Joe Lieberman says he hopes Ocasio-Cortez is not ‘the future’ of Democratic party

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Thursday he’s hopeful Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is not the future of the Democratic Party, arguing it must remain closer to the political center in order to have broader appeal.

“With all respect, I certainly hope she’s not the future and I don’t believe she is,” Lieberman said told host Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Network.

“She’s gotten a lot of attention because she’s different. She’s controversial,” Lieberman continued. “But if you look at the majority of new Democrats in the House, they tend to be, I say, center-left, if they are not left-left. And that is because they had to be center-left to win some of those competitive swing districts that they took from Republicans.”

{mosads}Lieberman, a former Democrat who was the party’s vice presidential nominee in the 2000 election, argued that the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 will have to be seen as “center-left” in order to be competitive.

Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old self-identified democratic socialist, rose to national prominence after she unseated 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary last year. She became the youngest woman ever elected to the House in November.

She has roiled conservatives and stirred debate by pushing for a number of progressive policies, including higher tax rates on the wealthiest Americans to fund progressive programs like the Green New Deal.