Editorial

DSA is a real threat to watch

While the nation celebrates 250 years as a Republic, there is a small, but ominous, movement that is building momentum among certain factions of the political left, Democratic Socialism. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), really a group backed by the Chinese Communist Party as well as other leftist organizations, has seen some successes in recent Democratic Party primaries.

Led by aging leftist Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashid Tlaib, its biggest victory, so far, came from winning the New York City mayoralty in the person of Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani has become the face of the party and the movement, and has won more than 30 primaries nationwide, looking to upend the establishment power structure of the Democratic Party. And, the Democrats have only themselves to blame.

Much like leftwing groups in history, the elites in academe and business, which have shifted from Republicans to Democrats over the last century, thought they could use the verve of the alt-liberals and win state and national elections. Much like leftwing groups in history, the effort has failed and lurched the Democrats more leftward. The Democratic Party of Scoop Jackson, strong on defense, and liberal on social issues, is no longer welcome.

The current Democrats are now the supporters of radical anti-family, anti-American, and anti-Western Civilization groups, looking to tear down our culture and our history, following the same playbook as happened in Russia, China, Cuba, and Venezuela. All those movements failed or are failing, yet the egalitarian left repeats the mantra of the past, “Communism has never truly been tried, we will do it right.”

It is interesting to note the recent platform of the DSA contains:

The dissolution of the Senate;

The subjugation of the Executive and Judicial Branches under a stronger unicameral Congress;

Replacing the two-party system with a multi-party format;

Public ownership of large corporations and ending private property rights;

Abolishing borders and prisons.

More interesting than the platform in some respects is the demographic of the DSA itself. While presenting itself as a working-class organization, recent surveys have shown that 66 percent of the membership is urban white, with 65 percent having college degrees (85 percent for those in their 20s), but making between less than $100,000 a year. Most are academics or teachers, or work in the public or nonprofit sectors.

So, what we have are white liberals, mostly on the lower end of the “Earning curve,” looking for radical change. Most are agnostic or atheist, and at least a third are “non-binary or LGTBQ.” Their sociology and Women’s Studies degrees are not reaping the six-figure salaries they had hoped.

There is an old expression concerning those looking for the End Times: “Those who look for the next world, cannot live in this one.” The same is true of the angry left, looking for a new system because they cannot live ours. It is not a blue-collar movement, but a movement of malcontents with degrees.

For more than a century those calling themselves “Progressive” have looked to eradicate the individual freedom of America and West, putting government in the hands of bureaucracies of experts. They look for collectivism, using the euphemism of “collaboration,” and the breakdown of social norms in the name of “empathy.”

It is a small movement, but one that has some momentum. The Democratic Party, to its shame, thought it could rein in the radicals, while using their energy. They are finding out they have a proverbial tiger by the tail.

Meanwhile, the rest of us should reject the facile arguments of a fringe group that represents repression and oligarchy. Our republic is not perfect, but what the DSA offers has failed always and everywhere. It is espoused by people who have failed in life and with a leadership of “useful idiots,” who think they are smarter than everyone else.