Democratic Socialists are a Serious Threat

Many people are wringing their hands over the election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani to New York City mayor. Unfortunately, they have reason to be worried, because his election reflects a trend that can conservatively be called concerning, and liberally, alarming. To understand this assessment better, it helps to understand the nature of Democratic Socialism.

Although he wasn’t a socialist, as a Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced some of the earliest socialist proposals into this country:

While Roosevelt was not a socialist, his administration enacted a series of sweeping government programs that had long been championed by the Socialist Party. Policies such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, federal jobs programs like the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and laws protecting workers’ rights to organize were all core tenets of the socialist platform that had been dismissed as radical just years earlier. The Great Depression thus serves as the clearest example of how a systemic crisis can rapidly move socialist-inspired ideas from the political fringe to the center of American public policy.

Many of these programs have now become integral to the operations of the federal government, in spite of the early criticism of them. There is a good reason for calling them “entitlement programs.” Most of the country has come to depend on them.

Fast-forward 40 years, and we see the establishment of the Democratic Socialists of America:

Shortly before he co-founded Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in 1982, academic and leftist activist Michael Harrington attended a conference of the Socialist International in Paris. There he befriended many of the world’s leading socialists, including Israeli Knesset opposition leader Shimon Peres. Peres was among the coterie of leftist leaders with whom Harrington could sit down ‘over a beer and exchange stories,’ as Harrington’s biographer Maurice Isserman put it. Harrington would build support for Israel into the amalgamation of American socialist groups that formed DSA. Embracing Israel as the fulfillment of the Jewish right of self-determination, he wrote that Zionism is ‘the national liberation movement of a Jewish people.’

Please note that Jews and Israel were originally celebrated by the DSA.

In spite of its founding principles, DSA made an about-face when it came to the Jews and Israel. It’s hard to know precisely when this shift occurred, but October 7 solidified this change:

On October 7, 2023, in response to Hamas’s horrific attack, DSA issued a statement ‘unequivocally’ condemning the killing of all civilians but also calling Hamas’s actions ‘not unprovoked’ and ‘a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime.’ The following spring, members of its youth branch, Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), played a leading role in pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel campus demonstrations. In at least one instance, Jewish protesters were told to ‘go back to Poland.’ Other demonstrators used imagery and slogans equating Zionism with Nazism. The slogan ‘From the River to the Sea,’ often interpreted as a call for eliminating Israel, has sounded at DSA meetings. And at its 2025 national convention, DSA approved a resolution citing support of Israel’s right to defend itself or equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism as ‘expellable offenses.’

Given that specific sponsoring groups were not identified at the various campus demonstrations at the time, we now know that in many cases, the DSA was behind them. If you’re thinking that the participation of the DSA in our electoral system is harmless, here is a description of the inroads that the DSA has made into our country:

A new report by the Heartland Institute, a national free-market think tank, reveals that nearly every candidate endorsed by prominent socialist organizations in the United States emerged victorious during the 2024 election. [snip] Overall, these organizations endorsed a total of 51 socialist candidates, of which 48 (94 percent) won their races for federal, statewide, or local office with an average margin of victory of approximately 49 percent. Nine of these candidates ran in uncontested races. Taking out those nine candidates, the 39 remaining socialist candidates won their races by an average margin of approximately 37 percent. Only three socialist candidates lost their races, with a 13 percent average margin of defeat. Among the candidates endorsed by these three socialist groups, 27 ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, two ran for U.S. Senate, 12 ran for statewide offices, and 10 ran for local offices. These races occurred in 22 states and the District of Columbia. California was the leading state for socialist candidates in the 2024 election, with 10 in total.

The DSA has also publicly condemned a member of Congress who led a panel discussion in July 2024 to protest anti-Semitism:

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) dropped its endorsement of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after she hosted a panel discussion on antisemitism. The DSA said in a Tuesday statement that it was rescinding its conditional endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez’s reelection campaign after she ‘conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and condemned boycotting Zionist institutions’ during the discussion she sponsored last month. ‘This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action,’ the statement said. Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, condemned antisemitism in the public discussion with two Jewish activists — Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), and Stacy Burdett, a former senior official at the Anti-Defamation League and US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Democrats are experiencing the pull to the Left as the extreme elements of their party continue to radicalize. The position of the Socialists in supporting Marxist ideology continues to increase its hold. People who feel they can draw on the government programs will become more dependent on the free services offered. The desire to extend entitlement beyond the current programs is growing.

Here is one conclusion of where we are in relation to the growth of socialism:

However, in the wake of the 2024 election results, it is plausible that Democrats may pivot toward a more populist and socialist-leaning approach as they recalibrate their strategy for future electoral success. We are already seeing examples of progressive voices on the left advocating for Democrats to embrace the issues that once fueled the popularity of figures like Bernie Sanders. We will need to remain vigilant against this potential socialist resurgence to ensure that our country does not fall prey to the dangers of this pernicious political ideology.

Are we truly prepared to accept people running for office who are Democratic Socialists? What if they are anti-Semitic? Will we be willing to vote for them? Are the freebies too tempting to too many people? Even if they fail to be elected, how much damage will be done?

[originally published in American Thinker]