Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee that formed in response to Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I., Vt.) 2016 Democratic primary loss, slammed the establishment wing of the Democratic Party on Monday in response to its strategy to counteract the rising progressive movement.
NBC News reported that moderate Democrats attended the first-ever "Opportunity 2020" convention, an invitation-only gathering of about 250 Democratic insiders from critical swing states that took place last week. The event was planned in response to the rise of the progressive movement with names such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congressional candidate who doesn't care if people call her a socialist and who recently won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th Congressional District.
Justice Democrats sent out a press release castigating the establishment wing of the Democratic Party and accused them of continuing a "losing strategy."
"Justice Democrats is disappointed, though not surprised, by the news that the establishment wing of the Democratic Party would rather continue a losing strategy, one that has resulted in thousands of lost seats across the country, and turnover control of the party to Wall Street aligned groups and out-of-touch donors," the press release read. "We believe Democrats should engage with working class Americans, we believe we have an obligation to mobilize disenchanted voters and give them a political home."
"We should be listening to the communities at the frontlines of the issues we hold close to our heart—Medicare for all, Federal Jobs Guarantee, and an end to systemic racism instead of pandering to lobbyists and corporate interests who want nothing to do with progress and are only concerned with maintaining the status quo," the statement continued.
Ocasio-Cortez, who Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez pronounced the "future" of the party, supports several extreme policy positions such as abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal jobs guarantee, and a single-payer health care system.
While she has been popular with progressives in the Democratic Party, she has also faced backlash from some within her own party who believe she is making "enemies" and showing a "lack of maturity."