When Hillary Clinton brought up her bipartisan efforts in Congress during Sunday night’s debate in South Carolina, Sanders replied with a characteristic observation: It’s not purely conservatism versus liberalism or committed partisanship that divides Congress, but also the control of congressional actors by moneyed interests.
“Congress is owned by big money and refuses to do what the American people want it to do,” Sanders said, suggesting that whether or not Democrats and Republicans can work together is perhaps less pressing than the question of whether or not democracy can function when America’s richest agents are capable of buying votes.