After taking heat from progressive critics earlier this month for his comments on student debt relief, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden used a wide-ranging blog post Tuesday to define “radical leftist elitists” and defend his past statement.
A “radical leftist elitist is ideologically rigid and close-minded and demonstrates open hostility or condescension toward anyone who holds differing viewpoints,” Golden, a Democrat representing Maine’s 2nd District, wrote in a post to his “Dear Mainer” Substack.
“They are partisans who employ hardball tactics,” Golden wrote. “They often express views that the working-class and rural people ‘vote against their economic interests,’ that anyone who voted for Donald Trump is deplorable, and label anyone who disagrees with them a MAGA Republican, a coward, bigoted or corrupt.”
Golden responded earlier in August to a Maine Beacon story criticizing his vote against President Joe Biden’s initial student loan debt cancellation plan by saying “radical leftist elites” are trying to destroy those who disagree with them. He argued many who received loans were privileged to go on to make “six-figure salaries.”
The story by the Maine Beacon, a media wing of the progressive Maine People’s Alliance, noted a $5,000 donation student loan giant Sallie Mae gave to the political group for the Blue Dog Coalition, a small set of centrist Democrats that Golden leads. The story focused on the donation coming two weeks after Golden voted with Republicans in May to support a resolution opposing Biden’s debt cancellation plan.
Last year, Golden also broke with Democrats and opposed Biden’s initial debt relief plan, calling it “out of touch.” The Supreme Court found Biden’s proposal unconstitutional in July, and the Democratic president’s latest plan is also facing legal challenges.
A host of liberal critics swiftly responded by calling Golden’s comments “divisive” and also describing him as an “elitist.”
On Tuesday, Golden wrote he would “like to continue the conversation,” adding his initial remarks this month were not aimed at “anyone who wants their student loans, or a portion of them, forgiven,” but rather the “radical leftist elitists.”
A Maine People’s Alliance spokesperson said the group had no comment on Golden’s latest post, while commenters who criticized his initial statement this month continued to bash his Tuesday remarks.
Golden, a Marine veteran, also wrote that he is proud of his wife for graduating from University of Maine’s law school but does not think the government should forgive her debt.
“My wife disagrees with me, by the way, and that’s okay,” Golden wrote. “As a general rule, I don’t support policies that would benefit my household, not because it would present any conflict of interest (legally, it wouldn’t) but because I don’t think we need the help, and the same is true of many others like us.”
Golden, who won election to the House in 2018 and is up for reelection in 2024, emphasized his support for unions and apprenticeship programs for those who do not go to universities.
As for the student debt relief debate, he added “pegging those who oppose it as corrupt, racist, or out-of-touch only serves to further undermine, what was from my perspective, an already weak policy proposal.”
