Political strategists on socialism split

If a Democratic Socialist calls you on the phone and says, I want you to come campaign, help me win over centrist voters, what do you say? I don't-- well, first of all, it's a hypothetical, and let me break the news to you. The calls haven't come in. The calls haven't come in, and everybody knows the number, so I don't see that happening. Look, there's fundamental differences, and that's-- and I'm comfortable with that.

Let's bring in Joel Payne and Samir Kapadia, now. Joel is a CBS News Political contributor and Democratic strategist. Samir is a Managing Principal and the Head of Trade at the Vogel Group. Good Monday morning to you both, gentlemen. Samir, let's start with you. The rise of the popularity of socialism seems to be causing a schism among Democrats. But you could argue that the rise of populism among Republicans did well to get President Trump and the MAGA movement solidified. So what do you make, or I want to ask, if Republicans are prepared for what might be kind of a wave from the left? Well, it's a fantastic question because clearly, this is an insurgency that has now become a national conversation. We've seen blips of these leftist progressive candidates that have gotten to the national stage, and it continues to accelerate from AOC to Mamdani to El-Sayed. And I guess, there's a larger suspicion that this might bleed into the Democratic establishment and the Democratic platform at a national level. I don't think that makes Democrats very happy at the moderate center, because they're thinking to themselves, while those conversations may work at a local level, at a national level, they seem a bit jarring. So, I think, there's a lot of inconsistencies with how Democrats are aligning together. I don't think they really aligned.

And, Joel, on that point, since this last election of 2024, Democrats have said we need to really focus on the issues of the working class. And when we look in our CBS News polling, it seems to show that those who support socialism and are Democrats, usually have a college degree, and they tend to have a higher income. How can Democrats reconcile what they said was their focus and what appears to be a part of the base they're now listening to?

Well, Errol, political coalitions are big, messy blobs. And a part of those big, messy blobs include a lot of folks who have competing interests. The best coalitions figure out how to find that common thread that runs through it. If Democrats can demonstrate to voters that they are the opposite of the things that they say in this poll, that they are effective, that they are strong, that they are clear, and that they are genuine and have a clear sense of what the Democratic Party means, I think that they'll start to win over voters from across the board. They'll start to win over people from the middle. They'll start to win over people from the far left. The most fascinating thing from the poll, to me, and I know we're talking mostly about the socialism versus capitalism schism, the fact that 83% of Democratic voters would more want the party to focus on fighting for them and fighting for people, as opposed to their policy positions, which, I think, is a forerunner to what we're going to see in 2028. I think we're going to see a lot of pressure on these Democrats to demonstrate who can be most effective at fighting for everyday people's concerns and values, and that comes through crystal clear in this poll, as well. And so it may be more about the specifics and less about the labels. But still, one of the leading Democrats in Congress did voice his opposition against the so-called socialist agenda. Let's just listen to that.

Well, listen, I don't support the DSA agenda, as has been articulated by the DSA itself. Now, you're going to have individual members who have been elected in Democratic primaries, and if they are elected in the general, in November, will be part of the House Democratic Caucus. It's going to be a broad caucus. Joel, you said among Democrats, it's like a messy, gathering of ideas. Can Democrats find unity, do you think, before the midterms? Yeah, Errol, and I'll be quick here, because I know we don't have a ton of time, but this is such a lazy conversation. And I'm not accusing Leader Jeffries of this, but I do think there's been a lazy conversation about what exists on the left of the Democratic Party. There are lots of threads within that left part of the coalition. There's DSA. There's DSA-friendly, DSA-adjacent. There are people who are just mainstream progressive. I think the thing that is common that runs through these folks is that they are disappointed and frustrated with what the Democratic Party has not been able to achieve. I think there are different policy planks that people are going to agree with and disagree with. Yeah, there are lots of things in the DSA agenda that tons of people within the Democratic coalition don't agree with. Guess what? There are things within the mainstream Democratic Party platform that lots of people within the Democratic Party coalition don't agree with. So I think it's a splintered conversation, and it's a very complex one, and probably doesn't suit itself to 90-second soundbites. Yeah. And Samir. Congressman Jim Jordan and other Republicans are, of course, pouncing on this. Let's just listen to what he had to say.

The American people are sharp. The American people have common sense, and I think they see common sense versus the crazy on the Democrat left. And I think they're going to vote for common sense this November.

But, Samir, as we've been discussing this hour, a third of Americans, more than a third of Americans, tell CBS News they view socialism positively. So what will Republicans do about this?

Well, I can't speak for that 30%, but what I can say, and I'll try to challenge Joel here to make this in 90 seconds or less, I think there's a larger conversation amongst the United States right now is, what do we really want to subsidize as a country? Republicans want to subsidize production, meaning, look, we'll put tariffs on imports. We'll subsidize your industries-- energy, nuclear, semiconductors, critical minerals. Let's make more here, import less, subsidize production. Democrats want to subsidize consumption, meaning I want to pay less for my rent, I want to pay less for my transportation, less for my healthcare, less for my child care. I think that's easier to accomplish at a local level, but at a national level, we've known all too well, large-scale federal spending programs that are mandatory, like entitlements, we can't manage or afford. Just look at Medicare and Social Security. So any larger conversation around funding government for years and decades for big programs, I don't think Americans really want. All right. Joel Payne and Samir Kapadia, great to have you guys with us this Monday morning. Thanks for being here.