Socialism surges among Democrats as party leaders reject DSA agenda: ‘Pack of fools’
The top Democrat in the House is making it clear that he doesn't support the Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA) agenda.
But even though House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York doesn't back the DSA's far-left policy proposals, a majority of Democrats hold favorable views of socialism, according to two national polls released in recent weeks.
That's not the case for most Americans, and especially Republicans, who hold negative views of socialism, according to the surveys.
"I don’t support the DSA agenda, as has been articulated by the DSA itself," Jeffries said during an interview this past weekend on NBC News' "Meet the Press."
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Jeffries wasn't the only major Democrat taking aim at the socialist agenda on the Sunday talk shows.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, called socialism a "failed experiment" during an appearance on CBS News' "Face the Nation."
Longtime Democratic strategist and pundit James Carville was less diplomatic.
"They're a bunch of silly people... a pack of fools," Carville said as he referred to DSA members, during a Monday appearance on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime."
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The DSA's agenda includes defunding and abolishing police and prison systems, ending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations and detentions, abolishing borders, granting voting rights to noncitizens and implementing a single-payer "Medicare for All" health system. The DSA's new platform also calls for abolishing the Senate, and replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with leadership chosen by and subordinate to Congress.
Candidates backed by or aligned with the DSA, as well as other left-wing progressives, have won a series of victories over more moderate incumbents and candidates supported by the party establishment in primary showdowns this spring and summer, including high-profile wins this month in crucial Democratic Senate primaries in Michigan, Minnesota and Florida.
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Ahead of those victories, a Fox News national poll conducted last month indicated 52% of Democrats but just 11% of Republicans held positive views of socialism. According to the poll, Democrats had more favorable opinions of socialism that capitalism. A CBS News survey in the field earlier this month had similar findings.
The poll results come in the wake of years of pessimistic views of the nation's economy, as Americans have struggled with persistent inflation for most of this decade.
"Health insurers have acted irresponsibly making access to affordable and quality care beyond challenging for Americans, wages aren’t keeping up with soaring inflation and there is no plan to reconcile any of these issues. Voters are looking for a solution to the affordability crisis," longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.
Caiazzo, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, emphasized that "progressives are winning primaries around the country because the electorate is desperate for leaders that will address the affordability crisis that has swept the country."
Sanders' marathon battle with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination has had a lasting impact on the party.
"Since 2016 and the Bernie Sanders campaign, there are lots of Democrats, particularly younger ones, who don't think socialism is scary and wouldn't mind seeing more of it in U.S. policy-making," political scientist Chris Galdieri told Fox News Digital.
It's a different story for Republicans.
"For Republicans, 'socialism' has been a boogeyman for almost a hundred years, and it was used as a criticism of everything from the New Deal to Obamacare," Galdieri, a politics professor at Saint Anselm College, said. "Republicans take it as a matter of fact that socialism is a bad thing and polls reflect that."
Polling from Gallup conducted late last year also highlighted that "socialism starts from a much less favorable position in Americans' minds" compared to capitalism or free enterprise.
"Republicans are far more likely than Democrats or independents to say there is nothing good about socialism," a release from Gallup noted. It also pointed out that a majority of Democrats "praise socialism either for providing access to basic services and strengthening the social safety net or for promoting greater economic equality."
New England College President Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist, points to a different reason for the ongoing socialist surge.
"Most Americans do not know what socialism means in theory or in practice," Lesperance argued. "I'd wager that the votes for democratic candidates identifying as socialists has much more to do with being young and new, and not the same as establishment candidates that have dominated elections for years."
"That is the bigger story here — voters participating in democratic primaries want new options, and they will even vote for self-described socialists to force the change they want to see," Lesperance told Fox News Digital.
Regardless of the contributing factors, Republicans see the leftward lurch in the Democratic primaries as ammunition they can use to try and save their congressional majorities in the upcoming midterm elections as they face a rough political climate.
"I'm absolutely convinced we're going to defy the historic trend and keep and grow the House majority for Republicans," House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday in an exclusive campaign trail interview with Fox News Digital.
Referring to Republicans, Johnson said, "I'm so grateful we have common sense on the ballot. This really is a contrast election between commonsense candidates... and crazy, and that's what the other side represents."
President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to Democrats as "communists." And this week, referring to socialist politicians, the president charged, "They're driving out the middle class. You're not going to have anybody left to pay any taxes. And if you don't pay taxes, you know what happens. Squalor, squalor, filth."
But Democrats discount the GOP attacks.
"It’s an attempt by Republicans to try to frame the debate around labels rather than the failed policies of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans," Caiazzo argued.