Former Dem Senator Jim Webb has a message for Democrats as they try to rebuild

Former Democrat Senator from Virginia Jim Webb appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday and had a message for the Democratic Party as they go forward from the 2016 election and try to rebuild: have a voice in the corridors of power for those that have no voice.

Webb told host Chuck Todd that there is a pervasive aristocracy in American politics on both sides of the aisle that needs to be broken, and that was part of President Donald Trump's appeal. He also noted that Democrats have lost — and don't at present appear to be trying to win back — a group that used to make up their voting base: the working class.

"The Democrats, first of all, they're looking at 2018 and they don't have a message...there's a campaign going on, on the Hill, in the media, in academia...not only to personally discredit Donald trump but the people who are around him," Webb said. "The Democratic party over the past five or six years has moved very far to the left...when you can't have a Jefferson-Jackson dinner, which was the primary celebratory event of the Democratic party for years, because Jefferson and Jackson were slave holders — they were also great Americans in their day — something different has happened to the Democratic Party."

"I think the message has been shaped toward identity politics and they've lost the key part of their base," he added." Democrats have not have the done the kind of self reflection they should have."