Joe Scarborough Calls Out Extremism on the Left: ‘Extraordinarily Loony Ideas’ From ‘Some of These People’

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough warned Monday that Democrats risk repeating past political mistakes if they fail to distance themselves from “extreme” progressive voices, warning that some newly elected figures are promoting “extraordinarily loony ideas” that alienate mainstream voters.

The remarks came as Scarborough discussed a Financial Times column by network contributor Ed Luce examining the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America following a string of primary victories in heavily Democratic districts.

Reading from Luce’s column, Scarborough highlighted the argument that while policies such as universal healthcare and higher taxes on the wealthy remain broadly popular, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is also perceived as “anti-American,” giving President Donald Trump political ammunition as he increasingly attacks Democrats by invoking communism.

“So I get all of that,” Scarborough said. “I mean, there have been some extraordinarily loony ideas coming from some. Some of these people have actually won races and are going to be seated in Congress, most likely. Like, you know, getting rid of prisons, getting rid of cops, that didn’t work well for Democrats before, didn’t work well for American cities, either.

He continued to argue public opinion had shifted back in favor of law enforcement: “America is getting safer again, in good part because both parties have come to the conclusion that police officers are a good thing.”

“That said, there are extremes, and they are extremes,” he added. “And I guess my question is why the Democratic Party is so ill equipped to deal with those extremes, brush them off, and instead focus on candidates that are mainstream who are going to end up winning most of these primaries, and who are most likely going to take over the House and Senate?”

Luce agreed that the Democratic establishment had struggled to channel anti-establishment energy now benefiting the DSA, but argued the movement’s electoral successes remain concentrated in deep-blue districts with highly educated voters rather than the working-class coalition Democrats ultimately need in national elections.

“The working class, the blue collars we’re talking about, the African Americans in South Carolina, none of this really speaks to them,” Luce said.

The contributor pointed to former Maine candidate Graham Platner as an example: “You have highly educated sort of plutocratic socialists selecting a guy they claim is blue collar, turns out he isn’t blue collar. Turns out he was grown in a vat, and you’ve got this sort of Berkeley-Jacobin Magazine approach that is going to boomerang in their faces.”

Scarborough compared the current moment to the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary, recalling candidates embracing progressive positions that he said failed to resonate with voters outside liberal strongholds. The host, an independent, jibed that his wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski had asked at the time, seeing the primary, whether he was ready to become a Democrat.

He continued: “By the end, there are like 17 people on stage, most of them were calling for the return of bussing, they were talking about health care benefits, universal health care benefits for illegal immigrants when, you know, a good chunk of Americans were having trouble getting health care coverage and about halfway through the debate, I turned to Mika and I go, ‘Nope, not right now!’ Because they’re crazy.”

“What happened is this: the people spewing this like the most extreme positions, some of them did pretty well in Iowa, some of them did pretty well in New Hampshire,” Scarborough said. “Joe Biden stayed in the center, Joe Biden won.”

Luce predicted the dynamic could play out again in the next Democratic presidential race, though he suggested Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) may prove more politically adaptable than some previous progressive candidates.

Scarborough agreed, describing Ocasio-Cortez and New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as “great political athletes,” while pointing to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) as one of the few centrist Democrats beginning to attract comparable national attention.

Watch above via MS NOW.

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