Here's a good interview with Bernie Sanders. And here's a paragraph in it that seems worth quoting…
One of the great crises we face — and what the campaign demonstrated — is how far out of touch most Democratic leaders are with their constituents. That we can go into state after state and take on the entire Democratic establishment, in some cases win landslide victories, tells you that the gap between the Democratic leadership and grassroots folks is very, very wide. It is enormously important that we revitalize American democracy, that we get people thinking about the issues that impact their lives and their families' lives and their neighbors' lives, and start figuring out the route forward to address those issues.
Now, you may think that's pretty simple. If you are not feeling well, you go to the doctor, right? The doctor makes the diagnosis and provides the treatment. And yet that is not what we do in talking about politics. That is certainly not what television does in talking about politics, and Americans know it. What are the problems facing the country? Do we really even discuss them? One of the successes of our campaign is that we hit a nerve and said, "Yeah, these are the issues. Why isn't anybody talking about them?"
Take a look at the political websites for the last month or two. Do you see a lot of discussion about issues? I don't. I see people talking about whether Donald Trump is a molester, whether the election will be rigged, whether Hillary's e-mails say what some want to say they say, whether Trump is mentally unstable, etc. Not a lot there about what to do about Syria, income inequality, creating more jobs, controlling health care costs and getting insurance for more people, etc.
We aren't even arguing much about Gay Rights, Abortions and Gun Control and we always argue a lot about Gay Rights, Abortions and Gun Control. They may not be resolvable issues but at least they're issues.