In a moment of startling clarity — or perhaps long-overdue honesty — Sen. Bernie Sanders has once again cracked open the Democratic Party’s tightly sealed doors to let in some blunt truth. In a recent appearance on The New York Times’ “The Opinions” podcast, Sanders didn’t hold back: the Democratic Party is on the ropes. And not because of some sudden crisis, but due to years of cozying up to elites while ignoring the very people it claims to represent.
The numbers speak for themselves. As of now, the Democratic Party’s favorability hovers at a paltry 33.4% according to RealClearPolling. That’s not just bad — that’s historic low territory.
It reflects a growing perception that the party has become out of touch, overly managed by consultants, and more concerned with the preferences of donors sipping cocktails in Manhattan lofts than with the working-class Americans struggling to pay rent, balance childcare, or retire with dignity.
Sanders, who twice ran for president as a Democrat but has always maintained his independence, minced no words: “There ain’t much of a Democratic Party.” Instead, he describes a hollow institution propped up by a handful of power players who prefer order and predictability to the messy vitality of grassroots democracy.
The senator’s prescription is simple but politically radical — open the doors, let the people in, and prepare for chaos. Not dysfunction, but the energized kind of chaos that comes when real people start demanding a seat at the table.
And if the doors remain closed? “Are they gonna open the door, or are they prepared to lose elections, literally, and … go down with the Titanic?” Sanders asks, framing the stakes not just in metaphors, but in electoral math.
With over 2 million registered Democrats lost since 2020 and a growing perception of the party as “liberal, weak, corrupt,” according to a May Puck/Echelon poll, the risk is real.
Sanders has been here before. His own campaigns, he says, faced “hatred” from the Democratic establishment. Not disagreement — hatred. Not competition — sabotage. His description of party gatekeeping paints a picture not of a democratic institution, but a gated community where credentials matter more than convictions.
This is more than inter-party squabbling. It’s a call to action. Whether the party will listen — and whether it’s even capable of transforming — remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: if Democrats want to avoid sinking with the ship, they’ll need to decide quickly whether they still believe in democracy enough to share it.
