Democrats brush off fears within party about threat of democratic socialists |
Democrats brush off fears within party about threat of democratic socialists
Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing back at any idea their party is in trouble because of a debate between the left and center over its direction, saying wins by democratic socialists in primaries don’t mean the party is being taken over.
While divisions over Israel in particular are pitting Democrats against one another, some pointed to the long career of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, to argue there’s nothing for the party to be worried about.
“I’ve served in the Senate with an avowed socialist, Bernie Sanders, for years,” said retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “Found him to be a good person to work with that I agree with many times. So I think the tent for the Democratic Party can accommodate diversity.”
Others noted it isn’t surprising that far-left candidates can win in far-left districts.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) has consistently supported Israel and still managed to win his primary with a significant share of the vote. While he strongly disagrees with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates on Israel and some other issues, he pushed back on the idea that their influence will lead to dramatic Democratic losses in the midterms.
“The reality is that has the DSA taken over the Democratic Party? No. Does it represent anywhere approaching a majority of the party? No,” Torres said. “But it does represent a visible vocal minority within the party, and there are DSA elected officials who are among the most popular elected officials in the country, so it’s a political reality.”
Worries about the wins by democratic socialists and their influence on the party broke further into the open this week when the pundit Van Jones, a former adviser to President Obama, warned the DSA was “hijacking” the party.
Jones specifically called out some in the DSA for refusing to condemn Hamas and for what he called a “no police, no prisons, no borders” agenda.
“I’m tired of being told that, to be a progressive, I now must swear allegiance to crazy ideas,” Jones wrote in a widely-quoted message........