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A high-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee blasted the rise of democratic socialism on Tuesday following last week’s primary election wins in New York, calling the far-left sweep “dangerous” while poking holes in the party’s campaign platform.
Speaking with CNN’s John Berman, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., weighed in on the primary election victories of two Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members, Darializa Avila Chevalier and State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, and former DSA member Brad Lander. All three candidates were endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“Well, there’s two big things that are going on here that need to be separated,” Smith told “CNN News Central,” adding, “On the one hand, there is a real desire within the Democratic Party, within the broader coalition that we put together. They want to see us fight [President Donald] Trump more effectively. They want us to go after income inequality more aggressively, and they want new, younger faces.”
“When you look at some of these democratic socialists that are running, their ideology is vastly more radical than that,” Smith said as he later turned to discuss the far-left primary wins. “You see that in expressing support for communism, in expressing support for open borders [and] defunding the police — a fundamental attack on America itself and the premises behind it.”
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He added that the platform on which socialist candidates are promising to voters is inherently “dangerous” to the country and not a solid foundation on which to run a campaign.
“It’s dangerous that people come in and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to fight Trump. I’m new. I’m going to get after income inequality,’” Smith continued. “But they’re pushing ideas and agendas that are not popular in this country — and frankly, not good policy on immigration enforcement, criminal justice, and the basic concept of personal responsibility, accountability and economic opportunity.”
“So it is a significant challenge for our coalition, no doubt about it,” he added.
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Berman then asked Smith who exactly is at risk of danger with the rise in the far-left, socialist agenda.
“It’s bad policy,” Smith said. “I think not having any immigration enforcement creates problems. It’s also going to make it difficult for us to have an election — not actually funding the police and having a criminal justice system creates less security.”
He went on to point to the lapses in feasibility of carrying out such policies.
“I also think that if you take personal responsibility and accountability out of it, and just say, ‘We’re going to give free stuff to everybody,’ then you have a problem making that work from a funding standpoint,” Smith continued.
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Smith concluded his argument against the rise of Democratic socialism by holding firm on the party’s key principles — while insisting the policies backed by socialist candidates are simply unable to win elections.
“Look, it’s work hard, play by the rules, get ahead,” Smith said. “We need more opportunity, but the agenda, as you just described, of some of these folks is pretty radical, and I don’t think good policy.”
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