In retrospect, Donald Trump’s 2016 win in the Republican primary amounted to a hostile takeover of the party, in which he refashioned “the party of Reagan” into a more populist movement shaped in his own image.
Something similar could now be happening in the Democratic party, with several far left groups and leaders now growing in influence. This spring, Senator Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez played to rapturous crowds during their “Fight Oligarchy” tour. Now a member of the radical Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – Zohran Mamdani – has won the NYC Democratic mayoral primary. He is currently favored to win the general election this November.
For the DSA, a Mamdani victory could be just the beginning. Earlier this year, the
Socialist Majority – which is one of the largest DSA caucuses – lists twelve “points of unity,” including one that reads “The only viable strategy to build a party in the U.S. at present is through using the Democratic ballot line.”
Given the DSA’s interest in appearing on the ballot lines of one of America’s two major parties, Americans should take interest in a DSA platform, which is profoundly radical and disconnected from the views of most Americans.
The DSA wishes to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), defund police departments, and offer gender affirming care to minors “without parental consent.” They also suggest the government overtaking most major U.S. industries. These aren’t just unpopular policies—they’re reckless ideas that failed in other countries with the misfortune to implement them.
DSA members consistently oppose pragmatic compromises and view moderate Democrats as enemies rather than allies, displaying the kind of rigid ideological thinking that destroys effective governance.
Their rigid ideological purity tests drive away pragmatic leaders who understand how to win elections and pass legislation. The DSA’s confrontational tactics and maximalist demands make them unreliable coalition partners who prioritize ideological posturing over real-world results.
Political parties tend to be strongest when they can serve a “big tent” that accommodates diverse viewpoints, the DSA’s views are so radical that any support the Democratic Party adds from them would almost certainly come at the expense of a much larger center of the electorate.
At a time when the Democratic Party’s image is so badly tarnished, with a new Wall Street Journal poll showing that 63% of voters hold an unfavorable view of the party, you might imagine the party’s support couldn’t fall any further. But if DSA candidates like Zohran Mamdani become a more visible face of the party, it’s popularity may still have further to fall.
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Lynn Schmidt
Lynn Schmidt holds a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a masters of science majoring in political science from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She is a freelance columnist and editorial board member with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a monthly contributor to The Fulcrum. Lynn lives in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and two daughters.