Comey to Dems: ‘Don’t lose your minds and rush to the socialist left’

Former FBI Director James Comey on Sunday urged Democrats to avoid moving too far to the left, suggesting doing so would benefit President Trump and Republicans.

“Democrats, please, please don’t lose your minds and rush to the socialist left. This president and his Republican Party are counting on you to do exactly that. America’s great middle wants sensible, balanced, ethical leadership,” Comey tweeted.

Democrats, please, please don’t lose your minds and rush to the socialist left. This president and his Republican Party are counting on you to do exactly that. America’s great middle wants sensible, balanced, ethical leadership.

— James Comey (@Comey) July 22, 2018

Comey’s offer of strategic campaign advice to Democrats comes less than a week after he urged his followers to vote for Democratic candidates in November’s midterm elections.

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That move drew blowback from some former aides to Hillary Clinton, who rebuffed Comey’s embrace of the party.

Clinton and many of her campaign staffers have publicly blamed Comey — at least in part — for her defeat in the 2016 presidential race after he reopened an investigation into her use of a private email server just days before the election.

Comey was fired by President Trump in May 2017. He released a book earlier this year titled “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership.” In the book and on his ensuing publicity tour, Comey repeatedly took aim at Trump, calling him “morally unfit” for office.

The Democratic Party, meanwhile, is in the midst of an internal debate over the future of its leadership. That debate has intensified since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, defeated Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary upset last month.

Trump has argued that certain progressive Democratic policies, such as calls from a small number of prominent lawmakers to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will prove costly for Democrats in the midterms.