Bernie Sanders zeros in on Joe Biden as his favorite foil

Campaigning in New Hampshire this week, Biden defended his record as progressive, particularly on environmental and health care policies. He pushed back at a news report that he was considering a “middle ground” on climate policy that prompted stinging criticism from Sanders and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

“I was in this area long before most anybody else was, and I have a record,” he said, calling himself “a leader in climate change” and referring to a 1987 Senate floor speech during which he referred to a warming Earth as an “existential threat.”

He said he’ll deliver a major speech on climate issues later this month, and he called for an “environmental revolution.” But he also doubled down on his overall pragmatic political brand, arguing that “we do need to finish this green revolution in a way that is rational” and in a way the nation “can afford.”