Since he announced he is running for president earlier this month, the mainstream media has treated Bernie Sanders like he is less than a legitimate candidate. While they have acknowledged that he’s running, most outlets have said that Sanders will force fellow-candidate Hillary Clinton towards the left.
And while that might be a result of Sanders’ campaign, he is more than just a fringe candidate there to help shape the debate. He is running to win.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow addressed the beltway media’s treatment of Sanders on her show last night.
“The beltway media has been treating Bernie Sanders almost like a gadfly, somebody who exists only to pester Hillary Clinton to move to the left during the primaries. But Bernie Sanders … has been bucking that — both with his arguments now and also the description of how he campaigned in the past. He’s running an aggressive campaign now, he’s launching a full-court media press — bigger than almost any other candidate, Republican or Democrat.”
Maddow also pointed out that Sanders has raised about $4 million in the first few weeks of his campaign, more than some of the Republican frontrunners.
Watch Maddow’s comments below.
