On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Arena,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) responded to a question on the role of the DSA in the Democratic Party by saying that the Democratic Party is a big tent and “when it comes to these different labels that people throw around, I hear the president now calling Democrats the Communist Party…when FDR was formulating the Social Security program, Republicans and others viciously attacked him for being a Communist and a radical socialist. So, let’s keep all of this in perspective.”
Host Kasie Hunt asked, “[M]y question for you, as someone who’s been taking a progressive lead in your party, what role should the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America have with the Democratic Party?”
Van Hollen answered, “Well, Kasie, you’re right, I’ve said I’m kicking the tires. And my view is that we are a big tent party, meaning we should make room for people with lots of different voices. People within the party can decide to agree or disagree with particular proposals. But, look, we all encouraged our colleagues to support Joe Manchin. He was the Democrat that could win in West Virginia, and I certainly supported Joe. And when Mamdani becomes the Democratic nominee in New York City, we should be supporting Mamdani. And I think the Democratic Party is big enough to be able to take both voices. And I think we need to have a debate, Kasie, in the Democratic Party, we need to have a lot of churning. I actually think, at this point in time, that’s very helpful for all of us. I will say, when it comes to these different labels that people throw around, I hear the president now calling Democrats the Communist Party and all this kind of nonsense. And I’ll just remind people that, when FDR was formulating the Social Security program, Republicans and others viciously attacked him for being a Communist and a radical socialist. So, let’s keep all of this in perspective.”
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