In an interview that aired on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid seemed to forget that his colleague and caucus member, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is running for President, commenting that Hillary Clinton “has a clear field” to the nomination.
“Right now we have Hillary Clinton. And that’s it. There’s not another Barack Obama out there. There are no all-stars out there,” Reid told MSNBC anchor Jose Diaz-Balart, according to an interview transcript reported on by The Hill.
Reid added that he’s “glad” that Clinton has a relatively clear path to the nomination.
Last month, the Minority Leaders said he was “not a big fan” of the primary process, claiming that they’re a hindrance “especially when you’re someone as noted as Hillary.”
Reid’s counterpart in the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was similarly dismissive of Sanders’ presidential ambitions and the primary process. When asked by reporters last month if Democrats should host Presidential debates during the nomination race—a forum best suited for Sanders to challenge the well-financed front-runner—Pelosi was indifferent. She called the idea “wholesome,” but added, “if we don’t have it, then we’ll just get moving with what we have.”
In statements made earlier this year, Pelosi referred to Clinton as a “great candidate for president.”
In some circles on the left, however, the Independent Senator from Vermont is considered an “all star,” as evidenced by the impressive start to his campaign fundraising. . Within 24 hours of announcing his candidacy at the end of April, Sanders attraced $1.5 million in donations—more individually than top Republican candidates and his legislative colleagues, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were able to muster up in their first official day of stumping.
Appearing on CSPAN’s Washington Journal Friday morning, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) came to the defense of his fellow Vermonter, saying that he’s “excited about [Sanders’] campaign.”
“He’s been speaking consistently throughout his political career about something that all America knows is big issue and that’s inequality, so he’s going to add a real voice to the campaign,” Welch said on the program.
Welch added, however, that he hasn’t made an endorsement yet. He acknowledged that Clinton has “a lot of support,” and said that “it’s a big country that Bernie is going to have to introduce himself to.”
