Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has cautioned the party against reinstating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and other "woke" policies, asserting that such initiatives have proven unpopular with the American public and contributed to electoral setbacks.
During an appearance on the "Politics War Room" podcast, Carville responded to remarks by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) suggesting that "DEI is back." Carville disagreed, stating, "They tried DEI. The country hated it. Just hated it. It cost us seats."
Carville drew a parallel to comments from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) dismissing "Woke 1," and argued that a return to such messaging would lead the party in the wrong direction. "The DEI people asked me to honor your identity above your humanity. I cannot do that. To me, you're a human being first. And if we bring this bulls--- language back, we're going to pay for it," he said.
He expressed concern that the "stench" of certain progressive policies could damage the party's image. "We're finally washing the stench of defund the police, communities of color, or every idiotic jack-- academic word that [they] could think of. And we got rid of it," Carville stated. He advocated for focusing on broader issues, suggesting, "Let's have progressive taxation. Let's have pluralism in America. Let's get out of Iran. Let's open rural hospitals. Okay, these are things that we can agree on."
Carville identified himself as a liberal rather than a progressive, emphasizing a desire to connect with rural Americans who he believes have been overlooked by the Democratic Party. "I think rural America is the most forgotten part of America," he said, urging Democrats to address the concerns of rural communities regarding hospitals, education, and libraries.
"And I think to the extent that this whole thing strikes people as another coastal people trying to impose something on the rest of the country, and the rest of the country doesn't want this, and now we're talking about bringing it back?" he warned.
Dan Turrentine, a co-host of "The Huddle," suggested that Democrats largely shifted away from social issues in recent elections, concentrating instead on economic concerns and combating "corruption." Turrentine noted that newly elected members from competitive districts did not campaign on restoring DEI but rather focused on "costs, chaos, and corruption."