On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) responded to a question on Democratic Socialist U.S. House nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier by saying that the positions of some of the Democratic Socialists are “dangerous” and “a fundamental attack on America itself and the premises behind it.”
In response to a question on past statements from Chevalier, Smith said, “Well, there [are] two big things that are going on here that need to be separated: 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 Trump more effectively, they want to see us go after income inequality more aggressively, and they want to see new, younger faces. And I think there’s broad appeal for that across the Democratic coalition, get after economic populism, greater economic opportunity, too much concentration of wealth in this country. I completely agree. We need new, younger, more energetic leaders, I get that too. And we’ve got to effectively fight Trump. So, you’ve got that.”
He continued, “But then when you look at some of these Democratic Socialists that are running, their ideology is vastly more radical than that. And you see that, in expressing support for Communism, in expressing support for open borders, defunding the police, a fundamental attack on America itself and the premises behind it. And so, 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, but they’re pushing ideas and agendas that are not popular in this country, and, frankly, not good policy on immigration enforcement, again, on criminal justice, on the basic concept of personal responsibility, accountability, and economic opportunity. So, it is a significant challenge for our coalition, no doubt about it.”
Co-host John Berman then asked, “You said dangerous. Dangerous to whom?”
Smith answered, “Oh, well, it’s bad policy, like I said. I think not having any immigration enforcement creates problems. And it’s also going to make it difficult for us to have an election. I think not actually funding the police and having a criminal justice system creates less security. 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. Look, it’s work hard, play by the rules, get ahead. 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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