‘Socialism Has Failed’: Popular Dem Governor Torches His Own Party’s Leftward Shift

Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is warning his own party that socialism is not a fresh idea. It is a failed one.

Polis joined Newsmax host Bob Brooks on Thursday to discuss the rise of Democratic Socialists inside the Democratic Party, where far-left candidates have started toppling incumbents and pushing the party deeper into anti-capitalist territory.

Brooks opened by asking Polis about the warning he has been giving Democrats as socialism gains new traction on the left.

“So, talk about this message that you are putting out about the rise of Democratic Socialism, or, as many say, including the president, Communism, in your party. We’ll start there. What would your message to the people be?” Brooks began.

Polis said voters need to understand what socialism actually means before Democrats dress it up as compassion.

“Well, first of all, it’s important that people understand what socialism is. It’s government ownership, collective ownership, of the means of production, meaning the government owns companies, operates companies, like in China, where the military owns a lot of the companies that do business with the military. Frankly, I’m concerned with the rise of it here,” Polis replied, adding:

Even some of the people in President Trump’s ear, the government owns 10 percent of Intel now. I don’t think they should. They own 15 percent of MP Materials, a company that provides rare earth minerals. The government should not be in the business of business, leave that to the private sector. Government has a role, of course, preventing monopolies, protecting consumers, things like that.

Republicans and Democrats may disagree on the limits of that, and that’s fine, but fundamentally the government shouldn’t be both a player and a referee. They shouldn’t have a business on the field that they own while also being the neutral judge of who’s right. They should be completely neutral between different business parties.

That was not a Republican governor talking.

That was a Democrat saying the government should not own companies, pick winners or sit on both sides of the table.

Brooks then asked how Democrats can stop the socialist surge inside their own party.

“So how would you stop the surge that we’re seeing? As we listed out, and I know you’re aware, most of us are at this point, several incumbents in your party have been unseated by people endorsed by the DSA, or who say they’re members of the DSA, or openly say they’re socialists,” Brooks followed up.

Polis gave the answer the Bernie Sanders wing does not want young voters to hear.

“Well, I think you need to talk about how socialism has failed,” Polis replied bluntly, adding:

And when you’re talking to Democrats, and I’m a proud Democrat, and you read part of my statement on that, I support universal health care. I support a strong social safety net. There may be conservatives who agree or disagree with some of those things, but I think the only way to accomplish them, as history has proven, is through capitalism and the free market system and the prosperity that it creates.

He pointed to Europe as proof that even countries with large social safety nets still need private markets to survive. To join the European Union, nations must have a market economy, Polis said, noting that Romania and Bulgaria had to privatize banks and electricity sectors before entering the bloc.

Polis said the only way to fund any safety net, whether for food, shelter or health care, is through the growth and prosperity created by a market economy.

That is the part socialists never want to explain.

You cannot redistribute wealth that private enterprise never created.

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Brooks then pointed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America’s broader agenda, including free buses, abolishing the Senate, replacing the Electoral College with the popular vote, limiting or abolishing the Supreme Court, abolishing ICE and prisons, and creating public ownership of major industries.

“Another thing I want to point out here, and I think this is what a lot of Americans fear, is that when someone like Zohran Mamdani says things like ‘we’re going to give you free buses,’ people don’t think that’s really what he’s up to, or what others are up to,” Brooks continued, adding:

“People need to study history and understand what socialism is, how it leads to poverty and government control of our lives and our economy, and moves us further away from some of the progressive goals that some of these people that are falling for it might share.”

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The DSA just recently released some of their policy framework. I’m going to go through some of it now. They write that they want to abolish the Senate, replace the Electoral College with the popular vote, abolish or limit the Supreme Court, abolish ICE and prisons, and establish what they call “economic democracy,” which is what you’re pointing out right now, meaning public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability. It also says they want to “enact aggressive wealth taxes on the richest individuals and corporations to spend on public goods and infrastructure.”

Especially with the parts about abolishing the Supreme Court and the Senate, people hear that from DSA members and think they’re truly anti-American, that they want to do away with our Western culture, our Western way of life. How do you feel about that policy platform?

Polis said the far left’s platform starts to sound less like compassion and more like government control.

“Well, there’s a fine line between socialism and fascism, they tend to meet at the end of the spectrum,” Polis hit back, adding:

When they talk about the government owning companies, as you quoted, and I trust you on where it came from, though I haven’t seen it myself; their website seems to be down, that’s what socialists want. I think it’s important that under the Trump administration we don’t take the first few steps in that direction either. The government should not be owning shares in companies. We should not own Intel.

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We should not own AI, God forbid, though I know there’s talk about that, and people on both sides in this administration who are pulling in that direction. I hope he listens to the folks who say, let’s keep it private sector, let’s not socialize it. Then they have a bizarre set of other positions that I wouldn’t even call socialist, they’re just against parts of our Constitution. I don’t know why they don’t like the Senate, I’m a former House member, and I think a lot of former House members don’t love the Senate either, but no, I don’t think it should be abolished. It’s part of the bicameral legislature, a sound foundation of our Constitution. Those things are different from socialism. They’re just sort of odd positions, which you and I might disagree with.

Brooks later asked why DSA candidates seem to appeal to younger Democrats.

Polis urged more historical literacy, arguing voters need to learn what socialism has actually produced instead of falling for campaign slogans about free services and economic fairness.

That is where Democrats have a real problem.

The socialist pitch sounds soft at first. Free buses. Free services. More fairness. More democracy.

Then comes the rest of the agenda.

Abolish constitutional safeguards. Weaken the courts. Attack the Senate. Kill immigration enforcement. Put major industries under public control.

Polis is still a Democrat, and conservatives will disagree with him on plenty.

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But on socialism, he said what his party’s leadership has been too scared to say plainly.

It has failed.

Not once. Not by accident. Not because the wrong people tried it.

It failed because government control always promises fairness and ends by crushing freedom, growth and opportunity.

Democrats can keep pretending the socialist wing is just a loud fringe.

But when a popular Democratic governor is going on Newsmax to warn that his own party is drifting toward a failed ideology, the problem is no longer hiding in the basement.

It is knocking off incumbents, writing party platforms and trying to take over the future of the Democratic Party.

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