James Carville says Democrats 'ought to apologize' for ignoring rural US voters

Carville made the statement during the Thursday episode of his "Politics War Room" podcast, arguing that the party has become "self-righteous" and written off rural voters. 

"You know, the stupidity of, 'we've got to be the most progressive self-righteous moralistic people in the world,'" he said, describing his impression of the party's perspective. "And, you know, 'people who live in rural America - just you know fat, lazy, and stupid,' which is decidedly not true."

He added, "But that's the way that some of the urbanist elements of our party have tried to come across and it's stupid, and they ought to apologize to the world for being so g--damn stupid."

The strategist was responding to a listener's question about whether the Democratic Party should start focusing on campaigning in rural areas. The former Bill Clinton campaign political operative said it should, and rebuked the party for allegedly overlooking them.

"Well, I think it was always the time for Democrats to campaign hard in rural areas. I don't know how the party ever got away from that," he said.

Carville added that some of the "more urbanist members and commentators" representing the party have "lived in a folly of a world that we could exist in elections by just concentrating on large urban areas that are not even that strategically located."

Referring specifically to their divisive outbursts during Trump's address to a joint session of Congress earlier this month, he said, "My first commandment of politics is, 'Thine shall not make an a-- of thyself.' And they didn't follow the Carville first commandment."

In a FoxNews.com op-ed published Mar. 12, Carville urged the party to take a "strategic political retreat" and allow Trump to sink himself with his policies.

"I mean, it's an old military doctrine - when your opponent is destroying themselves, do not interfere. Don't get in the way of it right now."