Something fascinating is brewing inside the Democratic Party, and by fascinating I mean absolutely bonkers. According to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, as Conservative Brief reported, Chuck Schumer is completely "paralyzed" by a growing faction of Democratic Socialists of America members who are essentially staging a hostile takeover of the party from within. And apparently nobody in charge has the guts to do anything about it.
Hewitt appeared on Fox News with anchor Sandra Smith on Thursday, and he did not hold back. Smith kicked things off by pointing out that a fresh CNN poll shows roughly one third of Democrats now identify as Democratic Socialists. One in three! That is a lot of people who apparently want to rebrand the donkey as something with a hammer and sickle.
Hewitt responded with what might be the most dramatic metaphor of the week, saying Democrats are "going full Thelma and Louise over the left cliff." He then cranked up the intensity by claiming that DSA members have "socialism in their mouth, Marxism in their mind, but communism in their heart." That is some real poetry right there, Hugh. Somebody get this man a greeting card deal.
He rattled off a list of candidates he considers "hard, hard left radicals," including El-Sayed in Michigan, Talarico in Texas, Troy Jackson in Maine, and Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota. He also noted that roughly a dozen House members already align with DSA, plus additional nominees from Manhattan, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Colorado. According to Hewitt, these folks are against private property and are nothing like the old school tax and spend liberals such as Walter Mondale or Mike Dukakis. No sir, these are the real deal socialist types.
Smith piled on by noting that these DSA candidates oppose corporate business and profits, and she pointed to a Washington Post poll showing an even larger percentage of Democrats would actually support a Democratic Socialist candidate. So the trend appears to be growing, not shrinking.
Meanwhile, the lone Democrat willing to push back against the DSA wave is apparently Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, and Hewitt predicted he would likely get booted from the party for his trouble. Schumer publicly urged Fetterman to stick around this week, calling him "a very good member of Congress" and insisting that Democrats remain a "big tent party" that welcomes different viewpoints. Which is a nice way of saying, "Please do not leave us, John, we are already bleeding."
Adding some spice to the drama, Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged that several Republican senators have been chatting with Fetterman about his frustrations and would happily welcome him into their conference. Basically, the GOP is leaving chocolates on his pillow and a key under the mat.
Fetterman, for his part, said flatly this week that he plans to remain a Democrat despite his disagreements with the DSA crowd. So for now, the big tent holds. But if Hewitt is right about Schumer being frozen in place, somebody might want to check if that tent has a space heater.
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