Breitbart News has called out the bipartisan “Party of Davos”for years. And if California Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa’s speech at last week’s state convention is any indication, Democrats may be discovering that it may be advantageous for them as well to run against “Davos Democrats.”
The former Los Angeles mayor and gubernatorial candidate took a swipe at California’s Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who is likely to be his chief rival in next year’s contest to succeed outgoing Governor Jerry Brown, without naming him. Villaraigosa railed against “Davos Democrats” who care more about people who “drive Teslas” instead of those who ride buses to work.
“There are some who have never been in the trenches, in the fight for social and economic justice,” Villaraigosa said. “These Davos Democrats fly over the homes of Californians left behind — have never been in their living rooms.”
Villaraigosa said Democrats must spend more time fighting “not just for the people who drive Teslas, but for the people who ride the bus, like my mom.”
“We earn our stripes by standing up for people struggling to get the gas money to take their used car to work,” he said, adding that while “Davos Democrats” talk about reform, “the gap between rich and poor grows wider” while “the achievement gap between poor, working-class kids and rich kids grows larger.”
He urged Democrats to fight for “the left out and forgotten” and said he was in a “fight for the soul of our party and our most cherished values.”
Villaraigosa may be an imperfect messenger in railing against “Davos Democrats,” but as Democrats try to define themselves during Donald Trump’s presidency, they are finding out that a significant number of even their own voters also dislike politicians who put the interests of the “Party of Davos” over those of their state and country.
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