Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D.) said in a new interview that Democrats do not appear to respect the values of the middle class and come off as "disdainful."
In a podcast interview with Politico correspondent Edward Isaac-Dovere, Emanuel said his party focused too much on the tumult of President Trump's White House:
"We don't talk about and fight for the middle class like we are," the famously expressive Chicago mayor said. "We believe we're for them, but they don't—if they don't hear we're for them, then we got a problem. It's not just for the string of policies. It's also a set of values that respect who they are in their lives."
"We come off and can come off as a party disdainful of them," he told me.
Emanuel criticized the party over its recent battles about ideological purity, encouraging a more big-tent approach, Politico reported.
He acknowledges how much trouble Democrats are in, and he makes a show of saying, "I used to do this for a living," to coquettishly brush away, for half a second, a question about what his party should do now. Same as when he was actually Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair in 2006, Emanuel advises: Look to the suburbs, find the moderates.
"Talking to ourselves and persuading ourselves," Emanuel said, "is not going to be the way you get to a majority."
Emanuel, who served as former President Barack Obama's first chief of staff, also criticized the recent controversy among Democrats over Omaha, Nebraska, mayoral candidate Heath Mello. His support for anti-abortion legislation earlier in his career made him unacceptable to some left-wing groups in the party.
Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez later released a statement that all Democrats should be pro-choice, creating a debate about whether pro-life Americans are welcome in the party. The chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party blamed Perez for Mello's loss in the race last week.
Emanuel said Democrats should avoid such internal fights and figure out how to win.
"Now, somebody may say I'm unprincipled or I'm being too pragmatic, but it's not like the character of the party and our values around the ability to give women of all walks of life choice is going to be fundamentally changed because what happens in Omaha," Emanuel said. "That's a part of politics, and that's acceptable."