Barack Obama’s latest statements on younger people in the Democratic party, socialism, and defunding the police are causing some mixed reactions among those in party. He addressed this during an interview with Vanity Fair contributor Peter Hamby. Hambry pointed out that when Obama ran for president he was popular with the young left, but that “The Democratic Party isn’t really cool anymore.” So he asked, “What’s the pro-capitalist message that Democrats can offer to young people?” Here’s an excerpt from Obama’s answer:
Well, look. Socialism is still a loaded term for a lot of folks. Once again, instead of talking labels and ideology, we should focus on talking about getting certain things done. So Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders both agree about raising the minimum wage. Nobody really cares about the label. They care that that is something that is important to a lot of young people and a lot of older people alike. Joe Biden and AOC think we should do something about climate change. It’s probably better if we don’t burn up the planet. Let’s figure out what are the concrete steps that we can actually take to get that done. So my advice for the Democratic Party is what I tried to follow in my campaign, which is telling a story. Because people, young people, folks my age, people generally don’t listen to a bunch of policy analysis. And I’ve been guilty of this sometimes, you know, people have said, Obama gets too professorial sometimes. And he’s giving people a bunch of data points and everybody’s eyes glaze over. But they do remember a story that I tell about how, you know, let’s unify the country. Or here’s how I understand race based on my relationship within my own family that has people of different races. That’s what folks can relate to. If you want to move people and they are moved by stories that connect with their own lives. They are not moved by ideology. Now one thing I will say about the Democratic Party, promoting young people is really important. There have been times where we stick so long with the same old folks and don’t make room for new voices.
Obama also addressed the controversy surrounding the statement “defund the police:”
If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it’s not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan, like Defund the Police, but, you know, you lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done. But if you instead say, Hey, you know what? Let’s reform the police department so that everybody’s being treated fairly. And not just in policing, but in sentencing, how can we divert young people from getting into crime? And if there was a homeless guy, can maybe we send a mental health worker there instead of an armed unit that could end up resulting in a tragedy? You know, suddenly a whole bunch of folks who might not otherwise listen to you are listening to you. So the key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with? And if you want to get something done in a democracy, in a country as big and diverse as ours, then you’ve got to be able to meet people where they are. And play a game of addition and not subtraction.
Watch some of the interview above.
