The left wing of the Democratic Party criticized Barack Obama for cautioning Democrats not to move too far to the left.
“Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality,” the former president said last week. “The average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it. They just don’t want to see crazy stuff.”
Pundits and lawmakers seized on the remark, characterizing it as out of touch and counterproductive to the party’s new mission and branding in the wake of the 2016 election.
“If being #TooFarLeft means believing healthcare is a human right, future generations should live on a healthy planet, all student debt should be canceled, the minimum wage should be $15, lives depend on gun reform, and families don’t belong in cages, ” Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted in response, “count me in!”
If being #TooFarLeft means believing:
✅ Healthcare is a human right
✅ Future generations should live on a healthy planet
✅ All student debt should be cancelled
✅ The minimum wage should be $15
✅ Lives depend on gun reform
✅ Families don’t belong in cagesCount me in! ??
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 16, 2019
Peter Daou, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton and John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, also weighed in.
“CONFESSION: I’m Too Far Left,” Daou said before tweeting a list of left-leaning policies he supports.
Yes, I started the #TooFarLeft hashtag partly in response to #Obama‘s comments. But that wasn’t the main reason.
Too Far Left™ is the default attack line by the entire political/media establishment to dismiss progressives and leftists who want a better world.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) November 16, 2019
Actor and director Jon Cryer also joined the fray on behalf of climate activism.
“I am Too Far Left because I believe that we cannot let greed cause the collapse of the ecosystem that supports all human life on earth.”
I am #TooFarLeft because I believe that we cannot let greed cause the collapse of the ecosystem that supports all human life on earth.
— Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) November 16, 2019
Obama has warned in the past about the danger of a “circular firing squad” that could hurt the party in a general election, regardless of who earns the nomination ahead of next year’s election.
“The way we structure democracy requires you to take into account people who don’t agree with you,” he said.
Since a so-called blue wave swept through the halls of Congress last year, an increasingly vocal faction of the new, progressive lawmakers have spent some part of their first year in office chastising Democratic establishment types like Obama, Biden, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“We aren’t ‘pushing the party left,” rising Democratic star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a campaign ad for Sanders earlier this year. “We are bringing the party home.”
Some Democrats have argued Obama’s signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, did not go far enough in guaranteeing every American coverage.
“The reality is right now, we don’t have a healthcare system,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democrat campaigning for president, said during a recent debate. “We have a sick-care system, and there are far too many people in this country who are sick and unable to get the care that they need because they cannot afford it.”
Instead, 2020 Democrats such as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have advocated for a “Medicare for All” system that would cost trillions of dollars more than Obamacare does. Front-runner and former Vice President Joe Biden has rejected the idea of Medicare for All, poking holes in its cost-benefit and its likelihood of succeeding.
“Obamacare worked,” Biden has said.
Biden’s 2020 rivals have accused him of picking and choosing when to embrace mainstream policies put forth by the party during the Obama era.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Sen. Cory Booker said during a debate. “You invoke President Obama more than anyone in this campaign. You can’t do it when it’s convenient and then duck it when it’s not.”
