Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb, a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America now running for Congress, told left-wing podcaster Wajahat Ali that putting people "in cages" is "morally wrong" and "bad policy." Then, in the same breath, he made an exception.
"It's also bad policy, but I will make an exception for all of those f who are lawless MAGA thugs," Rabb said.
Rabb told Ali he considers himself a "decarceration person" — someone who believes the United States, with 5% of the world's population and 25% of its incarcerated population, locks up too many people. Morally wrong. Bad policy. His words.
Then he pivoted. "Lock all of those f up."
And in case anyone thought it was a joke or a moment of passion that got away from him, Rabb went further: "I know that seems a little hypocritical of me being on the left and being anti-incarceration, but lock those f up." He even acknowledged the contradiction out loud. He just didn't care.
The logic — such as it is — works like this: prisons are a moral catastrophe that America should be ashamed of, an engine of racial injustice and systemic cruelty. Unless the person inside voted wrong. Then the cage is fine. Then it's justice.
Rabb isn't an outlier. Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon, another DSA-tied politician, was asked on CNN by host Kasie Hunt whether she'd want Republican Sen. Ashley Moody jailed. Nixon didn't flinch. "Why would I want to do that when I want her locked up and punished in jail for what she has done?" she said. Hunt pressed. Nixon confirmed: "Basically, yes. Because of what she did, yes. I absolutely would want that to happen. Yes."
Two DSA-affiliated candidates. Two separate interviews. The same instinct: the criminal justice system is broken and racist — and also, use it on our political opponents immediately.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly responded to Rabb's comments directly. "Trump-deranged Democrats have no agenda except to lob unhinged attacks against the president," Kelly said. "This person is clearly disturbed and should seek help."
Rabb's own framing is the most damning part. He didn't stumble into hypocrisy. He narrated it. He told the audience he was a "decarceration person," laid out the moral case against incarceration, said "We should have a level playing field," acknowledged that what he was about to say would sound hypocritical — then said it anyway. The whole performance was a man explaining exactly why something is wrong, then doing it, and expecting applause because the target was different.
That's the part that matters more than the profanity or the cable-news outrage cycle. A sitting state legislator running for Congress laid out a principle — incarceration is morally wrong — and then carved out a political exception on camera. Not under pressure. Not in a gotcha moment. Voluntarily, with a grin, to a friendly interviewer.
The incarceration rate is either a moral emergency or it isn't. Rabb says it is. He also says "gosh, but we need to send a message."
He sent one.