"Bernie Sanders Explains To Democrats Why They Lose Elections

He criticized the party's establishment -- while standing just steps away from the party's establishment.

In his first-ever speech before the Democratic National Committee on Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized the party's approach to elections, saying Democrats wouldn't win in 2016 if they failed to generate enthusiasm and resorted instead to "politics as usual."

"Let me be very clear," said Sanders, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination and caucuses with Democrats in the Senate. "In my view, Democrats will not retain the White House, will not regain the Senate, will not gain the House and will not be successful in dozens of governor’s

races unless we run a campaign which generates excitement and momentum and which produces a huge voter turnout."

Sanders made the comments at the DNC's summer meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, standing just steps from party officials like DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He suggested that his campaign was a model for the kind of "revolution" that Democrats had needed during the 2014 midterm elections, in which Republicans won nearly all close gubernatorial and congressional races and took control over a number of state legislatures." HP