I’m a firm believer in the Big Tent approach to Democratic Party politics. We need to include all sorts of people under the party banner. Including those who don’t pass the sort of purity test that some Democrats demand of their politicians.
Opposed to abortion? Welcome to the Big Tent. Love your assault rifle? Welcome to the Big Tent. Support Israel? Welcome to the Big Tent. Big fan of billionaires? Welcome to the Big Tent. Favor more drilling for oil and gas? Welcome to the Big Tent.
Those are examples of how people with some right-wing leanings can find a home in the Democratic Party. I’m also fine with welcoming people on the extreme left, such as Democratic Socialists, though obviously the party is much more amenable to them than to Democrats such as Senator John Fetterman who favor conservative causes.
So even though I’d call myself a moderate progressive, as a Democrat I was thrilled to see tonight that three leftist congressional candidates in Democratic primaries in New York City who were endorsed by NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated opponents who were more to the middle of the political spectrum. Two of the three winners were Democratic Socialists.
A New York Times story about today’s primary says:
Mayor Zohran Mamdani showed the strength of his progressive coalition in New York on Tuesday night, using his political muscle to elevate three like-minded candidates to victories in Democratic House primary races — including two that ousted incumbents.
The wins will help shape the party’s direction heading into the midterms in November, when Democrats hope to flip control of the House amid voter unease over issues including inflation and the war in Iran.
Mr. Mamdani had made a major gamble to parlay his popularity in the city to expand his progressive left-wing movement, and three of his allies won closely watched races: Brad Lander, the former city comptroller, and two democratic socialists, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez.
At Ms. Valdez’s watch party, Mr. Mamdani told the gathered crowd that the night’s results showed that his victory in the mayor’s race “was not the end of a political movement, it was the beginning.”
As Mr. Mamdani spoke, the crowd broke into chants of “D.S.A.! D.S.A.!” — a reference to the Democratic Socialists of America organization. “The old politics that got us into this crisis is not the politics that’s going to get us out of this crisis,” he said.
Ms. Avila Chevalier beat Adriano Espaillat, a powerful incumbent, in a stunning upset. Mr. Lander ousted Representative Dan Goldman. And Ms. Valdez, a state lawmaker, is now poised to succeed Representative Nydia Velázquez, who is retiring.
For sure there’s going to be a lot of talk by Republicans that national Democrats now will be saddled with the socialist label to an even greater degree. That’s absurd. There are moderate Republicans and far right Republicans. Likewise, there are moderate Democrats and far left Democrats. (I remember when there used to be liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats, but those days are long gone when it comes to elected officials.)
Democratic Socialists can be elected in New York City. They probably can’t be in Dallas, Texas. And certainly can’t be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Different political strokes for different folks is how Democrats and Republicans win elections.
Plus, Zohran Mamdani is showing that Democratic Socialist isn’t a dirty word. He’s a highly likable charismatic politician with some great ideas for improving New York City. I doubt that most people who trash Democratic Socialists even know what the party stands for. The Democratic Socialists of American web site has a What Is Democratic Socialism? page.
I’m not on board with everything they stand for, but I like most of it. They certainly deserve to be welcomed into the Big Tent of the Democratic Party.
Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit. We must replace it with democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.
We believe there are many avenues that feed into the democratic road to socialism. Our vision pushes further than historic social democracy and leaves behind authoritarian visions of socialism in the dustbin of history.
We want a democracy that creates space for us all to flourish not just survive and answers the fundamental questions of our lives with the input of all. We want to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation. We want the multiracial working class united in solidarity instead of divided by fear. We want to win “radical” reforms like single-payer Medicare for All, defunding the police/refunding communities, the Green New Deal, and more as a transition to a freer, more just life.
We want a democracy powered by everyday people. The capitalist class tells us we are powerless, but together we can take back control.
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