TV personality Mike Rowe has real street cred when it comes to the working class that Democratic Socialists claim they represent. As host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel, and through a foundation he created to promote the skilled trades, he has showcased the importance of blue-collar laborers in making the country work.
That’s what makes his new Facebook attack on Democratic leaders who are flirting with the “really bad idea” of socialism so topical.
It’s “alarming to see how many have yet to condemn it, in favor of sheltering under a ‘big tent,’” says Rowe. DSA candidates “are not subtle”:
They have clearly articulated precisely what they want, and exactly what they will try to accomplish if they gain power. No borders. No police. No prisons. No Senate. From each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities, and so forth. They are literally quoting Karl Marx, and they are literally on the record as desiring to completely dismantle our government and replace it with actual communism.
Rather than embracing this twaddle, Rowe urges Democrats to make a “reasonable appeal to Independents, and those not on board with this administration,” and “affirmatively distance themselves from an ideology that has caused more human suffering than any other scheme dreamt up by man.”
Rowe’s post went viral, generating over 25,000 comments. Many Democrats argued that some DSA candidates aren’t communists because they identify as socialists. Rowe responded by highlighting examples where prominent Democrats quote The Communist Manifesto and refuse to criticize the DSA.
Rowe is so fired up he’s agreed to appear on Bill Maher’s HBO show tonight (Friday) to debate why the working class should have nothing to do with supporting DSA candidates. And, indeed, as this week’s Michigan primaries demonstrated, their base largely consists of overeducated young people and members of public sector unions. I expect Rowe and Maher to put on quite a show.