A Spectre of Democrat-Communism is real – and undeniable
By Robert Spencer
The Democrats have for years denied, with varying degrees of scorn or anger, that they are Communists – despite hating both free enterprise and borders, which are just the sorts of things you’d expect Socialist Internationalists to hate. Now, however, the deniability is no longer even close to plausible.
This time it’s real – and undeniable.
As the Democrat candidates move ever farther to the left, it’s clear: A spectre is haunting the Democrats. The spectre of Communism.
As the Democrat candidates move ever farther to the left, it’s clear: A spectre is haunting the Democrats. The spectre of Communism.Back in 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published “The Manifesto of the Communist Party,” which began grandly, or ominously, depending on your point of view, with this statement: “A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism.”
Yet even as Marx and Engels claimed that they were unleashing a power that all the European elites were determined to destroy, they likewise immediately insisted that those elites were engaged in battle with an imaginary threat that they themselves had conjured up:
“Where is the party in opposition that has not been decried as communistic by its opponents in power? Where is the opposition that has not hurled back the branding reproach of communism?”
That sounds quite similar to accusations Democrats have hurled at Republicans over the years: “How dare you question my patriotism,” and all that.
As the Democrats’ policies grew progressively more anti-American, the gang of hacks, DEI hires, and grifters that once proudly styled itself as the Party of Jefferson and Jackson did everything it could to make people think that increasingly obvious fact was both ridiculous and offensive.
And so, ever fewer people have dared to do so, even as it became even more obvious that hating America and having a taste for Marxism went with being a Democrat like arrogance and self-righteousness went with being Barack Obama.
As the Democrats’ policies grew progressively more anti-American, the gang of hacks, DEI hires, and grifters that once proudly styled itself as the Party of Jefferson and Jackson did everything it could to make people think that increasingly obvious fact was both ridiculous and offensive.
And so, ever fewer people have dared to do so, even as it became even more obvious that hating America and having a taste for Marxism went with being a Democrat like arrogance and self-righteousness went with being Barack Obama.
Now, however, it’s impossible to deny.The best and the brightest among young Democrats are all avowed socialists. The party would have chosen a socialist – Bernie Sanders – as its candidate for president in 2016 and likely also in 2020 if party top dogs hadn’t stepped in and arranged for the candidacy of someone who was at least outwardly more mainstream.
All the while, Democrats insisted their socialism was nothing to be worried about – but was of an extremely cuddly variety.
One of the foremost among the party’s up-and-coming new socialists, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Swizzle Stick), maintains that what she has in mind isn’t the bad old socialism of the Soviet Union, Communist China, Pol Pot’s Democratic Kampuchea and the rest, but a type involving more unicorns and moonbeams.
“So when millennials talk about concepts like democratic socialism, we’re not talking about these kinds of ‘Red Scare’ bogeyman” she explained.
Yeah, tell all the victims of Stalin and Mao that it was just a “scare.” Those hysterical right-wingers were having the vapors over nothing.
Ocasio-Cortez continued,
“We’re talking about countries and systems that already exist, that have already been proven to be successful in the modern world. We’re talking about single-payer health care that has already been successful in many different models, from Finland to Canada to the UK.”
Yeah, tell all the victims of Stalin and Mao that it was just a “scare.” Those hysterical right-wingers were having the vapors over nothing.
Ocasio-Cortez continued,
“We’re talking about countries and systems that already exist, that have already been proven to be successful in the modern world. We’re talking about single-payer health care that has already been successful in many different models, from Finland to Canada to the UK.”
Great, but none of those countries are actually socialist. Foreign Policy pointed out in 2021 that “Nordic countries are often used internationally to prove that socialism works.
It’s true that social democratic parties are enjoying success in this part of the world.” However, it’s not the kind of success that AOC would want to encourage: “Today, the Nordic social democrats have adopted stricter immigration policies, tightened eligibility requirements for welfare benefit systems, taken a tougher stance on crime, and carried out business-friendly policies.”The brand of socialism that is getting more popular among U.S. Democrats is nothing like that.
Instead, we have Zohran Mamdani, who will likely be the next mayor of New York, and has called for “seizing the means of production,” as well as transforming “housing from a private commodity to a public one.”
And now there’s Omar Fateh, a candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, who also wants state-owned housing, along with wage rates set by the state.
That’s not cuddly Scandinavian socialism – that’s Marxism.
Do we have to have actual gulags on American soil to know where it leads?
Instead, we have Zohran Mamdani, who will likely be the next mayor of New York, and has called for “seizing the means of production,” as well as transforming “housing from a private commodity to a public one.”
And now there’s Omar Fateh, a candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, who also wants state-owned housing, along with wage rates set by the state.
That’s not cuddly Scandinavian socialism – that’s Marxism.
Do we have to have actual gulags on American soil to know where it leads?
The Communists are clearly the future of the Democrat Party. Arrayed against their spectre are the party top dogs, not because they’re against their ideology, but because they want to continue the illusion that their party still champions American values.
There are still some rubes out there who can be fooled on this point.
Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. The author of 28 books, including bestsellers such as The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), The Truth About Muhammad, The History of Jihad, and The Critical Qur’an, his latest book is Muhammad: A Critical Biography. Be sure to follow him on Twitter and/or on Facebook..
