Former Bernie Sanders campaign adviser Tezlyn Figaro called out the Democratic Party for failing to adapt its messaging beyond White liberals.
Since the Democratic Party’s historic loss to President Donald Trump in November, the party has been struggling to find a new message or leader to rally around. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have spoken at rallies across the country, but Figaro argued that they need to change their messaging strategy, particularly when it comes to Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.
“Bernie Sanders’ demographic, and I’m just going to be honest, the progressive demographic, the Rainbow Coalition, is White liberals, pretty much, White progressives,” Figaro told host Charlamagne tha God on the Breakfast Club podcast. “There’s still a lack of talking to those that have completely given up, completely disenfranchised.”
Sanders had recently appeared at the Coachella music festival, a festival whose tickets, as Figaro observed, cost hundreds of dollars.
“He is talking to a very progressive, White-ran movement, to me,” the former adviser to Sanders said. “Even if you’re Hispanic, it’s still White-adjacent.”
“He struggles when dealing with race. I’m saying this as his formal racial justice director,” Figaro added.
She also argued that the mega-wealthy are simply not top-of-mind for many people.
“Everybody ain’t mad at rich people, Charlamagne,” she said. “Like, people are really trying to get the bag.”
Charlemagne argued that Sanders, all things considered, is a better vessel for this message than many Democrats.
“I think the ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour is a good message,” Charlamagne said, arguing, “it’s not a hypocritical message from Bernie Sanders and AOC, but for a majority of the Democratic Party it’s a hypocritical message because they’re all taking money from the billionaires and the corporate lobbyists.”
Figaro argued that such messaging falls on deaf ears for different constituencies.
“Well, the hood don’t know who the [oligarchy] is,” she replied, mispronouncing the word.
“I don’t even know what the hell you were talking about. I mean, they don’t. You know, when people are talking about ‘neo-liberal’ – all of that, they don’t know what you’re talking about,” Figaro argued. “So there’s different messages people need to have to engage.”
She also argued that the Democratic Party is simply “too big.”
“It’s too big. It needs to be broken down. Everybody is not going to relate to Bernie Sanders. Everybody is not going to relate to AOC. Everybody is not going to relate to Jasmine Crockett. Everybody is not going to relate to me.”
