Clinton Blames Sanders for 2016 Loss In New Book

FEATURING LIZA FEATHERSTONE – Hillary Clinton’s newest book and the first one to be published since her devastating election loss last year is simply titled “What Happened.” A number of leaked excerpts from her book, which is to be officially released on September 12, show that she blames Bernie Sanders’ candidacy in part for her failure.

Clinton writes, “his attack caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump’s ‘Crooked Hillary’ campaign.” She added that Sanders, “got in to disrupt the Democratic Party.” She also accused Sanders of making promises to progressives that he wouldn’t have been able to keep as president.

Such sentiments appear to be indicative of the deepening split within the Democratic Party between establishment, pro-Wall Street politicians like Clinton, and vocal minority stalwart progressives who want the party to live up to its stated ideals. Whether Clinton’s criticisms of Sanders are taken seriously by the party as a whole has repercussions for its political future in next year’s midterm elections and beyond.

Liza Featherstone, editor of the book False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Rodham Clinton; she has also written the books, Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker’s Rights at Wal-Mart. She is also a contributing editor at the Nation.