Former President Barack Obama urged the 2020 field of Democratic presidential hopefuls to “pay some attention to where voters actually are,” warning them about voters’ need for ideas rooted in reality.
Speaking over the weekend at a high-dollar conference, Obama stressed that voters are less revolutionary and interested in improvement, adding that some Democrats tend to listen too closely to liberal Twitter and progressive activists.
“My one cautionary note is I think it is very important for all the candidates who are running at every level to pay some attention to where voters actually are,” he said, noting that he doesn’t think candidates should be “diluted into thinking that the resistance to certain approaches to things is simply because voters haven’t heard a bold enough proposal.”
Obama’s comments come on the heels of a host of sweeping policy proposals that include “Medicare for All,” a liberal proposal to remake the country’s health care system, the Green New Deal, a sizable plan aimed at combating climate change, and policies such as decriminalizing border crossings into the United States and remaking the Supreme Court.
“This is still a country that is less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement,” Obama said. “They like seeing things improved, but the average American doesn’t think you have to completely tear down the system and remake it. I think it is important for us not to lose sight of that.”
