Our 39th president has lived to see a lot at the age of 93. Jimmy Carter, who has served as governor and president, continues making houses for people in need. And recently, the former president and Sunday school teacher offered some solid advice to his fellow Democrats: Don't veer too far left.
With congressional candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeating incumbents in primaries this season, the party is being dragged left by a crowd demanding universal health care, free college, a $15 minimum wage and much more.
On Tuesday, NBC News reported that Jimmy Carter made his remarks at his library and post-presidential center in Atlanta, where he warned Democrats not to scare off moderates, the very voters they'll need should they ever want to take control of Congress again.
"Independents need to know they can invest their vote in the Democratic Party," Citizen Carter said.
Those voters aren't exactly going to run to Democrats with open arms if the party insists on making the same mistakes it did with Hillary Clinton in 2016.
This advice from James E. Carter comes after Barack H. Obama gave a speech endorsing Medicare for All, an expansion that Bloomberg reported would cost $32.6 trillion. Excuse us while we sit down for a moment and catch our breath . . . .
One of these former presidents is right on the money here. Hint: It's the older one. Here in our state alone, the Arkansas Poll has shown that independent voters are the largest group of voters. (Independents 35 percent, Republicans 29 percent, Democrats 24 percent.)
Democrats might be able to rev up their base by painting Donald Trump as Grendel, but that alone won't be enough to sway moderates who view themselves as standing on a crumbling ledge between two parties growing more boisterous by the day.
Jimmy Carter rightly points out that if Democrats want to have any shot at enacting their goals, they must first win elections. To do that, the Democratic Party needs to ensure it still offers candidates in the same vein as David Pryor and Dale Bumpers. They were experts at connecting with people--and winning elections.
Editorial on 09/14/2018