Socialism Has No Place In Either Of Our Major Political Parties

Socialism, which is on the rise, should have no place in either of our major political parties. But bad ideas are like those Hollywood horror movies in which monsters always reemerge from the swamps to terrorize us again. Bad ideas don’t go away. They can appear to be slain, but all too often they slither back in various new guises to hurt humanity again.

Communism was an ideological plague that killed more than 100 million people and tyrannized and warped the lives of hundreds of millions more. Because of its disastrous and murderous record, it seemed forever discredited—except, of course, for a few fringe groups and certain academics.

Yet, in America hard core cadres of extreme, violence-friendly leftists, who are communists in all but name, are poised to gain control of the Democratic Party. They’re small in number but are well-organized, well-funded and highly capable of making alliances with unions and other institutions. They’re skilled at political theater—look at New York’s neocommunist mayor publicly shaming successful businesspeople and doxing (publicly releasing people’s names and addresses without permission) those who may own second homes in the city. They know how to recruit what Lenin, the man who engineered the 1917 communist takeover of Russia, called useful idiots—well-meaning people who are taken in by attractive slogans.

Communism and socialism have failed everywhere they’ve been imposed. Yet the memory of the Cold War is distant. Most younger people haven’t been taught about the horrors of communism, such as the deliberate starvation of millions of Ukrainian farmers and their families in the early 1930s. They have no idea that Nazism and fascism spring from the same toxic wellspring of communism.

Republicans are rubbing their hands in glee at the neocommunist advance in their opposing party. Most Americans are repulsed by the core ideas of radical leftists. But the GOP should put aside any smugness. The Democrats can still win one or both houses of Congress, as well as some governorships. They are energized and will have an excellent turnout. Voters may well cast ballots for the Democrats because they don’t feel the GOP is doing a good job and, very importantly, don’t seem to have a compelling agenda for the future. President Trump’s erratic handling of the Iran war is also hurting.

President Trump and Republicans have real achievements, but their communications have been lousy. Moreover, they’re missing a big, but now receding, opportunity to pass big individual tax cuts, including indexing capital gains for inflation. Indexing would really excite homeowners once they grasp its stupendous implications. Juicing up Health Savings Accounts is another possible goody.

While the socialist threat is most ominous in the Democratic party, Republicans are doing themselves no good in this ideological battle by having the federal government take equity positions in private companies. This has happened or is in the process of happening in some 30 companies. This is socialism, pure and simple. It also sets a dreadful precedent if Democrats get power. Price controls—and the threat of them—are also right of out of the socialist playbook.

Both parties must eradicate the socialist virus once and for all.