Donna Brazile went on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday and told George Stephanopoulos she had to go online just to figure out what the Democratic Socialists of America actually believe. Then she said this: "The Democratic Party must define itself and make sure that we don't get caught in this socialist wave."
When the woman who handed Hillary Clinton debate questions in advance thinks your party has drifted too far left, the navigation system is broken.
Brazile isn't the only Democrat sounding the alarm. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey — a Blue Dog Coalition leader and House Intelligence Committee member — went on Fox News's "The Big Weekend Show" the same weekend and was considerably less diplomatic. "I don't think DSA members are Democrats. They're socialists," Gottheimer said. "They're trying to use the Democratic Party as a vessel for their ideas. They're supporting the Communist Manifesto and Trotsky, they're anti-American, they are anti-cop, they don't believe in borders."
He specifically called out streamer Hasan Piker, who has been campaigning with DSA-aligned candidates. "Hasan Piker is not a Democrat — the guy is the ultimate grifter, right? He's the guy who said that 9/11 is America's fault," Gottheimer said. "We've got to make it clear he's not welcome in the Democratic Party."
The numbers tell the story of a hostile takeover in progress. The DSA ran 29 candidates in House primaries this cycle. They won 7 and lost 11, with the potential to pick up 3 to 4 more seats. That's not a fringe movement knocking on the door. That's a faction with a foothold.
And the biggest test is days away. In Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, progressive Abdul El-Sayed — the former Wayne County health director endorsed by Bernie Sanders — leads establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens 54% to 39%, according to an Emerson College/WLNS/WOODTV poll of 700 likely primary voters conducted July 26-27, with a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The DSA has flooded Michigan with organizers and volunteers to push El-Sayed across the finish line, fresh off a series of wins in deep-blue House districts in New York and Colorado.
Stevens has been reduced to pledging loyalty to whoever wins. "You bet… I am on the team, alright. And I am gonna link arms and do whatever's needed," she told reporters. That's not the language of someone who thinks she's winning.
Gottheimer framed the math starkly: 45 million registered Democrats versus 150,000 official DSA members. A party of 45 million is being steered by a group of 150,000 — roughly one-third of one percent of the membership — because the majority can't be bothered to show up for primaries. Brazile acknowledged the problem on ABC but still insisted the DSA "is not the Democratic Party." Technically correct. But when your candidates keep winning Democratic primaries, the distinction is academic.
Michigan is a purple state. Trump won it. El-Sayed's supporters know this, which is why they've been careful to use the word "populist" instead of "socialist" on the campaign trail. Abdullah Hammoud, a Michigan Democratic mayor backing El-Sayed, told reporters that "Abdul is as American as any other name in this country." Nobody asked about his name. They asked about his politics.
Brazile said "Michigan is going to tell us a lot about this current electorate." She's right. And what it's going to tell us is whether 45 million Democrats are content to let 150,000 socialists pick their candidates for them. Based on the polling, the answer appears to be yes.