Democratic strategist James Carville and political commentator Al Hunt tore into the Democratic National Committee over its embrace of an “abolish ICE” position, warning the move could become a political gift to Republicans heading into the midterm elections.
During the latest episode of “Politics War Room,” Hunt selected the controversy as one of his “outrages of the week,” arguing that while some left-wing candidates and democratic socialists have called for eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DNC’s decision to embrace the position was a different matter.
“That’s insanity on two grounds,” Hunt said.
He questioned how the country could operate without an immigration agency and argued that the position could allow Republicans to accuse Democrats of supporting open borders.
Hunt called it “the stupidest idea since Democrats called for abolishing the police.”
At the same time, Hunt sharply criticized the current ICE, saying the agency is “out of control” and takes orders from White House aide Stephen Miller, whom Hunt described as a “despicable bigot and hater.”
Hunt alleged that ICE has too many poorly trained agents who have injured and even killed innocent people. He also raised questions about a reported $50,000 that border czar Tom Homan allegedly accepted in a restaurant take-out bag in connection with steering lucrative contracts.
But Hunt argued the answer should be reforming ICE rather than eliminating it entirely.
“ICE needs to be overhauled. It needs to be reformed,” Hunt said.
He called for replacing the agency’s current leadership, bringing in experienced law enforcement and immigration experts and implementing stricter training standards, rules and accountability under a future administration.
“The DNC has many problems and challenges,” Hunt added. “It ought to stay away from dumb ideas like abolishing ICE.”
Carville quickly jumped in and offered an even more blistering assessment.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Carville said, before taking direct aim at DNC members.
Carville argued that their responsibility is not to dictate the Democratic Party’s policy direction but to focus on winning elections.
“It’s not your job to steer the policy direction of the party. It’s your job to win elections!” Carville exclaimed. “Can I please get that through your thick skulls?”
He said DNC members have one primary mission in their positions: helping Democrats win elections.
Carville continued hammering the committee, accusing its members of repeatedly making “public fools of themselves.”
He also expressed frustration that the DNC’s actions could affect Democratic candidates running elsewhere in the country, specifically pointing to candidates in Alaska and Texas and questioning whether they wanted to be associated with the “abolish ICE” position.
“They cannot help themselves,” Carville said of the DNC.
Carville concluded his tirade with an exasperated assessment of the committee’s political strategy.
“God almighty,” he declared, “these people are dumb!”
