Gaffe season for liberals!
Yesterday, we noted that in trying to back off her past calls to defund the police, abolish the U.S. Senate, and cancel Thanksgiving, DSA Democrat Francesca Hong said she "let her feelings out into the world." As we wrote:
"Francesca! You let your feelings out? Do you realize you just admitted the crazy stuff is actually how you feel?"
On today's Morning Joe, it was Joe Scarborough's gaffetastic turn. In praising David Crowley, winner of Wisconsin's Democrat gubernatorial primary, he described him as coming from a family that had struggled with addiction and mentalhealth issues. And that contrasted him with many DSA candidates and members, who according to Joe, come from "good families."
So, Joe, struggling families, and in Crowley's case, a black family, are not "good families?"
Oh, the horror! Echoes of Joe Biden’s 2019 gaffe, when he declared that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids” before scrambling to add “wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids.”
Realizing he had stepped in it, Scarborough promptly appended "privileged" to his line. He even tried to explain himself: "When I say good families, I mean connected families." You know what they say, Joe: in politics, if you're explaining, you're losing.
Scarborough later tried a different avenue of escape from his blunder, putting air quotes [see screencap] when he again mentioned "good families."
Scarborough’s ‘Good Families’ Gaffe, and the Moderate-ization of David Crowley pic.twitter.com/u6n2pD5md9
— Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) August 12, 2026
Mika Brzezinski closed the segment by promising more on “moderate David Crowley." This exemplifies the liberal media pattern of casting liberal Democratic candidates as "moderates" for general election purposes. Mika's "moderate David Crowley" is the latest example of that MSM mislabeling.
Because in fact, Crowley’s record and stated positions track standard contemporary Democratic orthodoxy:
He has given no indication that he supports any restrictions on abortion, right up to the time of birth.
He explicitly supports repealing Act 10 and restoring collective bargaining for public employees. That means public-sector unions—especially the teachers unions—once again sit across the table from the same politicians to whom they donate millions of dollars, negotiating pay, benefits, and work rules with the people whose campaigns they help fund.
He backs full recreational marijuana legalization.
He opposes local cooperation with ICE.
He supports expansion of public healthcare options—more government-run or heavily subsidized coverage that shifts costs onto taxpayers and further crowds out private insurance.
He favors additional gun-control measures and the usual slate of “violence reduction” programs. These typically involve paying former (one hopes) gang members to encourage current gang members not to kill each other.
None of this is moderate by traditional or swing-voter standards. It is the usual liberal Democratic package.
The pattern is familiar. Consider Kamala Harris. In 2019, the nonpartisan watchdog GovTrack rated her the most liberal of all senators,” placing her to the left of Bernie Sanders!
Yet during the 2020 cycle and her selection as Joe Biden’s running mate, major outlets raced to rebrand her. The New York Times called her a “pragmatic moderate.” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said she came from the “middle of the road, moderate wing of the Democratic Party.” The Associated Press highlighted her “centrist record.” The Washington Post suggested a “small-c conservative” mold. CNBC and CNN joined the chorus, describing her as widely considered a moderate Democrat.
The liberal media will cast as moderate any Democrat to the right of Pol Pot. When a liberal candidate needs to be sold to a broader audience—the rebranding is swift.
Crowley may have a compelling personal biography. But his policy profile remains textbook liberal Democrat. Lose the "moderate" label, Mika!
Here's the transcript.
MS NOW
Morning Joe
8/12/26
6:00 am EDT
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Well, Joe, it turns out Wisconsin Democrats like Thanksgiving.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well, she said she was for Thanksgiving after all, by the end. But yeah, no doubt this is a big shock for Democrats.
For most observers inside the state of Wisconsin, for people who've been following this race closely.
And, you know, we, we talk an awful lot about these DSA candidates and their backgrounds. We also have talked about, I don't know about
in this particular case, but just generally, DSA candidates, or a lot of DSA members and people who become national figures, actually are not working-class Americans.
They come from, a lot of them come from good families, privileged families. When I say good families, I mean connected families. So, and there's a huge disconnect, a huge disconnect between working Americans, middle-class Americans, and a lot of these democratic socialist candidates.
And David Crowley is a perfect example, Mika, of somebody who is not a Park Slope [tony Brooklyn neighborhood favored by wealthy liberals], you know, DSA member type, DSA member.
Mark Halperin's newsletter talked about it this morning. His parents struggled with drug addiction, his family lost their home when he was ten, his parents had divorced. His family was evicted two more times from homes before graduating high school.
So yeah, this guy didn’t come from a good, connected family. He came from a family that struggled. But it’s not just that. It’s people that, you know, working Americans.. . .
MIKA: Coming up on Morning Joe, we’ll get back to last night’s election results, including moderate David Crowley defeating Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor.
