Rahm Emanuel to 2020 Democrats: 'Too often, you succumbed to chasing plaudits on Twitter.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) wrote a "memo" to the two dozen Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls, urging them to deliver a message — not seek Twitter praise — in this week's upcoming debates in Detroit.
"There’s a reason Trump gleefully tweeted 'That’s the end of that race!' during the first debate: Too often, you succumbed to chasing plaudits on Twitter, which closed the door on swing voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio," Emanuel wrote in an op-ed published Monday on Medium.
"If you win the nomination in a way that forecloses a path to victory in the general election, we will lose, and your name will go down in infamy," he wrote.
Emanuel advised candidates to avoid falling into "traps that had many of us shaking our heads" during the first debates.
Emanuel's described "traps" appear to be promising progressive plans steps ahead of where current policy falls.
"Before our party promises health care coverage to undocumented immigrants — a position not even Ted Kennedy took — let’s help the more than 30 million Americans who are a single illness away from financial ruin," he wrote.
"Before we start worrying about whether the Boston Marathon bomber can vote, let’s stop states that are actively trying to curtail voting rights of citizens. And before we promise a guaranteed minimum income to healthy adults who prefer to stay home and play video games, let’s increase the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit to benefit the millions of people who work hard and still live near poverty," he wrote.
Twenty candidates will participate in two days of debates Tuesday and Wednesday night in Detroit.
Emanuel served two terms as Chicago mayor. Emanuel did not seek a third term in the 2019 election.
