Sanders: 'I Have Become A Little Bit Tired Of Being Beaten Up' By Clinton
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., said he's getting tired of the negative attacks coming from Hillary Clinton and her campaign.
The Democratic presidential hopeful told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that he is getting "beaten up" by the attacks.
"You know, I have become a little bit tired of being beaten up by the negativity of the Clinton campaign," Sanders said.
COMPLETE CAMPAIGN 2016 COVERAGE
Sanders told "Face the Nation" that Clinton's camp has been distorting his views and taking some of his past comments out of context.
"After we have won eight out of nine caucuses and primaries, I think they made it clear that what their goal was, and I think I quote appropriately here, 'Disqualify, defeat and then reunite the party later on,'" the senator said. "They've gone after us in every single area, in a way that just misrepresents my views."
Sanders believes he has a "real shot" at winning New York's Democratic primary, despite recent polls showing the former secretary state with a sizable lead.
"Even here in New York state you have a voting system which makes it impossible for independents to participate in the Democratic primary, that makes it impossible for people to register on the day of the election which many states do, which is going to result in a lower voter turnout than I would like to see," Sanders said.
Under New York state rules, only registered Democrats can vote in Tuesday's Democratic primary. And only registered Republicans can vote in the GOP contest.
As for the 3.2 million New Yorkers registered with no party or a minor one, they are out of luck if they want to influence the outcome of the Democratic or Republican races. The deadline to switch to one of the two majors for the purpose of voting in the primary passed without fanfare back in October.
Passionate Sanders supporter Valerie Kelemen also failed to switch in time.
"I got very energized by Bernie Sanders last summer. Only in January did I start to get active," said Kelemen. "I then realized that I couldn't switch my party to Democrat because I had missed the Oct. 9, 2015 deadline."
Several dozen supporters of changing the system in New York held a rally Thursday, saying it was one of a number of factors that have depressed turnout in past state elections.
"New York state has some of the most archaic voter laws in the entire country," said state Assemblyman Fred Thiele, an independent from Long Island. "It's hard to register to vote. It's hard to get an absentee ballot. There's no early voting in New York. There's no voting by mail. If you want to vote in New York you really have to want to, and even if you want to vote sometimes they won't let you vote."
Turnout numbers for New York City and state suggest that voters are either apathetic or, as the critics say, kept away by rules that make it hard to cast a ballot.
According to CBS News, Clinton has accrued 1,755 delegates, compared to Sanders' 1,060.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)