Meet the Press interviews during 2017: on Principles & Values

Thomas Perez: Invest in grassroots every-Zip-code strategy

PEREZ: We have to rebuild our parties in the 50 states, and that's exactly what we're going to do. We also have to redefine our mission. We not only elect the president of the United States, but we elect people from the school board to the Senate and everywhere in between. Governors, secretaries of state, treasurers, attorneys general. I think there's an acute understanding that where we fell short is that we didn't invest enough in those state parties. When we build that strong infrastructure, when we're in every ZIP code--I heard from rural America that the Democratic party hasn't been there for us recently. We have to make sure we have an every-Zip-code strategy. That's how we win. That's exactly what we're going to do. These investments in grassroots organizing.

James Webb: Democrats have lost flyover land & white working people

WEBB: Well, I think that the message that has been shaped by the Democratic Party has been shaped toward identity politics. And they've lost the key part of their base. My family history goes back to the Roosevelt Democrats, the people who believed that regardless of any of these identity segments you need to have a voice in quarters of power for those who have no voice. And we've lost that with the Democratic Party.

Q: Are you saying the center's been hollowed out?

WEBB: Well, I don't know about that. The Democrats have not done the kind of self-reflection that they should have starting in the 2010 elections. You've lost white working people. You've lost flyover land. And you saw in this election what happens when people get frustrated enough that they say, "I'm not going take this aristocracy." And I think that's what the Trump message was that echoed so strongly in these flyover communities.