James Carville, the famed Democratic political consultant, said his party is “addicted to hopeless causes,” has failed to adopt a pragmatic strategy to defend voting rights, and overestimates the number of its constituents who support progressive policies.
In a wide-ranging interview with Vox’s Sean Illing, the blunt strategist took aim at left-leaning activists, saying “some of these people b*tching about [West Virginia Senator Joe] Manchin can’t see political reality straight.”
Criticizing Machin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has become the hobbyhorse of many progressives – particularly on social media – after the two Democrats blocked their party from implementing key elements of President Joe Biden’s agenda, particularly social spending initiatives and voting rights reform.
“Six percent of adults in this country identify as ‘progressive.’ Only 11 or 12 percent of Democrats identify as progressive,” Carville said. “Someone like Manchin is closer to the mainstream than a lot of these people think, and pretending like he isn’t won’t help the cause.”
Carville said Democrats are lucky to have Manchin in office, pointing out that he represents a state “in which not a single county has voted Democrat [for president] since 2008.”
Carville, however, expressed dismay about Sinema’s enigmatic political identity. He said he’s willing to work for Sinema’s likely primary challenger, Rep. Ruben Gallego, because Democrats have a real chance to keep that seat.
Carville also chastised his party’s penchant for funding long shot elections bids:
Just look at how Democrats organize and spend money. For Christ’s sake, [South Carolina Democrat] Jaime Harrison raised over $100 million only to lose his Senate race to Lindsey Graham by 10 points. Amy McGrath runs for Senate in Kentucky and raises over $90 million only to get crushed by Mitch McConnell.
They were always going to lose those races, but Democrats keep doing this stupid sh*t. They’re too damn emotional. Democrats obsess over high-profile races they can’t win because that’s where all the attention is. We’re addicted to hopeless causes.
Carville added:
What about the secretary of state in Wisconsin? Or the attorney general race in Michigan? How much money are Democrats and progressives around the country sending to those candidates? I’m telling you, if Democrats are worried about voting rights and election integrity, then these are the sorts of races they should support and volunteer for, because this is where the action is and this is where things will be decided.
You know who is paying attention to these races? The Republican Party. Last I checked, Republicans raised $33 million for secretary of state races around the country. The Democrats had until recently raised $1 million. I think it’s now up to $4 million. That’s the story, right there. That’s the difference, right there. Bitching about a Democratic senator in West Virginia is missing the damn plot.