That Crazy Liberal Friend of Yours

We often like to quote that crazy liberal friend that we all have who insists that if people were better informed they'd all vote Democrat. If you're on the right you all have one. The rest of your Democratic friends insist this is a fringe caricature and not representative of the left. They tell that any intelligent person on the left understands why people vote Republican. Well, they might have a hard time saying that is a caricature because today that crazy liberal friend is Bernie Sanders.

I think, to be honest with you -- and I just don't, you know, say this rhetorically, this is a fringe party. It is a fringe party. Maybe they get 5, 10 percent of the vote.

This isn't taking Bernie out of context or him responding to a gotcha question. It's Rachel Maddow throwing him softballs.
Here's more:

What you really need in this country is a progressive party standing with the working class and the middle class of this country. And yes, a conservative party that, you know, has, you know, is more fiscally conservative. That is where we should be as a country.

I really would've pressed Sanders what that "fiscally conservative" party should stand for, because according to Sanders it's not one that gives:

...tax breaks for the top two tenths of 1 percent, cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Medicaid, a party which with few exceptions, doesn't even acknowledge the reality of climate change, let alone do anything about it, a party which is not prepared to stand with women in the fight for pay equity, a party that is not prepared to do anything about a broken criminal justice system or a corrupt campaign finance system.

I think he wants a Republican party that agrees with the Democrats on everything except whatever he thinks "fiscally conservative" means.

What Sanders fails to understand is that the political parties settle into positions are largely the opposite of each other and attract roughly half the vote. Sure, one party can be more dominant for a period of time but eventually the other party makes adjustments and the balance comes together again.