Former president Barack Obama gave the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates some good advice on Friday: Cut the hardcore radical stuff.
In an address to liberal voters at a private dinner, Obama said average Americans don’t want “revolution” and don’t want to “tear down the system.”
“My point is that even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality and the fact that voters, including Democratic voters and certainly persuadable independents or even moderate Republicans, are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain, you know, left-leaning Twitter feeds or the activist wing of our party,” he said.
“This is still a country that is less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement. They like seeing things improved. But the average American doesn’t think that we have to completely tear down the system and remake it. And I think it’s important for us not to lose sight of that,” he added.
“They just don’t want to see crazy stuff.”
That peeved liberals, especially those supporting Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Both candidates are pledging to install Medicare for all (Warren’s plan is estimated to cost $53 trillion over a decade). And both support free college for all, along with much higher taxes for the wealthy (which will, of course, be passed on to the middle class).
Liberals bashed Obama on social media, using the hashtag #TooFarLeft.
“I’m #TooFarLeft because I want kids to be safe in school. I’m #TooFarLeft because I want people to live in dignity. I’m #TooFarLeft because I seek justice and equality. I’m #TooFarLeft because I think healthcare and housing are human rights,” former Hillary Clinton adviser Peter Daou wrote on Twitter.
CONFESSION: I'm Too Far Left™
I'm #TooFarLeft because I want kids to be safe in school.
I'm #TooFarLeft because I want people to live in dignity.
I'm #TooFarLeft because I seek justice and equality.
I'm #TooFarLeft because I think healthcare and housing are human rights.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) November 16, 2019
Other liberal Democrats jumped in, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
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
Actor Jon Cryer also weighed in. “I am #TooFarLeft because I believe that we cannot let greed cause the collapse of the ecosystem that supports all human life on earth,” the “Two And A Half Men” star tweeted.
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
