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- Top Democrats argue the party remains unified in wake of legislative skirmish
- Sen. Chuck Schumer calls economic issues "the soul of the Democratic Party"
Washington (CNN) -- One might think Democrats are in disarray, given the recent legislative battle that pitted the Obama administration and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid against top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Not so, argue New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
"The differences among Democrats are small compared to the huge chasm of Republicans," Schumer said to Candy Crowley on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "You look on issues like minimum wage and equal pay and infrastructure construction, helping people pay for college -- the Democratic Party is unified."
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Schumer called economic issues "the soul of the Democratic Party" and reiterated his belief that party members are on the same page -- name-checking Warren, a newly minted member of the Senate Democrats' leadership team.
"Elizabeth Warren is, even if people don't agree with her, she's constructive," he said of the senator who advocated for Democratic opposition to a spending measure because she felt it rolled by banking regulations. "She's not like Ted Cruz saying, 'Shut down the government or don't fund things if I don't get my way.'"
Patrick, in a separate interview with Crowley, said Democrats suffered heavy losses in the 2014 midterm elections because they lacked a resonating economic message, not because of an emerging rift.
"It's a broad-based party. We are very specific about the things that we need to do economically and socially to enable people to get a toehold in the middle class and to hang on once they get there," he said. "And I think that that's a very powerful story. It is about convictions. And when we tell it, we win."
Patrick, a self-described "pro-growth progressive" offered support for Warren generally, but advocated for a balance between government help and private market principles.
"I just don't believe that markets solve every problem in everybody's life and I don't think government solves every problem in everybody's life," Patrick said.
But with groups on the left envigorated by Warren's anti-Wall Street rhetoric and Pelosi willing to buck Obama's White House, there's evidence Democrats may splinter yet.
Watch State of the Union with Candy Crowley Sundays at 9am ET. For the latest from State of the Union click here.
