Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Saturday that Republicans were solely to blame for the lack of a budget deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Sanders denied that both parties were responsible for the current gridlock in Washington.

He said “nobody wants” the economically damaging combination of across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases, but that “right-wing extremists” in the House were preventing a deal by refusing to compromise on tax hikes on the rich.

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“I don’t think there is an equivalence,” Sanders explained. “People are saying, ‘Well shouldn’t the rich pay a little more in taxes and then shouldn’t we cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?’ The answer is, ‘no.’ The wealthy are doing phenomenally well. Their taxes are down. The middle-class is hurting. We have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income. It should not be a balance on the middle-class and the rich.”

Watch video, via MoxNews.com, below: