A national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America faced a tense moment on CNN after being pressed about the organization’s praise for Fidel Castro.
Ashik Siddique was questioned by CNN anchor Boris Sanchez over a statement the left-wing political group issued last week to mark what would have been the Cuban leader’s 100th birthday, describing Castro as “a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle.”
During Wednesday’s interview, Sanchez brought the issue home by sharing his own family’s experience with communist rule in Cuba.
“My grandfather was a revolutionary in Cuba during that time. He was affected by a previous dictator, Fulgencio Batista, having his friends disappeared in the street for speaking their minds,” Sanchez said.
But Sanchez explained that after the revolution elevated Castro to power, his grandfather also became a target and was jailed.
“Fidel Castro locked my grandfather up, sentenced to 20 years for doing what you’re doing now on live TV, for speaking his mind, for expressing himself freely, for trying to organize politically.
Sanchez then asked Siddique to consider “how you think that lands with people who suffered under that dictatorship who now you were trying to court as voters when your organization comes out and lauds 100 years of Castro.”
Siddique appeared visibly uneasy as he responded, hesitating before shifting the conversation toward the DSA’s broader criticism of wealth and income inequality in the United States.
Ashik Siddique (pictured left), a co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, floundered on CNN when confronted over the left-wing group’s support for Fidel Castro
Siddique was challenged by anchor Boris Sanchez (pictured left) following a statement last week commemorating the Cuban dictator’s 100th birthday, calling him ‘a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle’
Sanchez replied: ‘So putting out a statement about Fidel Castro courts those people?’
‘We want to expand democracy everywhere in the United States, in Cuba, and everywhere else,’ Siddique replied, again pivoting to his own criticisms of the US government.
‘And that does not come at the barrel of a gun. It doesn’t come under the threat of economic blockade. That limits democracy everywhere,’ Siddique said.
Sanchez hit back: ‘And Fidel Castro was a beacon of democracy?’
Siddique admitted that he ‘wouldn’t say that’ about the dictator.
‘I think that the revolution in Cuba led to an expansion of things like universal healthcare. That’s actually been a model. Cuba exports medical care to countries that have very poor infrastructure themselves.’
After a discussion of the living conditions in Cuba and whether or not the US was to blame for them, Sanchez added: ‘I would suggest that perhaps we should have more conversations with folks who have fled that regime and what they think about these statements and the position of the DSA.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the DSA for comment.
Siddique’s appearance is the latest example of a key DSA member floundering when pushed on their extreme leftwing views by a member of the mainstream press.
Sanchez shared a personal story to Siddique in an interview Wednesday about his family’s struggles against communist authoritarianism
Its the latest example of a key DSA member floundering when pushed on their extreme leftwing views by a member of the mainstream press
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Should political leaders openly praise controversial figures like Castro, or does this alienate voters?
Siddique’s fellow co-chair Megan Romer was unable to provide a clear answer when asked to define the group’s belief that she described as ‘taxing the hell out of millionaires.’
This occurred during a recent interview with David Remnick of The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast, posted on August 7.
‘Uhhhh, yeah, you know, again, I don’t have like a solid [answer]… but I think-‘ Romer said to which Remnick replied: ‘But shouldn’t you?’
Remnick questioned whether Romer, as one of the leaders of the DSA, should be more specific than simply saying ‘taxing the hell’ out of something. Romer responded: ‘Um, that’s a good question.’
When Remnick pressed her to explain what she meant, Romer shifted the topic towards dependence and exploitation.
‘So again, it’s democracy, right?’ Romer continued. ‘And we have to look at what we have to spend and what we need. We don’t want to depend on the existence of millionaires because that means people are still getting exploited.’
The segment of the interview ended with Romer saying: ‘So yeah, we need to look at what we need to pay for in the interim, what sort of tax base we need for that to happen, and build from there.’
In another sputtering interview, Dr Frances Gill, a delegate in the political committee, was asked by an NBC Los Angeles anchor what would happen if his daughter was sexually assaulted under a DSA regime, which seeks to defund the police and entirely end the prison system.
‘If my daughter is assaulted and raped, is there any agency that would seek to find her assailant and bring him to justice?’ Conan Nolan said.
Gill responded that ‘of course,’ a rapist would be held accountable, before giving a meandering explanation of the root causes of crime that failed to directly answer the question because she wanted to ‘avoid getting caught in hypotheticals and talk more about the reality.’
‘We’re spending absolutely outrageous amounts of money on police and policing, and we’re not spending money on things that actually make people safe and feel safe,’ she added.
‘Which is things like actually well-lit streets. The street lights in Los Angeles. Everybody agrees it’s a huge problem.’
Gill appeared to refer to the city’s backlog of repairs, which has left tens of thousands of streetlights without power due to widespread theft of copper wire.
She went on to say that substance abuse treatment needs to be funded to mitigate crime instead of funneling money into police departments.
