The democratic socialist surge in primary contests around the country has Democratic realists on edge, but it’s a late summer’s night dream for bored political reporters and Republicans alarmed about a midterm blowout.
For the media, it’s an opportunity to trot out lazy cliches about the never-ending civil war between a hidebound Democratic establishment and “ascendant” young radicals armed with little but invincible self-righteousness.
For Republicans, it’s a welcome distraction from President Trump’s dopey tariffs and his serial bungling of inflation, immigration, revenge prosecutions, alliance diplomacy and war, all of which have driven his job approval into the low 30s.
But Democrats are dismayed: Just as they finally have Trump on the ropes, they face a new attack on their left flank. Democratic socialists have ousted liberal and progressive Democrats in deep blue cities like New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Denver.
Last week, they hailed Abdul El-Sayed’s squeaker in Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary as a breakthrough that proves left wing candidates can also prevail in statewide primaries. In this week’s Wisconsin Senate primary, however, David Crowley, a moderate, upset democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who managed to blow a 20-point lead. She was dogged by past social media posts calling for abolishing the police and cancelling Thanksgiving, which she sees as a symbol of American colonialism.
While El-Sayed is shrewd enough to deny he’s a socialist, his views seem closely aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). In the November general election, he’ll have to explain to Michigan’s swing voters why abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn’t mean a return to unrestricted immigration, why he deleted a post calling for racial reparations, and why he’s stumped with Hasan Piker, the twitch streamer who thinks America deserved 9-11 and who endorsed terrorism against Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
No wonder Republicans are cheering democratic socialist victories alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the DSA. They’d much rather face more left-wing opponents whose anti-American tropes and cultural radicalism repel working class voters.
