The news media in Washington, D.C., was focused on a scandal at the IRS, the Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press phone records and the Obama administration’s editing of talking points about the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders said, “the media may not be all that concerned about little things like the collapse of the American middle class.” He argued that the press should pay attention to what he called  “a new normal” in America where real unemployment was almost 14 percent in April, median income has fallen since the economic collapse in 2008 and poverty is near an all-time high.

Listen to the John Nichols interview Sen. Sanders on The Ed Show

Sanders also commented on the front-page stories.

On the AP phone records subpoena, Sanders said what the administration did was “absolutely wrong” and added, “I was very offended by what the administration did and will continue to support action to make sure that the American people and journalists can live their lives and do their work without having their basic freedoms infringed by the United States Government.

He criticized the IRS. “It was inappropriate for the IRS to go after one group of people, in this case, conservatives.” But Sanders said the broader issue is how “campaign financing in America today is a total disaster as a result of the outrageous Supreme Court decisions in Citizens United” that let “huge amounts of money... into the political process” through organizations seeking tax-exempt status.

He called the Benghazi attack “a great tragedy” but added that “from day one, the Republicans have politicized this issue.”