By Lucretia Hughes Klucken
WASHINGTON — Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews is warning Democrats that they must publicly reject the Democratic Socialists of America and its radical agenda before voters hold the entire party responsible.
Matthews made the remarks Wednesday during an appearance on “Morning Joe,” where he argued that traditional Democratic candidates cannot remain silent while socialist activists call for dismantling major parts of the American government.
“The DSA has done a favor to non-DSA Democrats, to regular Democrats who are regular members of the party,” Matthews said. “They’ve listed what they believe in. Their chair made that clear.”
Matthews said Democratic candidates should thank the organization for revealing its beliefs and then clearly state that they reject those positions.
“All you have to do is go out there and say, ‘Thank you, DSA, for telling us what you believe in. I don’t believe in that stuff,’” Matthews said.
He warned that every Democratic candidate will be forced to answer for the socialist platform unless party leaders draw a clear line between mainstream Democrats and the growing far-left movement.
“You’ve got to denounce that crap,” Matthews said.
Matthews is not a conservative, a Republican or a member of the Make America Great Again movement. He is a lifelong Democrat who worked for Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill and spent decades promoting liberal politics on television.
That is what makes his warning significant.
He knows the Democratic Party is drifting so far to the left that even some of its longtime supporters no longer recognize it.
The Democratic Socialists of America recently released its “Workers Deserve More” platform, proposing sweeping changes to the nation’s constitutional and economic systems.
The platform calls for drafting a new Constitution, abolishing the U.S. Senate and replacing the president and Supreme Court with officials selected by Congress.
It also supports allowing permanent residents who are not American citizens to vote, replacing the two-party system, dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement and gradually eliminating prisons.
The group promotes public ownership of major industries and corporations, large-scale wealth redistribution and additional restrictions on private enterprise.
These are not Republican talking points. They are policies presented by the organization itself.
Democrats cannot complain about being called socialists while refusing to reject socialist candidates, socialist organizations and socialist policies.
Matthews’ warning comes as DSA-backed candidates continue winning Democratic primaries across the country. Some are running in safely Democratic urban districts, while others are competing in battleground states that could determine control of Congress.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has become one of the movement’s most prominent national figures. Several candidates he endorsed recently won Democratic nominations for congressional and state legislative seats.
Progressive candidates have also won races in Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently acknowledged that Republican attacks describing Democrats as communists or socialists could become highly effective during the 2026 midterm elections.
Her solution was to encourage progressives, moderates and independent voters to work together.
But unity without principles is surrender.
If Democrats welcome candidates who want to abolish the Senate, eliminate ICE, dismantle prisons and rewrite the Constitution, voters have every right to associate those ideas with the Democratic Party.
Democrats want the votes, campaign workers and enthusiasm generated by the socialist left, but they do not want responsibility for the socialist agenda.
They cannot have it both ways.
Former Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin recently said there was “no way” he would support a socialist candidate.
“My God, no,” Manchin said when asked whether he could vote for one.
Manchin warned that some socialist activists want to dismantle Congress, the Senate, law enforcement and the nation’s energy infrastructure.
“We want a crime-free area,” Manchin said. “We have to have police for that. We want a strong defense. We want a strong border.”
Comedian and longtime Democratic voter Bill Maher has also warned that the Democratic Party is being “colonized” by socialists.
Maher noted that Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York and Adam Gray of California asked their colleagues to sign a pledge containing three simple statements: “We are capitalists, not socialists. We want safety, not lawlessness. We are proud, not ashamed of America.”
Only eight of 212 Democratic members reportedly signed it.
That silence says more than any campaign speech.
Supporting capitalism, law enforcement and pride in America should not be controversial for someone seeking to serve in the United States Congress.
Yet Democratic lawmakers appear terrified of upsetting the far-left activists controlling their party’s primary elections, fundraising networks and social media operations.
Socialism may be gaining popularity among younger voters and inside heavily Democratic cities, but national polling presents a more complicated picture.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that many independent voters support individual progressive proposals, including higher taxes on large corporations and government-provided health coverage. However, 43% of independents said they would be less likely to support a candidate identified as a democratic socialist.
Voters may support affordable health care, fair wages and holding corporations accountable without wanting to abolish the Senate, destroy the border or hand the federal government control over the entire economy.
Democrats deliberately blur that distinction.
They market socialist policies using attractive words such as “equity,” “justice” and “affordability.” But government control does not create freedom, and redistributing wealth does not create prosperity.
Socialism has failed wherever it has been fully implemented because it replaces individual liberty and private ownership with government dependency and political power.
America was built on the belief that our rights come from God, not the government. The Constitution limits government because the Founding Fathers understood that concentrated power eventually becomes tyranny.
Matthews understands the electoral danger, even if his warning is primarily about saving the Democratic Party.
Republicans should listen as well.
They cannot simply shout “socialist” and expect to win. They must explain why free enterprise, constitutional government, secure borders, strong families and individual responsibility provide a better future.
They must also address the real economic pain that makes government promises attractive to struggling Americans.
But Matthews is right about one thing: Every Democrat should be asked whether they support or reject the DSA agenda.
Do they support abolishing the Senate?
Do they support allowing noncitizens to vote?
Do they support eliminating ICE?
Do they support dismantling prisons?
Do they support replacing the Constitution?
The American people deserve direct answers.
If Democrats refuse to denounce those policies, voters should assume the party is willing to accept them in exchange for political power.
The Democratic Party did not arrive at this point overnight. It surrendered piece by piece, remaining silent each time the radical left moved the line further away from common sense.
Now even Chris Matthews is telling them the truth.
The question is whether they will listen before socialism finishes taking control of their party.
Lucretia Hughes Klucken is the host of Real News with Lucretia Hughes. Follow her reporting, broadcasts, books and mission at linktr.ee/lucretiahughes.
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