Rep. Tim Ryan: Perception Democrats Are Party of Coastal Elite ‘Is True’

EXCERPT:

HOST: "Before we go back your calls, we've been speaking about the perception of the party, image of the party, the messages. Thomas would like to know, on Twitter, the Democratic Party has gone from the party of the working class to the party of the coastal elites. You certainly not from the coast, but what do you make of that perception and -- and how important is it that that change and how can it change?" 
RYAN: "It's a true perception. And I -- and I've been since November trying to get the word out that this is real. This is something that's real. And it's unfair because you can live on the coast and still be a working-class person or still embody the values of what our party should -- should stand for on economic grounds. So it's -- but the perception is, because you are so concerned with the coasts, because you so concerned with raising money, because you so concerned with Wall Street, you have forgotten the middle class. And all the while, as I said, wages have been stagnant for 30 years. This perception is real."