Former DNC chair criticizes ‘whiny’ left

Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean ripped what he called the “whiny” portion of the Democratic Party on Saturday in response to criticism of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) by a number of progressives.

“There has always been a section of the left, which I call the whiny party — the party that doesn’t really wanna win, they just wanna be pure, and if they go down swinging purely, then that’s fine,” Dean, who ran for president in 2004, told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on “AM Joy.”

“Well, the problem with that is it leaves behind the people who really need their help,” he continued. “If we’re gonna have a single-payer or Medicare for all or whatever, we’re gonna have healthcare that covers every American, as every other industrialized country has, then we all have to pull together.”

{mosads}Dean’s comments come after two pieces from Mic and The Week highlighted why some progressives — especially supporters of former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — have expressed concerns and criticism with potential 2020 presidential hopefuls such as Harris, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D). 

Dean said those who were critical of Harris were “turning their back” on people they say they represent.

“And people who sit out or crank on some candidate because they did this or that that wasn’t to their purity test are basically turning their back on the very people they pretend to represent,” Dean said.

“So I don’t have a lot of patience with this wing of the progressive party.”