MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews criticized the Democratic Party Wednesday for its strong party line on social issues like abortion, calling it a "losing direction politically" and morally in his view.
During a segment discussing the victory of Democrat Doug Jones over Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race Tuesday, Matthews described what he wants from the Democratic Party. He said they ought to focus more on issues like "jobs and economic growth" instead of pushing social issues too far.
"I’ve got a dog in this fight, 'cause I want the Democratic Party, I want it to be bread and butter," Matthews said. "I want it to be about jobs and economic growth."
"I don't think it should be pushing these social issues all the way to the wall, like abortion to the last minute," Matthews continued. "I think that's a losing direction politically as well as for me morally."
Matthews asked John Hammontree of AL.com if those things helped Jones, and Hammontree agreed they did.
"I think he was running on an agenda that was very palatable to a lot of Alabamians," Hammontree answered. He argued that Jones ran a positive campaign focused on ways to help everyday Alabamians.
Jones beat Moore being a despite being a pro-abortion candidate, and analysts such as Matthews considered his pro-choice views a drag on his candidacy in conservative Alabama. Jones' stunning upset came with the help of allegations that Moore was guilty of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, which struck a month before the election.
Still, Jones only won by 1.5 percentage points, even with a sex scandal roiling his opponent's campaign.