Senate Democrat Tees Off On His Own Party: ‘The Democratic Party Brand is Really Problematic’
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that his party’s brand is “problematic” as voters view it as a haven for elites in New York and California.
Bennet called on the party to realign itself with working-class voters and said he believed four years of President Donald Trump could work to the advantage of Democrats.
On NBC’s Meet the Press, anchor Kristen Welker asked Bennet about the future Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“I think a much more important question is what we are going to do as the Democratic Party to create a compelling view for Americans that will allow us to lead again,” the senator said. “We should have never lost to Donald Trump once, much less twice.”
Bennet said Trump’s wins were ultimately his party’s fault.
“The Democratic Party has lost touch with working people in our country at a time when 50 years of trickle-down economics has meant that most Americans feel like no matter how hard they work, their kids are not going to live a life better than the life they lead,” he said.
Welker asked him, “You know, California Governor Gavin Newsom went so far as to say, ‘The Democratic brand is toxic right now.’ Senator, those are powerful words. Do you agree that the Democratic brand is toxic?”
The Colorado Democrat replied, “I do agree that the Democratic Party brand is really problematic. And I think that it is a brand that is, with all respect to my colleague from California, is associated with New York and with California, is associated with the educated elites in this country, and not anymore with working people in this country.” Bennet concluded:
You know, the good news, for the party, I think, is that Donald Trump is pursuing the same trickle-down economics that he pursued the first time he was president, to make sure that he can create, again, the tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the United States, and pay for it by taking away healthcare from the American people. That’s really bad for America. But the Democratic Party ought to be able to come back, under those circumstances, with a pretty good argument about why we could leader better than Donald Trump and why we are able to provide a better set of economic policies, a much better set of healthcare policies than ensures universal healthcare, finally, for everybody in this country.
Watch above via NBC News.
