The National Director of the left-leaning Working Families Party said in an interview that aired Monday on “Rising” that it is a “misassessment” to say that the Democratic Party moving too far to the left will ultimately hurt its candidates in elections.
“I think it’s a total misassessment of what’s happening. It’s less about the politics of the left and the right, and it’s more about the politics of the grass roots versus elite politics,” Maurice Mitchell told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball on Friday.
“If you’re in the elite that’s always held power in the traditional system, yeah, this is frightening because a growing set of politicians are refusing PAC money, for example,” he continued. “A growing set of candidates are no longer connected to the traditional sort of pipelines, and that’s scary if you want to hold onto power.”
“Then you weave these narratives about how scary it is, and try to get that out there,” he continued.
“If you actually care about the Democratic Party, then this is the only thing that would save that institution,” Mitchell said. “We’re actually really, really excited about the fact that everyday people are just speaking plainly about the issues of everyday people.”
Mitchell said the goal of the organization is to establish a “multiracial” populist movement.
The organization has backed winning candidates including Wisconsin Gov.-elect Tony Evers (D) and Lt. Gov.- elect Mandela Barnes (D), along with Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.).
— Julia Manchester
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