The revolution is cancelled, at least according to former President Obama:
Obama tells Democratic candidates to ease off talk of revolution https://t.co/GQPn1ZfELo
— Post Politics (@postpolitics) November 16, 2019
Obama made these remarks at a fireside chat to Dem mega-donors where he warned of listening to “certain left-leaning Twitter feed” or “the activist wing of our party.” Hey, AOC, are you listening to this?
Obama wades into the 2020 race, warning of the dangers of listening to “certain left-leaning twitter feeds” or “the activist wing of our party.”
“Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision we also have to be rooted in reality," he said. https://t.co/OioCWy4pbv
— Lisa Lerer (@llerer) November 16, 2019
This is also a dig at Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren:
Obama's comments were meant to reassure establishment Democrats about the strength of the field. But they also offered an implicit critique of Sanders & Warren, as well as proposals once widely considered to be left to the liberal fringes of the party. https://t.co/bbjPvWl4Yr
— Lisa Lerer (@llerer) November 16, 2019
He also wanted Dems to “calm down” about the “robust primary”:
A bit of a "calm down, folks" message from Obama, who's addressing a room of big donors in DC right now: "We have a field of very accomplished, very serious, and passionate, and smart people who’ve a history of public service…"
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019
"…and whoever emerges from the primary process I will work my tail off, to make sure they are the next president," Obama says. A few seconds later: "And to those who get stressed about robust primaries, I just have to remind you I had a very robust primary."
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019
Obama is also addressing how candidates talk about him. An extended riff, but it includes: "I don't take it as a criticism when people say, 'Hey that's great Obama did what he did, and now we want to do more.' I hope so. That's the whole point."
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019
Obama wants Dems to stay “rooted in reality,” which means either Joe Biden or Deval Patrick we assume:
But, he says, "It is very important to all the candidates who are running at every level to pay some attention to where voters actually are and how they think about their lives." … "Even as we push the envelope and are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality"
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019
The politics of hope? Dead:
"I don’t think we should be deluded into thinking that the resistance to certain approaches to things is simply because voters haven’t heard a bold enough proposal, and as soon as they hear a bold enough proposal, that’s going to activate them," Obama said.
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019
***
Obama also issues a reminder that all "voters, including Democrats, are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain left-leaning Twitter feeds, or the activist wing of the party."
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019
"I don’t want people to just revert to what’s safe—I want them to push out+try more, alright? So we got the Affordable Care Act. It was a really good starter home, as I say" Obama said. "I don’t want people just standing pat, bc we still have millions of people who are uninsured"
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) November 15, 2019