Barack Obama warns progressives to avoid "circular fire" | American News

Barack Obama warned Saturday that American progressives risked creating a "circular firing squad" at a time when presidential candidates fiercely contested the competition against Donald Trump.

The former president was speaking in Berlin at an event organized by the Obama Foundation.

"One of the things that sometimes worries me about progressives in the United States," he said, "it may be true too, it's a certain rigidity in which we say: "Uh, I'm sorry, here's how it's going to be" and then we sometimes start creating what's called a "circular firing squad", where you start shooting at your allies because one of them has moved away from purity on issues.

"And when that happens, generally the overall effort and movement weakens."

Among the Democrats, the number of presidential candidates has risen to nearly 20. All are eager to appeal to a far-left party base opposed to a right-wing president and motivated by the success of the mid-term elections.

Under the leadership of progressive personalities, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, political ideas such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal have become increasingly important.

On either side of the aisle, party primaries are traditionally brutal affairs in which candidates face rivals from other wings or factions. The first debates of the Democratic contest 2020 will take place in a few months, but fierce fire is already directed against more centrist candidates.

Obama's former vice president, Joe Biden, for example, has not yet entered the race but has nevertheless attracted attacks on his record for nearly 50 years in national life, including previous positions on racial issues and women's rights. He also struggled to respond effectively to the requests of a number of women that he was physically uncomfortable with them.

Among other candidates, former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke was attacked for his election record on issues such as the environment and immigration, which indicates a willingness to engage with Republicans .

Kamala Harris, the California senator, drew attention to her criminal record before embarking on national politics.

Republicans of course seek to stir up the controversy themselves. Sarah Dolan, executive director of the America Rising Political Action Committee, told the Guardian this weekend that "the group's mantra is really about causing chaos, especially with the size of the field."

In Germany, Obama also discussed the pros and cons of the political compromise. He urged his audience of young Europeans to "take the time to think and refine and to think constantly" What are my basic principles? "

"Because the danger is that if you do not know your principles, it's when you compromise your principles."

He added: "You can not configure a system in which you do not compromise, but you can not operate in a system in which you compromise.

Answering questions, Obama said progressives should think about staying "true to our values ​​and principles, while recognizing that in democracies … the only way we can get things done is to put ourselves in Agree on a certain set of rules and these rules are that you never get 100% of what you want ".

He cited the Paris climate agreement as an example of an imperfect agreement reached under his presidency for the purpose of later exploiting it. Trump withdrew the United States from the deal.