Democrats in Panic Mode, Socialist Bernie Sanders on a Roll, Defends Fidel Castro

Establishment Democrats are in full panic mode as socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken a big leap forward in his bid to win the party's presidential nomination.

The Vermont senator blew out his competition in the Nevada Caucus Saturday and now party leaders are wondering if he can be stopped.

Sanders predicts he'll ride the momentum all the way to the White House. "We're not only going to win here in Texas on Super Tuesday, we're going to beat Trump in November," he insisted at a Texas rally Sunday.

While the president may relish taking on the socialist Sanders as his opponent, the Democratic establishment is scared about the prospect of Bernie Sanders becoming their presidential nominee. 

And comments like the one Sanders made one on 60 Minutes about Fidel Castro and Cuba put him back in the headlines.

"It's unfair to simply say everything is bad, you know when Fidel Castro came into office you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program," insisted Sanders.

"I don't think he can beat Donald Trump and keep a Democratic Senate, get a Democratic Senate and keep a Democratic House," former Vice President Joe Biden explained. 

That concern has caused some Democrats running for Congress to distance themselves from Sanders and his socialist agenda - policies that are unlikely to win over voters in key congressional swing districts, including those that Democrats won in 2018, and more conservative states.

This Saturday, voters will be going to the polls again in South Carolina.

A new CBS News poll released Sunday shows Biden's lead in South Carolina narrowing over Sanders. Biden stands at 28 percent of likely Democrat voters and Sanders is now at 23 percent. Biden's lead has dwindled since last October when it stood at 43 percent.

The Democratic House Majority Whip, Congressman Jim Clyburn doubts Sanders can keep the Nevada victory momentum going in his state. "This is South Carolina and South Carolinians are pretty leery about that title, socialist," Clyburn explained.

Biden is hoping Clyburn will endorse him for the Democratic presidential nomination. That could help Biden win support from undecided black voters.

If they turn out to the polls in large numbers, black voters could make the difference in the South Carolina primary vote.  

Touting his experience with the African American community, Biden made an appeal Sunday at a black church in North Charleston.

"You have in your hands the power unlike any time in a long time to determine who the next Democratic nominee will be," Biden said.

And even if Biden wins a narrow victory over Sanders in South Carolina Saturday, it may not be enough to slow Sanders down with the huge Super Tuesday primaries just three days after that. If Sanders wins a majority of those 14-states, there may be little that worrisome Democratic party leaders – or Sanders’ opponents like Biden and others – could do to stop him from rolling forward to the nomination.