The Rise of Socialists Threatens All Americans

Last week’s festivities marking America’s semiquincentennial provided a much needed reminder of the glories of this great nation, and a fitting rejoinder to all who claim that the country has become irredeemably polarized. From the National Mall to the small towns of my home state of Kansas, Americans from all walks of life, religions, cultural backgrounds, and political stripes gathered to celebrate everything that makes this country great.

This is something we should bear in mind as we grapple with a serious problem afflicting our political culture: The rapid takeover of the Democratic Party by radical, anti-American socialists. While their viewpoints thankfully represent only a narrow fringe of the American electorate, the danger they pose to American politics is real and cannot be ignored.

Many hoped that the election of the pro-Hamas, self-professed socialist Zohran Mamdani as the New York City Mayor would be an outlier, but recent months have delivered a wave of Democratic Socialist victories in Democratic primary elections across the country. Unfortunately, instead of acting as a bulwark against the ideological capture of their party by these radicals, party leaders like Chuck Schumer have largely allowed themselves to be steamrolled into tolerating and endorsing candidates with truly vile worldviews.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign our petition: Stop the Radical Left’s Agenda.

Consider the evidence:

Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won the congressional primary to represent NY-13 and will almost certainly be elected in November, wants the border to be abolished and the police to be eliminated; called America an “[expletive] disgrace;” attended a pro-Hamas rally in Times Square the day after the October 7 attacks; said “Israel doesn’t exist;” and has advocated for “seiz[ing] the means of production.” These noxious views have been echoed by her compatriot Claire Valdez, who won the primary for NY-7 on a platform pledging to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters New York, promising to abolish ICE, and to use state power to replace capitalism.
 
In Colorado, Melat Kiros, the Democratic candidate for CO-01, has denied the clear antisemitic intentions of the Boulder firebombing that killed 82-year-old Karen Diamond; blamed America for 9/11 and Israel for the October 7 massacre; and also vowed to abolish ICE if elected.

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed – who is poised to win the Democratic primary for the Senate – has argued repeatedly that the Israeli government is just as evil as Hamas; refuses to say whether Israel has a right to exist; appeared alongside notorious antisemite Hasan Piker at a campaign event; and advocated for defunding the police.

And in Pennsylvania, Chris Rabb – running unopposed to represent PA-3 – dismissed the Declaration of Independence as “catering to a performative aspect of collective genius that purposely erased indigenous and black peoples;” implied that American values are fascist; and has argued that “socialists need to expose the role of both parties in our crisis and point toward a future where the working class holds power.”

As a four-term Congressman and President Trump’s former CIA Director and Secretary of State, I’ve had my share of tough fights with my opponents in the Democratic Party. But I also knew that, while we might have disagreed vigorously over how to achieve the right outcome for the American people, the vast majority of my colleagues loved America just like I did and wanted the best for our country.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that this gruesome crop of terrorist apologists, bigots, and self-professed America-haters would be able to infiltrate our two-party system in this way. While it’s true that these views are by no means representative of the vast majority of Americans, history tells us that a small vanguard of committed and ruthless radicals can cause immense damage to political systems if they are allowed to advance unopposed.

Americans on both sides of the aisle must resist this dangerous movement. That includes national, state, and local-level political leaders, as well as concerned citizens who may disagree about the means to achieving a better future but are united in their love of country. If they do not, I fear for the toxicity it will inject into our political culture, and the disastrous policy consequences that will follow if these individuals ever hold elected office.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign our petition: Stop the Radical Left’s Agenda.