Democratic strategist James Carville is owning the label “political hack” as he continues to warn Democrats about the damage Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could do to the party if he wins the presidential nomination.
In a phone interview with Vanity Fair contributor Peter Hamby on Thursday, Carville said he is not “a purist” and took a shot at Sanders’ democratic socialist platform.
“Last night on CNN, Bernie called me a political hack. That’s exactly who the f**k I am! I am a political hack! I am not an ideologue. I am not a purist. He thinks it’s a pejorative. I kinda like it! At least I’m not a communist.”
Carville’s comments come after Sanders called him a “political hack” in response to Carville’s previous criticisms of his presidential campaign.
“Look, James — in all due respect — is a political hack who said very terrible things when he was working for Clinton against Barack Obama. I think he said some of the same things,” Sanders said.
Watch the interview below:
Carville has been speaking out about Sanders, who has labeled himself a democratic socialist, warning that nominating him would be ruinous for the Democratic Party and the country.
Comparing Sanders to Jeremy Corbyn, the progressive leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Carville issued a dire warning to Democrats about nominating Sanders during an interview on MSNBC on Tuesday.
“The only thing, the only thing between the United States and the abyss is the Democratic Party. That’s it. If we go the way of the British Labour Party, if we nominate Jeremy Corbyn, it’s going to be the end of days.”
Watch Carville’s interview below:
Additionally, Carville said that African American voters are not interested in “socialism and a revolution and all that foolishness you hear.” Instead, they want a candidate who will “articulate a vision as to how they fit into this country.”
In an interview with Vox, Carville said “the fate of the world” depends on Democrats defeating President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. However, he warned that Democrats are pushing the wrong agenda if they want to win.
“We just had an election in 2018. We did great. We talked about everything we needed to talk about, and we won. And now it’s like we’re losing our damn minds. Someone’s got to step their game up here.”
Several moderate Democrats in Congress are reportedly growing anxious about the possibility that if Sanders wins their party’s nomination not only could they lose the presidential election, but hurt candidates running for other down ticket races as well.