panel here. Andrew, I'm wondering what you think it just kind of running through the top four or five. What did they need to do now? I mean, what...
[20:45:03]
ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, man.
COOPER: What is Joe -- I mean, Joe Biden clearly thinks South Carolina or saying that South Carolina Four or five? What did they need to do now? I mean, what? What is job? I mean, Joe Biden clearly thinks South Carolina are saying that South Carolina he's going to win.
YANG: Well, the rest of the field needs to consolidate ideally, and each candidate wants to be the last person standing to absorb the non- Bernie energy.
The problem for Bernie is that, you know, he's unlikely to get an outright majority of delegates heading into the convention, which is going to set the stage for the super delegates to emerge. And then you you're looking at a contested convention, which is also the dream scenario for all of the other non-Bernie candidates because they're going to go in there with delegates, the super delegates, let's say, are not going to be favorably disposed towards Bernie and then each of the remaining candidates will say, like, you know, I'm the pick.
So that's the dream that's going to keep every other candidate in the race.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: But I think what Andrew is trying to say is everybody needs to just drop out.
(LAUGHS)
Which is a little bit true. The reality is we've now had three contests in which none of the other moderate candidates have been able to consolidate enough support to even really -- to even really get that close to Bernie.
I mean, looking at Nevada, this is a real blow out that we're seeing here. And it's a problem for all of these other candidates. Because what one or more of them need to figure out probably more in the vicinity of probably two or three.
YANG: I was going to say...
PHILLIP: They need to figure out, who's going to be the one to step back?
YANG: Someone needs to pull an Andrew Yang.
(LAUGHS)
YANG: I've done the math. I'm not going to win.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A road former.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: How hard is that? How hard is that for candidates to have a conversation with himself or herself and her staff and say, OK...
COOPER: That's why you have to hire Andrew Yang to do the math for them?
BORGER: It's not -- it's not going to -- it's not going to have -- I think it's going to get nasty -- well, you can answer that then.
YANG: Well, it's tough going in both directions, Gloria, because, you know, we were talking about if you have a bad night and you get up in front of a crowd and be like, it was a great night, you know what I mean? Like, on some level, it does ring hollow, it's hard to continue beating that drum.
So it's hard to drop out. But in both cases, it's hard to keep going...
VAN JONES, CNN HOST: But who should drop out? I mean, honestly, like who -- who's supposed to drop out or who at this point?
BORGER: Well, they're not. And what we saw tonight, and particularly Pete Buttigieg, his speech was the never Bernie moment, the beginning of that campaign. I mean, it was raw and saying, calling Sanders -- saying Sanders believes in inflexible ideological revolution, that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, and then it gets nasty from there.
And you're going to hear a lot more of this, I would think because finally, Democrats realize they have to differentiate themselves, Biden didn't do it, and maybe he should have.
BAKARI SELLERS (D), FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: That's Pete -- yes, Pete, he gave this -- a lot of people are saying Pete gave the speech that Joe Biden should have.
BORGER: OK. I said...
SELLERS: But, you know, he's still trying to take this momentum. But I just -- I think that I want everyone to keep this same energy next week, right? So now, we're talking about a new front runner, although we've only had three primaries, three primaries to vote.
But next week, we go to South Carolina. And if Bernie Sanders doesn't come in first, I mean, is that a story if he comes in for --
COOPER: He's part of the new front runner, I mean, he was third for the frontrunner. I mean, he's been kind of the top in the beginning.
SELLERS: Well, who Bernie Sanders?
COOPER: Yes.
SELLERS: I mean, I think -- I think tonight -- I think tonight, you can credibly say that Bernie Sanders displayed building a coalition necessary to be a front runner. It's very -- it's very difficult to say that Bernie Sanders was the front runner before today. There wasn't...
COOPER: You're pushing for Biden. Have you heard anybody say, I really feel like Biden's on the upside.
SELLERS: I'm not. Well, I think people, after tonight, are saying he's on the upside. I'm actually pushing for them to consolidate. You ask the question, who should drop out? The answer to the question is who cannot build -- who does not build that diverse coalition?
If you're polling it two, three percent of African-American community, yes, you should drop out and get behind somebody who's actually polling better, who can help be or drift off some of that. Bernie's anti-Bernie Sanders wind, as you call it.
JESS MCINTOSH, FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS OUTREACH, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Explain that we're seeing Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, frankly, in other contexts pick up a lot of the moderate vote.
I don't actually know that if the moderate candidates were to drop out that would necessarily move those voters to the one left. I don't think people are looking at this and that sort of ideological divide of idea.
ALEXANDRIA ROJAS, FORMER CAMPAIGN ORGANIZER, 2016 BERNIE SANDERS: Yes. And I think that it is interesting that Pete Buttigieg, you know, you obviously have to draw contrast, but I think like when these ideas are so vastly popular across the democratic electorate taking away candidates, it's not just about ideology, it's about prioritizing the people in this country that, you know, feel forgotten...
COOPER: But Medicare for All is not -- I mean, do you say Medicare for All is widely popular across all these -- the Democratic Party because it means --
ROJAS: Yes. I mean, I think -- I think this is --
COOPER: all of the moderates do not want it. I mean, even Warren is pulled away from it.
