In this fiery episode of Between the Left and a Hard Place, Dean Charles takes the gloves off and calls out prominent Democrats who claim to be center-left but refuse to reject socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America platform publicly. Drawing on his years defending Democrats on a Hannity-and-Colmes-style radio show in Las Vegas, Dean questions whether the party has lost its grip on the middle.

He names names: Alyssa Slotkin, Cory Booker, Jason Crow, Catherine Cortez Masto, and dissects their recent public statements (or lack thereof) on the growing socialist influence inside the party. Dean warns that ignoring this issue is political suicide, especially when it comes to winning over independents and moderates.

This is a passionate, unfiltered look at why the Democratic Party risks alienating the very voters who could decide the next election.

Key Takeaways

• Why silence matters: Public figures like Alyssa Slotkin, Cory Booker, and Jason Crow refusing to push back against socialism sends the wrong message to moderates.

• The 80/20 principle: Winning issues lie in appealing to the political middle, not the far left.

• Electoral consequences: Dean warns that embracing, or failing to reject, socialism could hand elections to Republicans.

• The call to action: Center-left Democrats must unite, clearly reject socialism, and focus on pragmatic issues if they want to win.

In this Episode

• [00:00] Dean sets the stage for the discussion on socialism in the Democratic Party.

• [00:18] Reflecting on his past defense of Democrats and shifting views.

• [01:04] Alyssa Slotkin’s Colbert interview and her failure to denounce socialism.

• [02:25] Cory Booker’s “stay out of New York politics” response.

• [03:22] Jason Crow’s surprising defense of Zohran Mamdani on Bill Maher.

• [04:21] Why Dean wants more action from Cortez Masto.

• [04:45] How not rejecting socialism could cost the Democrats the election.

• [05:29] Dean’s plea for the center-left to unite and reject socialism.

Notable Quotes

• [03:09] “Cory Booker says, 'Let New York politics be New York politics.' Come on. Are you a socialist? Seriously, Cory, are you gonna run on the socialism platform? Gimme a break. You're gonna lose the independence and the left and the center left. You're just gonna lose them.”

• [05:01] “The big umbrella thing isn't gonna work. I'm telling you it's not gonna work. The Republicans are gonna beat you to a pulp. Seriously, they're gonna pull out the 80/20 issues and it's gonna be over. You don't seem to understand why you lost the last election. You should really think about it more 'cause you're not understanding why you lost.”

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