Elizabeth Warren struggles to answer whether Democratic Party should be more liberal or moderate

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2020 candidate and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren had a tough time Thursday describing what direction the Democratic Party should be heading in for the next presidential election.

Appearing on MSNBC, Warren dismissed the notion by critics that she was “anti-capitalist” for going after Wall Street, saying she “believes” in markets but stressed that “rules” are needed to oversee them and a “level playing field” for consumers.

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MSNBC host Ali Velshi noted how socialism was being embraced by some in her party, pointing to self-described democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and confronted the 2020 candidate about the direction of Democrats.

“So what do you say privately -- pretend that we’re not on TV, about people who worry about the direction in which the Democratic Party may be going?” Velshi asked. “Some of the party wants it to be more liberal and others want the candidates to be more moderate.”

Warren didn’t respond directly to the question, putting emphasis on the “grassroots” of the party.

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“Let me give you a different way of looking at it; I want our party to be more grassroots. I want our party to be more connected all across this country. And I’ll tell you how I look at it: I look at that in terms of money,” Warren told Velshi. “I don’t take PAC money of any kind. I don’t take Washington lobbyist money of any kind. And I’ve made the decision that I’m going to spend my time with grassroots all around this country trying to build a movement. Now, that’s a different way to try to power a campaign, to power a presidential campaign.”

“I think as a Democratic Party, we have this extraordinary opportunity during a primary to actually make our case to people at the grassroots, to engage them, and to revitalize our democracy,” Warren continued. “This shouldn’t just be about going to places where we can scoop lots of money and then run lots of TV ads, this should be about building the on-the-ground movement that’s gonna help us win in 2020, that’s gonna help us win not just the White House but Congress, the state houses, the governor’s mansions, and that’s gonna help us have the power to be able to start making real changes come January 2021.”