I & I Editorial BoardBy the end of this year, there could be 10 socialist mayors in the U.S. That’s the most since the 1910s, when socialism was the shiny new object embraced by educated elites.
But what excuse do Democrats have today – after 100 years of socialism’s miserable, murderous failures – for embracing this toxic ideology?
Back in 1911, according to one historical count, members of the Socialist Party of America won office in 74 towns and cities, and another 32 in 1913.
Fast forward to today. As NBC News put it, “Democratic socialists are on the rise in Trump-era mayoral races … fueled by a backlash to Trump policies, economic strain and fatigue with the Democratic establishment.”
Right now, there are eight socialist mayors – the most since the 1920s – and primary voters in one-party District of Columbia virtually guaranteed a ninth when they nominated a socialist to run that misbegotten city. In Los Angeles, meanwhile, socialist Democrat Nithya Raman will face off against the Fidel Castro-loving incumbent Karen Bass. Then there’s Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is a socialist in all but name.
That’s the most socialist mayors in office at a given time since the 1910s.
Ashik Siddique, a national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, told NBC that “people are really hungry for an alternative to the status quo” and that their candidates “are running on credible platforms of expanding public services to be universal and high-quality for everybody and taxing the rich to do it, that message really resonates.”
Our latest I&I TIPP Poll finds that almost half of Democrats now have a “favorable” view of socialism. Even among Republicans, a shockingly high 26% do. (See: “Nearly Half Of Democrats Say They Have ‘Favorable’ View Of Socialism: I&I/TIPP Poll.)
But Democrats rushing to embrace the current socialist fad should beware, because the last one was (thankfully) short-lived here in the U.S. In 1919, only five socialists won mayoral elections. Even in the middle of the Great Depression, there were only three socialist mayors in the country.
A “historical note” by the New York University Libraries says the party had trouble containing its “revolutionary wing” right off the bat. And the 1917 Russian Revolution, it says, “encouraged the left wing of the party to demand a more militant program and, when this was not forthcoming, to secede from the party in 1919 and establish the Communist Party.”
You can already see these strains among the current crop of socialists, who have spent years fomenting visceral hatred of, and violence against, their political opponents, and who, once in office, start turning off the voters who put them there. Which is why they tend not to last more than one term. (Only one of the current crop has been in office more than three years.)
Earlier this month, the Democratic Socialists of America adopted a platform that calls for things like: scrapping the U.S. Senate and the Department of War, granting amnesty for all illegal immigrants, and “replac[ing] the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.”
As the City Journal notes, “As more and more DSA members take power, the group they belong to keeps getting more radical—a tension they will inevitably have to resolve.” A separate City Journal article points out the party’s “emerging militant network.”
Republicans ignore these developments at their own peril, since they can’t fight something – even if that something is as toxic as socialism – with nothing. And dismissing it as “junk food of modern American politics,” as GOP strategist Luke Ball told Fox News recently, isn’t going to cut it.
— Written by the I&I Editorial Board
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One of the main reasons that socialism is holding sway with the young adults is because the consumer (the one to please) is no longer the student or even the parent but rather the Government, since it is the Government that deals with school unions. Thus, it is the government that has to be pleased.
The teachers are almost like government employees and so bias shows up in whatever the class the teacher is teaching (esp. social sciences classes).
The COVID diatribes didn’t help. For instance, the “vax” was advertised as safe and effective. It was. But only for a few weeks (until the virus mutated) and only for the elderly.
It’s a shame that the COVID era, big government debacle (like Zoom learning and the effectiveness and safety of the vax) was undoubtedly taught as a success.
And why was it taught this way? Because teachers (esp. the incompetent ones) now can’t be fired so they are indebted to the teachers union who is indebted to the government.
So it is the Government- through the unions to the teachers- who holds sway and sets the crumbling foundation to what will become the young, socialistic-minded adult.
Trumpies either believe the Trump vaccines are horribly unsafe but won’t hold Trump accountable or that the Trump vaccines are safe and effective but won’t give Trump credit. Weird.
Is it true that those who vote for these delusional and dangerous American Socialists are our youngest, impressionable and easily led astray voters? Our own voters who have not lived through a full cycle of politics yet to learn that politician’s platforms are often merely deceiving advertising just to get votes.
A solid reason to raise our age to vote back to at least 21, as it had been before the Vietnam War. I was not a fully informed and responsible voter until I was 35 with a real job, mortgage, children, paying taxes, sought in vain for a safe and educational public school while paying school taxes, and had lived though a cycle or two of the false promises of politicians.
Raise our voting age to have wiser and more mature voters to blunt the false charms of Socialists and other lunatics, to protect and to strengthen America.
I don’t get it. The DSA has effectively coopted the Democratic party. Imagine a group of Libertarians decided to rebrand themselves as the Republican Libertarians of America (not a real group). The RLA swoops in, starts using the Republican brand to push Libertarianism, confusing the voter into thinking they must be OK as they have the Republican imprimatur. This is what the DNC has allowed to happen because they think that the noisy far left is the future of the party. But most Dem-identifying voters are embarrassed by these Blue city socialists pushing policies that even Dems don’t believe in.
While many Libertarians identify with the GOP (and call themselves Republitarians), most GOPers don’t identify as Libertarians. The inmates not only are running the DNC asylum, but they own the title, deed, and land their madhouse sits on.
It/s obvious that these people never went near a history book in their lives.
I play computer games and socialism doesn’t even work in games.
Economic strain? What a laugh. Inflation is in the 3 percent and will soon be moving into 2 percent. As we clean up Trumps mess. The people complaining about inflation were silent during Biden’s term of inflation. Gas prices have already started coming down. Stop propagating nonsense.
Economic strain, yes indeedy there is economic strain that is felt intensely among young adults. “The Rent Is Too High” is a slogan with widespread appeal among those starting out in life. Happy talk about low inflation and gas prices appeals only to folks already well into their lifetime’s peak earning years and have 20-plus years of home ownership under their belts.
Socialism/Communism is the preferred form of government for those in the government. They will be the rulers (so they think) so they will be immune from the results of their policies. Dachas are very enticing to politburo members. To even think these professional grifters care about the people they profess to “lead” is a joke. Just look at the many employed by USAID and NGOs. Does not matter the effect on the little people…the proles…they and theirs will be fine. So of course socialism is the hot thing for politicians !
‘Democratic Socialism’ is an oxymoron, obvious to anyone who understands the definition of socialism does not allow for even the partial democracy of the US Republic. As such it is an intentionally deceptive label for a party formed from participants who broke from ‘Socialists’ for not being Marxist enough.
Their platform described above could more accurately be described as ‘Fascist’ given its intent to remove the concept of the US being a ‘Federation of States’ an obvious attempt to further consolidate all power into a ‘One-Party State’, they already are using the ‘Orwell Blueprint’: ‘The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.’ moving the command up to the front of their parade. None should ever consider giving them any access to police or military powers.