Many political observers and pundits are calling Tuesday night’s Democrat debate a train wreck. From Joe Biden claiming 150 million Americans have been murdered, Bernie Sanders defending a Marxist regime to Michael Bloomberg catching himself as he said he “bought” elections, there was plenty for the candidates to argue about.
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For much of the evening the focus remained on self-described socialist Bernie Sanders. The senior senator was forced to address past comments in which he praised marxist dictators and dictatorships.
Democratic Socialism sounds benign. It’s not. It’s built on Marxism. pic.twitter.com/VoFZlkSIgT
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 24, 2020
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley told Fox News on Wednesday that his Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill were “terrified” of the possibility of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) being the face of their party as its presidential nominee.
Hawley said should Sanders be the 2020 Democratic nominee, it would be a disaster.
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“I mean, listen, Bernie would be a disaster for the Democratic Party,” he said. “And it just shows you how far left the activist core of that party has gone, a socialist who wants to make us — remake this country in the image of Cuba and China. I mean, can you believe the things he’s saying about Cuba and China. He talked about China being a model for lifting people out of poverty. I mean, really? The most authoritarian government on the face of the planet a model? I don’t think so.”
The Missouri Republican concurred with his colleague Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on labeling Sanders a “Marxist,” and added he detected Sanders’ “taste” for authoritarian governments.
“I mean, if you praise Cuba and you praise China, I don’t know how there’s any other conclusion,” he said. “I mean this is a guy who clearly has a taste for authoritarian governments, who thinks that the United States needs to look more like these authoritarian regimes. I mean, that just isn’t America.”
“And I think that when people listen to this — already you — the other Democrats know that Bernie would be a disaster at the top of the ticket and I can tell you from conversations I’ve had with Democrats on Capitol Hill, they are terrified at the idea of Bernie as being their standard-bearer,” Hawley added. “But, listen, I think it’s going to happen, and that’s why Donald Trump is going to win big in November.”
–Wire services