Amen!…..
This Democrat has been ranting about the same thing ever since Bernie Sanders arrived on the scene ….
Medicare for All?
Green New Deal Policy?….
Free stuff ?
Folks?
NONE of the above is ‘FREE”….
While we SHOULD be talking about them and easing into them….
The idea that Democrats coming out of the gate for next years Presidential , Senate, House and state elections would be running on stuff the Republicans are SURE to point out the price tags is foolhardy …..
Obama , in his cautioning doesn’t scold….
He points out the reality of the American legislative politics and the minds of voters that Democrats NEED to have on their side….
Democrats have to worry of the media which tends to magnify the Left/Progressive’s against the majority of the party…….
Obama didn’t name specific policies. And to be sure, he encouraged the lawmakers — about half-dozen of whom worked in his own administration — to continue to pursue “bold” ideas as they shaped legislation during their first year in the House.
But some people in the room took his words as a cautionary note about Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal, two liberal ideas popularized by a few of the more famous House freshmen, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
While the more liberal freshmen have garnered much of the attention in Washington, many first-year Democrats hail from swing- or even red districts and have struggled with how to respond to the emboldened far-left.
“He said we [as Democrats] shouldn’t be afraid of big, bold ideas — but also need to think in the nitty-gritty about how those big, bold ideas will work and how you pay for them,” said one person summarizing the former president’s remarks.
Obama’s words — rare advice from a leader who has shunned the spotlight since leaving office — come as the Democratic Party grapples with questions of how far left to lean in the run-up to 2020. Most Democratic candidates seeking the presidential nomination have embraced a single-payer health-care system and the Green New Deal, an ambitious plan to make the U.S. economy energy efficient in a decade.
An ambitious platform seeking to combat climate change is being championed by progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.).
But some moderate Democrats worry a lurch left will upend their chances at ousting President Trump. Notably, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who helped organize Obama’s meeting with the freshmen, has not put those ideas on the floor for a House vote — nor does she plan to, senior Democrats close to her say…..
image….Ashlee Rezin/AP