By Sharon Zhang
This article was originally published by Truthout
Nearly all of Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s remarks since his primary win have focused on his disgust for DSA.
Conservative Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) has been on a rampage against the progressives and the left after winning his primary against a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member this week — at one point suggesting that democratic socialists elected to Congress shouldn’t be able to get security clearances.
Moskowitz’s first priority after winning his primary on Tuesday night was not to speak about his priorities for his constituents or the importance of beating Donald Trump-allied Republican opponent Scott Singer in the general election, despite the fact that the race is widely expected to be highly competitive. Rather, his first comments were boasts about his win against DSA member Oliver Larkin and taunts against the left more broadly.
“Florida is known for hurricanes, and so the DSA is a disaster area in Florida — and there’s no federal reimbursement coming to help these people,” Moskowitz said in an interview with Politico held moments after he won his primary on Tuesday.
The AIPAC-backed Democrat — one of the most vehemently pro-Israel politicians in the House — said that DSA members who are winning their primaries and will potentially be his colleagues in Congress are “anti-American at their core.”
“People who have said anti-American things and have said things that are pro-Russian and pro-China, should they really get a security clearance?” he said, adding: “Florida is where DSA goes to die.”
There already are current and former DSA members in Congress who have access to sensitive and classified “national security” information by virtue of their office, like Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), as well as politicians who identify as democratic socialist like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Members of their staff would need to obtain such clearances in order to access classified information.
Moskowitz’s rhetoric is profoundly anti-democratic and echoes sentiments from the Trump administration’s fascist campaign of crackdowns on those with left-wing beliefs in the U.S. It came even as a DSA member, state Rep. Angie Nixon, won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Florida the same day that Moskowitz won his primary — a candidate that, as a Democrat, Moskowitz would typically be expected to support.
In his comments, he also criticized progressive politicians for campaigning with popular streamer Hasan Piker. In criticizing Piker, Moskowitz said, “I’m standing up for the Democratic Party…I’m standing up for all Americans that love this country.” He also suggested, without evidence, that progressives are now trying to hide Piker’s support. “For all those people who thought it was a great idea to campaign with him, as Jay-Z once said, ‘Bring ’em out, bring ’em out.’ They shouldn’t be hiding him now,” he said.
“I’m genuinely concerned for his mental well-being,” Piker told Politico in response. “I think he should stop posting on the internet and focus on defeating the Republican in his newly redistricted congressional seat.”
Moskowitz was so focused on his triumph over DSA and his dislike of Piker that the two topics have dominated almost all of his remarks since his win — including a statement about his victory and interviews with numerous news outlets afterward. His only post on X on election night was a sarcastic post that read, “My condolences to @hasanthehun,” tagging Piker.
During the primary race, local media reported on Moskowitz’s refusal to engage with Larkin in several instances throughout the campaign. He derogatorily called Larkin a “communist” — a line of attack that has been encouraged by Republican strategists in their campaigns against Democrats — and refused to participate in a primary debate against the democratic socialist — a move that invited Republicans to label him as “cowardly.” Moskowitz has also baselessly accused Larkin and Piker of opposing him because he is Jewish.
Moskowitz, who has served in Congress since 2022, is one of many Democrats who have been focused on opposing the left rather than party unity as progressive candidates have surged in popularity this election season. His attacks were lauded by Politico as politically savvy, but they come as an increasing number of Democrats now say they identify with democratic socialism or that they would vote for a democratic socialist candidate.
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