[James]

US election 2020: Obama issues warning to 'revolutionary' Democrats
7 hours ago


Former US President Barack Obama has issued a warning to Democratic presidential candidates, cautioning them against policies that are not "rooted in reality".

Mr Obama said Democrats risked alienating voters if they lurched too far to the left politically.

The former president, speaking at a fundraising event, said most voters didn't want to "tear down the system".

Mr Obama is yet to publicly back a Democratic candidate.

The field is crowded, with 18 Democrats vying for the nomination to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.


The frontrunners are former Vice-President Joe Biden, senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

At the event held in Washington on Friday, Mr Obama did not mention any candidate by name nor criticise any specific policy proposal.

Instead, he used the appearance to urge Democrats to "pay some attention" to voters on issues such as health care and immigration.

These voters, Mr Obama said, did not necessarily have the same views as what he called "certain left-leaning Twitter feeds" or "the activist wing of our party".

The comments, which come less than four months before the Democratic primaries, represent one of Mr Obama's most pointed interventions in the race so far.



They may be seen as a critique of senators Sanders and Warren - widely seen as two of the most left-wing candidates in the field.

Both candidates have called for far-reaching political and economic change, including policies that would end private health insurance and decriminalise illegal border crossings.

But Mr Obama, who occupied the White House from 2009 to 2017, said the country was "less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement".

"Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality," Mr Obama said at the meeting, reportedly attended by wealthy liberal donors.


The Democratic race is still largely up in the air even as the first of the state-by-state votes that will decide which of the contenders challenges Mr Trump for the White House looms in Iowa in February.

Some Democrats are concerned that Mr Biden, a moderate, will struggle to beat Mr Trump, prompting a flurry of latecomers to join the race.

In recent days Deval Patrick, the two-time former governor of Massachusetts, entered the field amid speculation that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may follow suit.


Meanwhile, political gossip about whether Hillary Clinton might enter the fray continues to set tongues wagging in Washington DC.

In an interview with the BBC, Mrs Clinton said she was "under enormous pressure" to challenge Mr Trump, who beat her in the 2016 presidential election.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50445743

Good point about how unrepresentative Twitter is.

[GiRTh]

This was a couple of days ago.

He shouldn't have done this as it calls his motives into question. Warren and Sanders are the biggest threat to, his baby, Obamacare. They're running on Medicare for all and I'm sure Obama wants to preserve his legacy.

Some of the left wing proposals are far too radical for the USA. Sorry to say, but the Americans I know are too entrenched in their ideology and not to open to this much change. I dont claim to speak to anyone other the guys who I know who treat their medicare like its a flash car and people should be envious. Then I tell them about our system and they think I'm lying. I dont think America is ready to this much change.

Dont get me wrong, its Bernie all the way for me. I want a genuine battle between the left and right. It might set a president around the world if the left wins.

[Kizzy]

It's odd that the US and the UK appear to be living through parallel lives politically, the gulf between the choices for both countries is immense.

[bitontheslide]

I think they should be aiming to appeal to the floating voters and veering off to the left is not going to do that. However, the next election is going to be different from the norm. If Trump is still in power, he will be cheating from every direction so who knows. I don't think he will even give up the presidency voluntarily if he loses

[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

I think they should be aiming to appeal to the floating voters and veering off to the left is not going to do that. However, the next election is going to be different from the norm. If Trump is still in power, he will be cheating from every direction so who knows. I don't think he will even give up the presidency voluntarily if he loses

Republicans have lost most elections since the president won in 2016, including recent governorships in kentucky and louisiana, and yet I'm always amazed that no one ever tells republicans that they've veered too far right with the whole kids in cages, banning muslims, nazis are very fine people things. Yet progressive policies aimed at improving the lives of all americans are always pitched to imaginary trump voters for rejection, as though those racist crazies are going to vote for sanders or warren if they just act a bit more republican. If democrats are motivated and turn out, then they have the numbers to win. You know what will suppress turnout? Democrats acting like moderate republicans (like they even exist any more).

Obama is a centrist who preached a progressive message to get himself elected. Obama ran on universal healthcare and said his biggest regret was not sorting out the daca situation. Basically what he's warning others not to do.

[GiRTh]

Agree with both Slim and BOTs.

These billionaires getting into race is not good IMO. They're clearly going for the Biden vote and I fear that may lead to a weak sauce candidate like Amy Klobuchar getting the nomination. The media love her, she's been pushed as a sensible centrist candidate and its working. Her numbers have gone up over the past few months.

[James]

Genuine question... Do presidential candidates often make policy announcements during the primaries to appeal to their base of supporters, but end up dropping them when it comes to the election?

Because I remember Obama during the 2008 primary campaign proposed diverting the government funding for manned spaceflight to education, but the proposal was dropped later.

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by James

Genuine question... Do presidential candidates often make policy announcements during the primaries to appeal to their base of supporters, but end up dropping them when it comes to the election?

Because I remember Obama during the 2008 primary campaign proposed diverting the government funding for manned spaceflight to education, but the proposal was dropped later.

Biden has already altered his stance a bit on hearing responses. Also you may get candidates that will drop out and provide support if they take on some policies ... give them a job etc

[GiRTh]

Originally Posted by James

Genuine question... Do presidential candidates often make policy announcements during the primaries to appeal to their base of supporters, but end up dropping them when it comes to the election?

Because I remember Obama during the 2008 primary campaign proposed diverting the government funding for manned spaceflight to education, but the proposal was dropped later.

All the time, it was alleged that in 2016 Hillary Clinton was changing her speeches and policies depending on which state she was in. She knew messages worked in different districts and she clearly was never going to implement everything she promised.