Top former Democratic counsel urges party to reject 'cultural leftism' after electoral losses
A former top Democratic legal adviser is calling on his party to move away from progressive policies, warning that the current approach is costing Democrats both voter trust and electoral success.
Julian Epstein, former chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show" that the Democratic Party's embrace of progressive ideology is damaging its credibility on both economic and cultural issues.
"[They] cannot divorce themselves from a discredited ideology which is progressive ideology, which has been a failure economically," Epstein said. "Look at the states, look at the state of California. And it's a failure culturally. People just don't believe in cultural leftism."
Epstein said the issue runs deep within the party, and even its leadership struggles to navigate the internal divide between moderate and progressive factions. He pointed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as a figure caught in the middle.
"The Democrats just seem to be wandering in the wilderness without any real answer," Epstein said. "They [Democratic leaders] don't have the guts to stand up to the groups and say, 'We have to moderate and do what Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and go to the political center.'"
According to Epstein, Democratic leaders are hesitant to push back on the party's more radical wing out of fear of backlash, particularly from online activists.
"The internet has been weaponized," he said. "They are scared of the flying monkeys of the internet who will call them bad names if they don't do certain things or if they do certain things like cooperate with Trump a couple months ago on the shutdown."
Earlier this year, Sen. Schumer faced heavy criticism after backing a Republican bill to prevent a government shutdown. Though Schumer disagreed with aspects of the House-passed stopgap spending bill, he supported it to avoid what he called a political "gift" to former President Donald Trump.
The move drew backlash from progressive commentators. "The reality here is there was no message, no strategy, and, at the end of the day, no leadership," said former Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards, now an MSNBC analyst. "This is really a black mark, I think, on Chuck Schumer."
The criticism sparked speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might challenge Schumer for his Senate seat. When asked about those rumors, Schumer downplayed them.
"That's a long time away," he told The New York Times, responding to reports that some Democratic lawmakers have privately encouraged Ocasio-Cortez to consider a Senate run.
Meanwhile, Schumer's popularity in New York has slipped. An April poll by Siena College found that only 39% of New York voters view him favorably, where AOC, the multi-term congresswoman from New York City and a prominent progressive voice, got a 47% favorable mark.
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