 Bernie Sanders sat down for an interview with Crystal Ball of the Hill TV and he explained why he recently paid a visit to Kentucky And it is to put pressure on Mitch McConnell Now he also gave us a little bit more insight into what he would do to pressure McConnell assuming he remains the Senate majority leader If Bernie Sanders is elected president take a look For a very simple reason I happen to believe in democracy and I happen to be a member of the United States Senate and There are enormous challenges facing this country and the world And I'm here in Kentucky because Mitch McConnell the senator from Kentucky happens to be the majority leader of the United States Senate Now McConnell can vote any way he wants on an issue But what I find really outrageous and extremely undemocratic is his obstructionism and his refusal to allow major legislation to come to the floor for a debate and for a vote so essentially well Enormous problems face this country. Everybody knows it. There's very little that's going on in the Senate It is a do-nothing body and that is because of McConnell and I came here to Kentucky To ask the people of this state to demand that their United States Senate allow real debate on the floor So that we can begin doing something to represent working families So he proudly calls himself the grim reaper because he kills any and all Democratic legislation that comes to the floor. He also recently wrote not bad Saying that we should keep the filibuster in place What's your view on the filibuster? Well, let me talk about the grim reaper I mean and all that he is talking about is that we are seeing some decent legislation Not as strong as I would like but some decent legislation coming from the house In terms of raising the minimum wage to a living wage that would be a profound Have a profound impact on the state of Kentucky Which as you know is a poor state a lot of low-wage workers in this state and that you have a Senator from Kentucky who is refusing to bring a bill passed in The house to the floor is really an insult to the working people of Kentucky and that's true for gun safety legislation It's true for legislation trying to protect the integrity of our elections from interference from Russia and other countries In terms of the filibuster, I believe we need a strong filibuster reform I don't think that some staff member can send down a message a note that says we're going to be required to have 60 votes if you want to have a 60 vote margin you want to filibuster get on the floor and talk I did it for eight and a half hours some years ago. That's what you can do So I don't believe the Senate should be the house But I do believe in strong filibuster reform and also I think on major major issues like Medicare for all Which I intend to get past the elected president. We can do budget reconciliation and other Provisions are the ways to get that through with the majority vote to me I think this is one of the most important questions for you and for other presidential contenders if Mitch McConnell is still in charge of The Senate, how do you get your agenda passed? Well, I tell you how You do what has historically Always been done when real change takes place and that is you do what I've done today So coming back as president we could do it with a little bit more force and that is speak to the people state by state and have them Understand what their Senator is doing in my view The vast majority of the people in this state of Kentucky want to raise that minimum wage to $15 an hour And if McConnell happens to be and I hope he will not be and I'll do everything I can to prevent that but if he happens to be to stay on as majority leader I will be back in Kentucky to talk about the need to raise The minimum wage to $15 an hour the need to guarantee health care to all people And I think when you rally the American people not just in Kentucky all over this country around an agenda that works for working people You're gonna be putting enormous pressure on those elected officials like McConnell Who consistently represent the wealthy and the powerful against the interests of the people in their own states So what Bernie Sanders is doing here is he's going above and beyond what other Politicians are willing to do because they'll make these tweets about Mitch McConnell They'll publicly denounce what he does, but nobody actually goes to Mitch McConnell's home turf and Campaigns against him now for those of you who don't know Mitch McConnell is actually up for reelection in 2020 so currently to go to his home state and make noise about why he's not Representing his own constituents that really is powerful as crystal ball points out Mitch McConnell is the self-proclaimed Grim reaper of any and all progressive policies, but really you know, it's not just progressive policies that he's killing He's killing any and all policies. He won't allow a vote on Pretty much anything the house passes something he won't even allow a vote on it Even if he knows that he has a majority Republicans control the Senate So they're most likely going to vote down or whatever they don't like that is sent to them from the house But he still just won't allow it. He is literally stopping democracy Unilaterally, so Mitch McConnell is one of the biggest threats to democracy currently He may be a bigger threat than Donald Trump, although that's arguable But what Bernie Sanders is essentially doing is he's saying look Mitch McConnell is not going to continue To make a joke of our democracy He's not going to be able to get away with blocking legislation and not allowing a vote if he