Democrats know socialism is a loser with most American voters. The polling isn’t close, isn’t new, and is no secret inside the party’s own headquarters. And yet the socialist wing keeps getting louder, more organized, and keeps winning primaries in districts that matter. That’s not a messaging problem. That’s a structural collapse that no amount of “big tent” rhetoric can paper over.
Kayleigh McEnany said what needed to be said plainly on The Five: “You cannot have it both ways. You cannot have a broad caucus with communists that are very much at odds with the foundation of our governing system.”
She’s right. The DSA’s platform — the one their co-chair confirmed on Fox News — calls for abolishing the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the presidency itself. These aren’t fringe positions being whispered at activist meetups. They’re the stated goals of the organization whose candidates are now winning Democratic primaries and will be on general election ballots this November.
“You cannot have it BOTH WAYS!” @kayleighmcenany warns Democrats cannot claim to have a broad tent while welcoming DSA members whose views are “at odds” with America’s constitutional system: “They will BURN DOWN THE TENT.” ? pic.twitter.com/nOSEhlh2iI
— The Five (@TheFive) August 17, 2026
McEnany rattled off the roster: Darializa Avila Chevalier, who used the American flag as a napkin. Claire Valdez, whose primary victory speech included “abolish ICE, free Palestine, join the DSA.” Melat Kiros in Colorado, who said 9/11 was “inevitable” because America “destabilized” the Middle East. These candidates don’t just win primaries. Each one hands Republicans a question that will follow every other Democrat on the ballot in November: “Do you agree with your party’s socialist nominees, or don’t you?”
There is no good answer. Say yes, and swing voters flee. Say no, and the activists who do the party’s field organizing stay home.
The “blue dog” option has effectively expired. Just over a dozen House Democrats signed onto a platform endorsing capitalism, fiscal responsibility, and patriotism as a governing framework. “The blue dog Democrat is an extinct species,” McEnany concluded.
The Fetterman situation confirms everything. His only crime within his own party is that he has refused to march in lockstep with the far left on Israel, the border, and socialism. Leftist activists inside his own party are now recruiting a primary challenger to push him out. The one Democrat who keeps saying what every honest observer knows to be true — that DSA candidates are communists, that El-Sayed is dangerous, that the party is making catastrophic mistakes — is being targeted for elimination by the people making those mistakes.
Some tent. Speaker Mike Johnson told McEnany: “The barbarians are in the gate.” He’s right. The difference from a year ago is that now they’re winning the gates — and then declaring they intend to tear them down.
Every competitive Democratic candidate in America is now going to spend the next 78 days explaining why their party nominated people who celebrated Hamas, called 9/11 inevitable, and want to abolish the Senate.
There is no good answer. There is only the question — and November.
