Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez on Friday spoke at the Aspen Institute's Bipartisanship and Governance event, where he said the Democratic Party needs to articulate what it stands for rather than vocally oppose President Donald Trump on every issue.
Perez was joined on stage by former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, and the two reflected on the 2016 election and how both parties can articulate their messages and govern on a bipartisan basis.
"I agree with Michael that what we have to do as a Democratic Party is not simply say what we're against and what Donald Trump is doing wrong, " Perez said. "I totally agree that we have to articulate what we are for and what we will do and what we are doing."
Perez's advice comes at a time of great division and strong opposition to Trump within the Democratic Party. He claimed that the party needs to focus on messaging, despite previously using vulgar language in various stump speeches, even suggesting that pro-life Democrats are not welcome in the party.
Perez has also given multiple speeches in opposition to the Republican health care bill in which he has said that Republicans "don't give a shit about people." In a spin-off of Perez's comments, the DNC is selling graphic t-shirts on its website that say, "Democrats give a sh-t about people." When pressed on his vulgarity, Perez said that he had no regrets about his language.
DNC deputy chairman Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) filled in for Perez last month at a campaign event in Omaha, Neb. for Democratic mayoral candidate Heath Mello, a pro-life Democrat. The event, which included Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), received national attention after the liberal-leaning blog Daily Kos and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League rescinded their endorsements because Mello supported 2009 legislation in the Nebraska state Senate that would "require women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound."
"Every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman's right to make her own choices about her body and her health," Perez said in a statement following the event. "That is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state."
This statement caused several Democratic leaders, like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), to discuss their party's view of pro-life voters on various networks. Pelosi said the Democratic Party welcomes pro-life voters and leaders while Schumer straddled on both sides, saying it is a "big tent party" but a "strongly pro-choice party."
The Nebraska Democratic Party chair, Jane Kleeb, blamed Perez earlier this week for Mello losing the mayoral race, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
"It's astounding that our party chairman would say pro-life Democrats are not welcome," Kleeb told the Associated Press after Mello conceded the election.