Commentary

I didn’t fear a massive national shift to Democrat Socialism when I heard Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s rally speeches for then New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and now the other New York wins.  And those wins in Maine, Seattle and Washington DC still don’t faze me.

You see, I contend that Americans will see through those leftist blue districts as the midterms near. Just as they didn’t buy Hillary Clinton’s 2016 claim that she was a progressive. Now, as the Democrats further split their once moderate party turned progressive to socialism, they’re helping Republicans secure success.

But there are those Americans who are intellectually ignorant of socialism. Even among our lawmakers.  During an interview with CNBC Squawk Box host Joe Kernan, Democrat Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester embarrassingly couldn’t answer his inquiry, “Where has socialism ever worked, Senator?”

“Is that another question,” she asked, “or is that a question for the next interview?”

“I just want to know one place,” Kernen responded.

“Well, when you have me come back on,” she said, “we can talk about all the races.”

One would have thought that Senator Blunt Rochester, with her education at Villanova University, the University of Delaware, and Farleigh Dickinson University, which included studies in international relations, following a stint living in Europe, she could have easily answered Kernen’s question.

After deciding to provide my commentary on the socialism “movement,” as Mamdani refers to it, I went through my stack of stuff to see what I had saved for possible future reference. 

I recall sending a piece written last month by fellow blogger Francis Mention, “Socialism: On The March, Or Not So Much?” to a subscriber friend who asked what I thought about the socialist political scene.

Menton opened his blog with a quote by Winston Churchill: “Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.”

“Their movement is the source of all the energy in today’s Democrat Party,” noted Menton. “You could easily get the impression that socialism is on the march.”

After reviewing what’s happening in U.S. blue districts and in South American countries, Menton said “eventually the electorate will recognize  snake oil for what it is.”

Reading “The Rise of the Democrat Socialists,” the June 22, 2026, opinion piece by the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, one would think the socialist movement is serious as they wrote, “Their influence bears watching.  The DSA agenda is gaining among Democrats.”

Maybe among Dumbocrats, but among Americans as a whole I disagree with the board’s assessment that it is a “growing force” based on those wins in leftist districts.

Under the Journal’s Letters to the Editor column headline on June 26, 2026, “Democratic Socialism Is a Loser for Everyone,” Terry Takash of Western Springs, Illinois reminded readers of the NBC News Poll in which “only 18 percent of Americans viewed socialism positively.  Those numbers raise the question: What are the Democrats thinking?”

Democrat candidates seeking reelection in Colorado and Michigan, seeing their fellow Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman, who was seeking a third term, defeated by Mamdani endorsed Brad Lander in New York, are not only seeking funds for their campaigns, but also to defeat socialist opponents.

Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries should be concerned about their futures as Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan has called for “new leadership.”

The Wall Street Journal refers to it as a Democrat “civil war.”

The Journal has also referred to Donald Trump’s “failing popularity,” while others in the media take pleasure in reporting his disapproval ratings. He may not be on the ballot, but he’s still the GOP leader and Republicans avoiding his support do it at their own peril.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.