Democratic strategist James Carville torched Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a new interview with The Daily Beast, branding them as unelectable and accusing them of dragging the party down with out-of-touch messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know what they don\u2019t do? Win elections,\u201d Carville declared of progressive candidates on The Daily Beast Podcast<\/a>. \u201cAll they do is impress other journalists. They never beat a Republican!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery time that you see a Democrat that is out there screaming and pounding the podium, ask yourself: \u2018Have they ever beat a Republican?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (While not at the national level, Ocasio-Cortez has fended off Republican challengers in her district four times\u2014despite millions of dollars spent to oust her. Sanders has also beaten his Republican opponents in past House and Senate races.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carville slammed AOC and Sanders\u2019 \u201cFighting Oligarchy\u201d tour, which has drawn large crowds across the country, as \u201ccounterproductive,\u201d arguing it plays into the image of the Democratic Party as \u201cold\u201d, \u201ccoastal\u201d and \u201curban.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a great idea,\u201d he said sarcastically. \u201cLet\u2019s send an 83-year-old and a congresswoman from Queens out in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even using the word \u201coligarchy\u201d\u2014meant to capture anti-Trump, anti-billionaire sentiments\u2014is a misstep, according to the 80-year-old strategist behind Bill Clinton\u2019s 1992 presidential campaign: \u201c90 percent of people in the country have no idea what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s a problem with Democrats particularly,\u201d he told host Joanna Coles. \u201cThe more \u2018identity,\u2019 the more \u2018pronoun\u2019 you get, the more you try to use language that no one else uses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet\u2014much to Carville\u2019s dismay\u2014AOC continues to dominate early conversations on who might emerge as the leader (and 2028 candidate) to lift the beaten-down Democratic Party out of its current unpopularity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more to the Democratic Party than AOC and Bernie,\u201d he said frustratedly, citing a number of his preferred figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coles noted that AOC and Sanders have something many other Democrats lack: name recognition. So looking ahead at the 2028 presidential election, Carville advocated for a \u201cmini convention\u201d\u2014scheduled closer to the 2026 midterms\u2014for the public to better get to know a range of Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat we have to do is set up ourselves as the party that is simply trying to help people who are trying to make it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast are released every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at <\/em>beast.pub\/dailybeastpod<\/em><\/a> and subscribe on <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a> to watch full episodes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Daily Beast Podcast, Erkki Forster Thu, May 22, 2025 (Yahoo.com) Democratic strategist James Carville torched Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a new interview with The Daily Beast, branding them as unelectable and accusing them of dragging the party down with out-of-touch messaging. \u201cYou know… Continue reading