CNN "Wolf" - Transcript: 2014 Election

Interview

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Let's bring in Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. He's the long-standing Independent member of the United States Senate. He's joining us right now.

You caucus with Democrats. Very quickly, Senator Sanders, what happened to the Democrats? They suffered hugely this week.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT: The Republicans ran a very smart political campaign. The American people are extremely dissatisfied at the state of the economy. The middle class continues to collapse. That's been a 30-year collapse. The gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider. Real unemployment is close to 12 percent. What the Republicans successfully did is blame Obama for all of these problems and then go after the Senators who have supported Obama. What they also managed to do, Wolf, and a brilliant political strategy, is not tell us what their agenda is. All over the country in conservative states, people said, let's raise the minimum wage to a living wage. What's the Republican position on that? They are against that. Poll after poll tells us the American people want to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of decent paying jobs. What's the Republican position on that? They're against it.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Let me just ask you, I want to get your quick reaction to what we heard from speaker of the House, John Boehner. He was very blunt. He said if the president goes ahead and, through executive action, unilaterally, without going through Congress, tries to change the status of illegal immigrants here in the United States, that will be very dangerous, he'll poison the well. And it's as simple as that. He says the president better not even think about doing that. Your reaction?

SANDERS: Well, my reaction is the people of this country overwhelmingly want to see the minimum wage raised. Is the Republican Party going to do what the American people want? The American people do not want more tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations. Is the Republican Party going to poison the well by going forward, at a time of massive wealth and income equality, giving more tax breaks to people who don't need the tax breaks? Boehner is talking about a political attack on the president.

BLITZER: Will you support the president if he goes around Congress and takes that executive action to change the status of illegal immigrants?

SANDERS: Look, what I support is Congress and the president doing everything they can to address the serious problems facing the American people. Immigration is one of those issues. In the Senate, we passed a bipartisan bill. The House did nothing. Let's do something together. That's the preferable route. Most importantly, let's not turn our backs on the middle class of this country and ignore the enormous economic problems they are facing. Let's not simply work for the rich and big campaign contributors who control the United States Congress. If we can do that and respond to the needs and the pain of the American people, you know what, I think you'll suddenly find that Congress is regarded more favorably than is currently the case.

BLITZER: I know you are seriously thinking about running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now that midterm elections are over with, candidates will start create exploratory committees. Will where you stand on that?

SANDERS: I'm giving thought to running, but for me and the nature of the campaign I would be running, I have to get input from people all over this country, and we haven't made that final decision yet. When you take on the billionaire class and you take on the Koch Brothers and Wall Street and the drug companies and all these guys, you don't do that haphazardly. You have to think it through. I want to know whether there is grassroots support in this country for an agenda that's going to speak to the needs of working families and the middle class prepared to take on big-money interests, and I have to determine that, and we're not there yet with that determination.

BLITZER: Correct me if I'm wrong, you have already made a visit or two to Iowa. I assume you've been to your neighboring state of New Hampshire. How are you being received in those early primary and caucus states?

SANDERS: Well, you know, in fact, quite well. We've had very decent turnouts around the state of Iowa and in New Hampshire as well, and in other places around the country. But it's one thing, you know, when 300 or 400 people come out to a meeting and another thing to see and get a sense of where millions of people in this country are.

Look, the American people today are demoralized. One of the takeaways of this last campaign is that in my state and all over this country, vast majority of the people didn't even vote. Young people don't vote. Low-income working people don't vote. They are disgusted. Is it possible to bring people back in so that they stand up and fight for their rights and take on the big money and trusts? I don't know the answer to that yet. That's just something we're exploring.

BLITZER: We'll see when that decision comes forward.

Always a pleasure having you on the program, Senator. Thanks very much. Good luck to you.

SANDERS: Thank you. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Bernie Sanders, Independent Senator from the state of Vermont. He caucuses with the Democrats. He's always got important views.

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