does this when I'm president I will show up to Kentucky and campaign against him and have his own constituents call and put pressure on him No, it's not a sure bet that that strategy would work But really if you are the president of the United States You are in control of that bully pulpit. You really could make a difference potentially now I really hope that Bernie Sanders extends this strategy to members of his own party If he's elected president, you're going to have to put in time It's not just Mitch McConnell who you're going to have to put pressure on you're going to have to put pressure on the centrist mealy-mouthed spineless corporate Democrats who are going to fight you on issues like Medicare for all Student loan dead cancellation, although Donald Trump did just use his pen to cancel student loans for disabled veterans So hopefully Bernie Sanders would pursue that route as well But for whatever, you know policy Bernie cannot pursue via executive order the strategy should be replicated I mean politicians should be doing this if all progressives make noise in this way and put in that extra step To campaign in the home states of politicians Mitch McConnell Democrats and Republicans if we do this this really could be a huge national movement where we do see shift because if you Don't get money out of politics. They are not going to budge So of course the end result is to remove money from politics entirely But until we get there we are going to have to do things like this, you know campaign in our home states now One thing that Bernie Sanders said here. I do disagree with he says that when it comes to the filibuster He doesn't think that it should be eliminated now. I don't agree with that I think that the filibuster is just at this point Republicans they've nuked the filibuster So we have no reason to arbitrarily impose rules on ourselves if we reclaim the Senate We meaning Bernie Sanders and Democrats when Republicans are willing to do that So why should we? impose rules on ourselves that Republicans don't impose on their selves to me that just feels like asymmetric warfare and It's just inherently unfair Although I do kind of give Bernie credit here and can give him a pass because even if he doesn't believe that the filibuster should be eliminated he is open to filibuster reform and He did state that he would use something like budget reconciliation to pass policies like Medicare for all if you expect To get Medicare for all while not getting rid of the filibuster. It's not gonna happen I mean, you're just not gonna get 60 votes for something like Medicare for all You'd be lucky to get 51 votes for Medicare for all, you know, so the fact that he is open to Passing big policies in some way be it budget reconciliation or filibuster reform where he just needs that 50 plus one majority That's good Although I really would like to see him be bold here and just agree that we should be getting rid of the filibuster Full stop because Republicans are the ones who decided that you know what? Maybe the filibuster shouldn't exist now that we have power So I see no reason for us to limit ourselves But back to the overarching point about Mitch McConnell Bernie Sanders here is showing everyone why he is a real leader He's not just going to do politics as usual in the sense that he'll tell Someone from the House or the Senate to propose legislation and then it'll be vote on and then either it passes or it fails But that will be the end of the story No, he's actually going to fight for what he's proposing Which you need because if you honestly expect to pass anything that is bold or a sweeping reform of whatever type You're not gonna get that done just by you know, the usual legislative procedure That's just not gonna happen in this day and age when we are incredibly polarized You have to crack skulls and Bernie Sanders thus far is the only politician That is communicating to me that he will be doing that that he gets that and that's important And that's what really sets himself apart from people like Elizabeth Warren who makes it very clear that she's a team player And you know, she's on team Democrat and you know, if they disagree Well, that's fine. She's not gonna push them too hard No, I want an outsider who isn't part of a team who's gonna say you're gonna follow my lead And if not, then I'm gonna campaign against you in your own home state. That's what we need We have to be aggressive because we don't have a choice the planet depends on it The American people depend on us being aggressive and being relentless as we advocate for these policies that would Substantially help people and change and save lives. So Bernie Sanders unquestionably has the right idea and We need him to be elected So that way he can implement this strategy and then other future presidents who are democratic Will replicate this strategy because I have no doubt that this has a chance of being successful I'm not gonna say it's gonna guarantee that Mitch McConnell will buckle But at least when you put in that extra time and effort It's more pressure than he would usually face something that he's not necessarily used to because if you're shamed in your own home state If people turn against you in your own home state, guess what your political career is done and Bernie Sanders understands that and that's why he understands the importance of Taking it a step further and traveling the country not just remaining in DC if he's president That's why I support Bernie because I want someone who's going to fight and time and again He has reassured me as a supporter that he will fight if he's elected