Jerry Brown: Abortion should not define Democratic Party

FILE - In this May 31, 2017 file photo, California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks during an interview in Sacramento, Calif. FILE - In this May 31, 2017 file photo, California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks during an interview in Sacramento, Calif. Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Jerry Brown: Abortion should not define Democratic Party 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

In a Sunday interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Jerry Brown stated that he does not believe that abortion should be the "litmus test" for a Democratic Party struggling to find a new national identity.

When asked by host Chuck Todd whether "there should be a litmus test on abortion," Brown responded: "It wasn't very long ago that a number of Catholic Democrats were opposed to abortion. So the fact that somebody believes today what most people believed 50 years ago, should not be the basis for their exclusion."

He continues: "I'm sorry but running in San Francisco is not like running in Tulare County or Modoc California, much less Mobile, Alabama... America is not one place. Alabama is not San Francisco or California."

EXCLUSIVE: @jerrybrowngov argues that the "litmus test' for Democrats should not be abortion, but looking out for the "common man." #MTP pic.twitter.com/FFVYq6qLDE — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 6, 2017

Brown's comments come after a week of infighting in the Democratic Party over funding pro-life candidates.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told The Hill last week that the Democratic Party will not take a candidate's stance on abortion into account when determining funding for 2018 races.

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This announcement drew fire from a number of progressives.

Cecile Richards, head of Planned Parenthood tweeted: "Women deserve access to safe, legal abortion no matter if their state is red or blue - it's a constitutional right that can't be traded away."

Former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean tweeted that he would be "withholding support from the DCCC" following Luján's announcement.

When asked if there should be any type of "litmus test" or "common basis" for the Democratic Party, Brown stated: "The litmus test should be intelligence, caring about, as Harry Truman or Roosevelt used to call it, the common man."

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He continues: "The economy has often been that common basis, or security in the world could be apart of that common basis. But you can't let these hot-button issues that work great in particular congressional districts one way or the other to be the guiding light for a national party that covers a very wide spectrum of belief."

Brown also defended House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has been the subject of heavy criticism following losses by Democratic candidates in recent special elections.

"If some candidate doesn't win, don't blame it on somebody else, like Nancy Pelosi," Brown said. "If you added up pluses and minuses, I think Nancy Pelosi is a major pillar of the Democratic Party, and the answer is not to try to replace her with somebody, but to make sure the candidates represent and can empathize and be a part of the district they're running in."