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On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) said that Republicans exploited Democratic positions on transgender issues by using “extreme examples and putting Democrats in a position of having to defend the fact that we actually do stand up for human rights.”

Co-host Boris Sanchez asked, “I’ve heard some Democrats argue that the party is hamstrung by catering too much to the left on certain issues. I’ve heard some of your fellow folks on Capitol Hill, Democrats, talking about going too far to the left on transgender rights and on immigration. Do you think that that may have alienated working-class voters? Because, from someone like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who caucuses with Democrats, his feeling is that Democrats didn’t present radical enough ideas on an economic front. I wonder where you land on that spectrum.”

Kildee answered, “Well, no, I think, first of all, we shouldn’t apologize for the fact that we do support transgender rights and the people who are a part of that community. What Republicans were able to do is exploit that by using extreme examples and putting Democrats in a position of having to defend the fact that we actually do stand up for human rights. I think what they did was pretty cynical, but effective.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett