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Democrats smarting from this year’s midterm losses need to embrace their pro-government roots and refocus on coherent policies to help the middle class, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said Tuesday, citing the 2010 federal health-care law as a political miscalculation. Mr. Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, suggested his party has veered from this focus to its detriment in recent years. (Crittenden, 11/25)

Democrats’ top message man Chuck Schumer criticized how his own party handled Obamacare’s political strategy on Tuesday, joining a list of prominent Democrats who’ve chastised their own party in recent days as they struggle to come to terms with a crushing defeat earlier this month. Schumer commented at an event in Washington that Democrats “blew the opportunity the American people gave them” by concentrating on health care during the teeth of the recession in 2009 and 2010, calling it a focus on “the wrong problem.” (Everett, 11/25)

Schumer, who voted for the health-care law and has championed it, suggested that he voiced similar concerns to colleagues back when the law was being crafted but was overruled by others who saw the moment as the best possible chance to reshape the nation's health-care system. "We should have done it. We just shouldn't have done it first," he said of what is considered by many Democrats to be President Obama's signature accomplishment. (Sullivan, 11/25)

Democrats addressed the “wrong problem” when they pushed health care instead of programs that would directly benefit the middle class, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat said Tuesday. (Lightman, 11/25)

“Democrats must embrace government. It’s what we believe in, it’s what unites our party and, most importantly, it’s the only thing that’s going to get the middle class going again,” Schumer said Tuesday. “If we run away from government, downplay it, or act as if we are embarrassed by its role, people won’t vote for our pale version of the Republican view — they’ll vote for the real McCoy.” (Camia, 11/25)

Schumer said Democrats should have addressed issues aiding the middle class to build confidence among voters before turning to revamping the health-care system. He said he opposed the timing of the health-care vote and was overruled by other party members. (Hunter, 11/25)

In 2009, Americans were still reeling from the effects of the financial crisis, but, said Schumer, "about 85 percent of Americans were fine with their healthcare in 2009." ... He lamented that the tea party was able to use the President's focus on health care to make the argument that "this government is aimed at someone else and not you." (Cronkite, 11/25)

[L]oyal Obama aides and former staffers pushed back hard against Mr. Schumer on Tuesday — taking to Twitter to upbraid the veteran New York lawmaker for his comments. Former speechwriters Jon Lovett and Jon Favreau, along with former White House spokesman Tommy Vietor and current White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer all weighed in on the controversy via social media. Mr. Lovett devoted several tweets to defending the president, mincing no words and saying “a pretty good test for Democratic candidates is whether they view Schumer as someone to listen to or someone to tolerate.” (Tau and Andrews, 11/25)