THE BUZZ: WON’T BACK DOWN — Rep. Lateefah Simon used one of the biggest speaking platforms of her career to argue that Democrats should embrace — not shy away — from progressive ideas in their quest to win back working-class voters.
Simon — a freshman Democrat from Oakland and rising star on the left — delivered progressives’ “prebuttal” to President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night. Her pre-recorded speech was broadcast around the same time as Trump’s remarks, and before the official Democratic response offered by Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
But Simon’s message wasn’t only a refutation of the Republican in the White House, whose culture-war speech assailed Democrats, undocumented immigrants, transgender people and others. Her comments served as a counter punch to those in her party who’ve argued Democrats must move to the center and avoid identity politics in order to regain power. Simon argued the party should instead swing left to bring around low-income voters who have been “betrayed” by Trump’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and other safety-net programs.