Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland acknowledged that the Democratic Socialists of America has promoted some “nutty” ideas during a television interview Wednesday, but said Democrats should wait to see what DSA-backed candidates actually do once they arrive in Washington.
Ivey made the comments during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” where he was asked about the growing influence of the DSA and what that could mean for the Democratic Party.
His answer amounted to a wait-and-see approach.
“I think it’s going to be interesting to see, like, what part of DSA these guys actually are,” Ivey said.
Rather than assuming candidates associated with the organization will embrace every position advanced by its leadership, Ivey said Democrats need to evaluate them once they begin working inside the House Democratic Caucus.
“So, I think we’ve got to have them get to D.C. and actually see what they stand for and what they want to do when they’re working with us in the Democratic Caucus,” he said.
Ivey argued that the candidates he has observed, particularly those with experience serving in state legislatures, have concentrated their campaigns on pocketbook issues rather than some of the DSA’s more radical proposals.
“They sound like they’re focused on affordability, making sure that we can help people put food on the table, pay for gas, get healthcare coverage, the things that House Democrats are already focused on,” he said.
But Ivey was not willing to defend everything coming from the socialist organization.
“You’ve got the other part of it out there, too,” he said.
Ivey specifically pointed to comments from the DSA’s president concerning major changes to American institutions.
“I saw the president of the DSA talking about eliminating prisons and eliminating the Senate,” Ivey said.
His assessment of those proposals was not subtle.
“I just think that’s kind of nutty stuff that, really, I’m not going to support, and I don’t think any voters anywhere will,” he said.
That distinction prompted host Blake Burman to challenge Ivey’s reasoning.
If politicians are running under the DSA banner or associating themselves with the organization, Burman asked, why shouldn’t voters take those positions seriously before the candidates reach Washington?
“Do you not take them at their word?” Burman asked.
He then compared Ivey’s argument to one of the most famous lines associated with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Like, I hear you saying, we’ve got to see what happens when they get to Washington,” Burman said. “But it kind of sounds a lot like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), we’ve got to pass the bill to see what’s in it.”
Burman pressed the point further.
“This is what they’re campaigning on. Do you not take them at their word?”
Ivey rejected the premise.
“No, that’s not what they’re campaigning on,” he responded. “I don’t know that I’ve seen any candidates campaign on that.”
In Ivey’s telling, there is a meaningful difference between ideas promoted by figures within the DSA and the actual platforms being presented to voters by individual candidates associated with the organization.
He offered one example of a candidate he considered outside the mainstream.
“The craziest one I saw was the candidate for governor in Wisconsin who wanted to get rid of Thanksgiving, and she lost in the primary,” Ivey said.
That defeat, he suggested, demonstrated that voters were capable of rejecting candidates advocating ideas they considered too extreme.
As for the DSA-associated candidates who have remained viable, Ivey said their campaigns have looked considerably more conventional.
“The ones that I’ve seen so far are on the affordability message and focused on the things that voters really care about,” he concluded.
