Democratic Socialist Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong went on CNN with a simple assignment: reassure voters that the increasingly radical wing of the Democratic Party is not as radical as it sounds.
Instead, she may have made the problem worse.
Hong appeared Monday night amid growing Democratic anxiety over the direction of the party and the prospect of her becoming its nominee for governor. Rather than putting distance between herself and controversial progressive positions, however, her answers left viewers with a striking reminder of just how far the socialist wing of the party is willing to go.
A world without prisons is apparently still part of the vision.
Thanksgiving, meanwhile, was described as causing “considerable pain.”
And when the conversation turned toward institutions such as the Senate and Supreme Court, Hong defended their continued existence—but with a qualifier that did little to reassure anyone.
“Right now.”
That is quite a qualifier for institutions that have been foundational to the American system of government.
Hong’s appearance was supposed to be a cleanup operation. Instead, it exposed the larger problem Democrats increasingly face: The party’s progressive base is pushing ideas that many ordinary voters may find far removed from the concerns of everyday life.
Families are worried about prices. Parents are worried about schools. Communities are worried about crime and public safety.
Meanwhile, parts of the Democratic socialist movement are still debating whether prisons should exist at all and questioning institutions that have defined American government for generations.
And somehow, voters are expected to believe none of this is cause for concern.
The CNN appearance illustrates why Democrats have struggled to contain their party’s leftward drift. Once the most radical ideas become part of the movement’s political vocabulary, candidates cannot simply erase them during a general election campaign.
They have to explain them.
Hong did.
And instead of delivering the reassuring message Democrats may have wanted, she offered another glimpse into a political philosophy that seems increasingly comfortable challenging the basic institutions and traditions of American life.
For Wisconsin voters, the question is no longer whether the socialist wing of the Democratic Party exists.
It is whether they want to put it in charge.
