Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, cautioned the American public may be turned off by Democratic candidates who pull the party too far to the left.
Talking to reporters about his thoughts on the first round of the second Democratic presidential primary debate in Detroit, Durbin on Wednesday affirmed his concern that a liberal populist or socialist candidate’s nomination, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vermont, may hurt the party in the general election.
“Of course. I mean that that’s what was raised over and over again last night. Whether that agenda goes too far to the extreme and jeopardizes our chance to win the middle,” he explained. “It’s the nature of primaries Democratic and Republican to race to the extremes in the primary and race to the middle in the fall, and so, we always face that.”
Durbin told the Washington Examiner current political divisions reflect strong feelings about certain subjects like “Medicare for all,” aspirational programs for members of the party’s far-left, but an unrealistic fantasy for more centrist Democrats.
“But there is one unifying principle in our party: That is defeating President Trump, and I think that you’ll find that at the end of this process that will come back together as a party,” he said.
Going into Wednesday’s debate, Durbin said former Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime Senate colleague, will again be the targeted by others on stage — a role played in the first round of debates, on June 27 in Miami, by California Sen. Kamala Harris.
“Well, I think the lesson of the debates is you get six minutes in front of the camera and better get your best lines off, and you’d better be able to respond quickly,” he warned.