ROJAS: Sixty-two percent of voters in Nevada in the last three states want government run health care. I just found this out that half of all spending in Iowa was against Medicare for All. That's millions, hundreds of millions of dollars being spent attacking the idea of universal health care and it is still coming out as a top issue for Democratic voters.
[20:50:14]
The resilience of working people, especially when we have 184 million Americans right now that either don't have insurance or have -- are under insured is massive. And I think that politicians shouldn't just pay attention to poll numbers. They should take a note from Bernie who doesn't see polls as static and instead is focused on, how do I shift public opinion? I'm not going to change my message. I'm going to bring people along with me.
MCINTOSH: Even Pete Buddha judge who is sort of the leading critic of Medicare for all had to position his own program as Medicare for All who want it.
BORGER: If you want.
MCINTOSH: It was -- it was sort of understood that Medicare for all seemed like a popular idea and he needed not to say you can't have Medicare for all his was a different version of Medicare for All. So the idea that he's popular is just not --
JONES: Let me speak though. Why the Democratic establishment and other people are concerned about Bernie Sanders.
In 1968, Nixon was elected, and much like Trump, the reaction from liberals and progressives was a big freak out. I mean, Nixon was completely outside of what was acceptable for Democrats at that time.
And in '72, there now looks like a big overcorrection. And we have a governor who was too far to the left for the country in reaction to Nixon. And we lost, I think, 49 states, 48 states. And so I've been, you know, trying to stick up for the Sanders movement. I do want to give a little bit of voice to the people at home, we're saying, well, I feel I'm afraid.
There's historical pattern that Bernie's got to be able to deal with, which is you have a very, very unpopular, very conservative president in Nixon, and then we go too far to the left and overcorrect. In order for Bernie Sanders to be able to say, I'm going to break them a government curse. That's his challenge now, to move the next, he's got to be able to say, I know how to build a winning coalition. And what you see in Nevada is that the beginning of that.
SELLERS: Can I -- can I --
BORGER: But that wasn't his tweet.
SELLERS: -- piggyback on what Van is talking about, because that's a very real fear and consternation amongst many Democrats is that the damage is not going to be whether or not we beat Donald Trump or not, that's not the concern around Bernie Sanders, per se.
It's also a very high concern for many people that Bernie Sanders is going to be a drag on the rest of the ticket. And so the places where -- the places where Democrats need to win to either maintain their congressional seats or pick up a Senate seat, they will not be able to do.
And, you know, my good friend Joe Cunningham, who had one of the biggest political upsets in this wave that came in when he won Mark Sanford's OC. He just came out last week and, said, one of the things we're concerned about is Bernie Sanders at the top of the ticket, making races that we -- that Democrats need to win more different.
JONES: And let me push back. This -- and this is the conversation now. I think inside of the party. And what I wanted -- want to point out is that people who have those concerns might find some comfort in the fact that over and over and over again, the polls show, unlike with Governor Nixon, that Bernie can beat Trump. And we always rush past that. And that should give more comfort to the party than it does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think --
SELLERS: I'm sorry. Just one last to put up -- to put a button on this. I think that that is some concern. But I think the way that Bernie quells that is with building coalitions like he did tonight, right? That actually shows people that maybe he can win in some of these other places by having these coalitions that he apparently was able to put together tonight.
The test is, can he do that next week in South Carolina? And then can he do it in Tennessee? And can he do it in Virginia and North Carolina, et cetera?
BORGER: And when he does the tweet, as he did tonight, which I was complaining about earlier, when he took on the democratic establishment, that's not good news for those moderate House Democrats who put themselves on the line for voting for Donald Trump's impeachment and put their congressional seats really very much in play and they are worried that if you have someone at the top of the ticket, who is dumping all over the democratic so called establishment, that they are the ones who are going to get thrown out, and that that will not -- that will not help them.
So that kind of language internally among Democrats who really did really did walk, you know, a very difficult line there is not welcome. ROJAS: Yes. And I think that we have to acknowledge where voters fears are because I disagree slightly in that, yes, down ballot. I'm sure it's a concern, but I think most voters are concerned about who is going to be able to defeat Donald Trump. And, so far, Bernie Sanders has been able to do that.
But I think this goes back to the point of, we can't just keep talking to the same people that we usually do in the Democratic Party. And when we think in, you know, young people specifically, I think, when we think of the democratic establishment, we think of a lot of that sort of ideology around who you talk to, and what does it take to win, and when we're up against a Republican Party, that is literally trying to like, you know, is trying -- is trying to take advantage of this crisis legitimacy of our institutions that is fighting to take away health care for millions of people, Democrats have to be for all health care, we have to be for universal health care.
[20:55:14]
And I think we also have to remember that even when we had Democrats control both chambers, we still didn't get immigration report reform pass in some cases. So it does matter which Democrats that we get in there.
COOPER: We're going to take a deep dive into our entrance poll for more insight into how Bernie Sanders won Nevada. We may do a contest ahead. We're back in a moment.
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