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WASHINGTON Senate Democrats' top message man is urging the party leftward in the wake of crushing midterm election losses, saying working Americans want a robust government that will promote education access, labor bargaining rights, progressive taxes and more.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said his party erred five years ago by putting health care reform ahead of jobs and economic priorities. The vast majority of Americans were relatively happy with their employer-provided health insurance in 2009, he said, and the health care overhaul's message was aimed at about 5 percent of the electorate: those who lacked insurance and who voted.

"To aim a huge change in mandate at such a small percentage of the electorate made no political sense," Schumer said. "Unfortunately Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem health care reform."

He said he expressed such concerns at the time. His office later said he "expressed those concerns privately to fellow Democrats."

Schumer's remarks come a few weeks after Republicans won control of the Senate and boosted their House majority in the midterm elections. He said the way back to influence on Capitol Hill is to appeal to voters who support "an active and forceful government" to help them cope with globalization, technology and other forces keeping middle incomes stagnant.

Schumer said Democrats made it easier for Republicans to paint government as bloated and inept with "the rollout of the Obamacare exchanges, the mishandling of the surge in border crossers, ineptitude at the (Department of Veterans Affairs) and the government's initial handling of the Ebola threat."

Schumer oversaw Democrats' campaign efforts in two highly successful elections, 2006 and 2008, and is chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Some see him as a potential successor to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters the administration is happy to revisit the health care law "because we believe strongly that the Affordable Care Act is working."

Republicans ridiculed Schumer's call for a more robust federal government.

"The failure of big-government liberalism is why liberals were overwhelmingly rebuked at the polls this month," the conservative group YG Network said.

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Schumer to Democrats: Focus on health care was a mistake