Democratic Party being held hostage by 'far left,' former Hillary Clinton advisor says

Philippe Reines, a former advisor to ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said Friday the Democratic Party is being held hostage by the "far left."

"We need to take stock of why we are being held hostage to the far left," he told a panel during an appearance on CNN This Morning. "No one should be and wants to be kowtowing to the extremes of their own parties."

Reines added that a small portion of the party is dictating where the party as a whole lies on the political spectrum, which creates a "politically problematic" situation.

"Pretty much, we are being branded as the most extreme of us," he said.

The "kowtowing" extends to issues that election exit polls show were among the most important for voters, according to Reines. Democrats can't make "commonsense" decisions on immigration and women's sports since they've been "pulled" so far to the left, he explained.

"Most Democrats I know think there's a huge problem at the border," Reines said. "Most Democrats I know think, frankly, that males at birth shouldn't play in women's sports, and vice versa."

"You can have a healthy conversation within a party, and you have to have room within a party for all this," he added. "But, at the end of the day, if you have some of these issues that are 80/20 across the country, you really gotta figure out why they're being so tagged with one."

He suggested the Democratic Party reorient itself to better reflect the actual values and beliefs of party members, not just those on the fringe.

"I think Democrats believe in commonsense stuff more than you'd realize. I mean, it's not like any of us sit at home and don't talk to anyone," Reines told the panel.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Thursday for pushing back on the idea of biological males participating in women's sports.

"Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face," Rep. Moulton told the New York Times. "I have two little girls, I don't want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I'm supposed to be afraid to say that."

The comment earned Rep. Moulton from Mass Equity, a Massachusetts-based progressive group, claiming the congressman reinforced "harmful stereotypes" and undermined the "dignity of transgender athletes."

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