Democratic Socialists don’t need to pretend anymore

 "Barack Obama really got the ball rolling, and the party is squarely theirs now."

Susan Quinn - American Thinker

"Anyone who denies that the Democratic Socialists are on a political roll are either foolish or naïve. All over the country socialists are gaining ground, and it’s not clear whether the Republicans are taking their progress seriously or not. It’s important to remember that this ideology was given new life with Barack Obama, even though he hid his allegiances to socialism. When Obama first ran for the presidency, Stanley Kurtz warned us of his commitments:

A personable figure, a thoughtful politician, and an inspiring orator, Obama has hidden his core political beliefs from the American people—sometimes by directly misrepresenting his past and sometimes by omitting or parceling out damaging information to disguise its real importance. The president presents himself as a post-ideological pragmatist, yet his current policies grow directly from the nexus of socialist associates and theories that has shaped him throughout his adult life.

Since entry onto the national stage, Obama pursued a “stealth socialism” strategy, which continued after he left office. This entailed presenting himself as a mainstream candidate, and after he was elected, a subtle promotion of socialist rhetoric:

Obama’s true convictions would occasionally surface spontaneously, most notably when he spoke of ‘spreading the wealth around,’ proposed a ‘civilian national security force,’ and declared ‘we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.’

Once in office, Obama threw his voters under to [sic] bus to pursue his socialist agenda that no one voted for.

Obama’s stealth agenda was successful, and now we have candidates all over the country who openly own their democratic socialist positions." . . .More . . .

The third-worldification of the Democratic Party

 Washington Examiner   

"Voters should stop pretending this is just another progressive factional fight. The Democratic Party’s new socialist wing is not merely hostile to capitalism — it is increasingly hostile to America itself. If Democrats will not confront this Third World radicalism, voters must. The hour is later than they think."

"Democratic Party candidates who support socialized medicine, rent control, and wealth taxes winning primary elections are, unfortunately, no longer breaking news. After all, the Democratic Socialists of America already control New York, Chicago, and Seattle and are poised to win Los Angeles and Washington, too.

"What is new, however, is the slate of anti-American, pro-Islamic terrorism candidates who swept the June 23 Democratic Party primaries thanks to the endorsement of socialist Muslim immigrant New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. This new crop of Islamic socialist Democrats represents the Third-Worldification of the Democratic Party and should motivate the Republican Party to get its general election act together.

"In New York’s 13th Congressional District, professional activist Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chairman, five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), on a platform of abolishing ICE, defunding the police, and ending all aid to Israel. Raised in Florida by Dominican immigrants, Chevalier has never had a job outside higher education, where she has been protesting and pursuing degrees since 2012.

When Islamists meet Israelis

"In that time, Chevalier helped found the Columbia University Apartheid and Divest coalition, a group whose stated purpose includes “the total eradication of Western civilization.” She has criticized both black and Arab men for “fetishizing ugly colonizer women,” by which she means white women. And she has called “all deportation wrong,” adding, “A world without borders — just like a world without prisons or police — is possible, necessary, and the only moral way forward.” . . . More...

NYC’s black-red alliance of Islamism and ultra-leftism wants us to hate Israel and America   . . . "All three candidates made ending American support for Israel a centerpiece of their campaigns. All three used the “genocide” libel against the Jewish state. Chevalier has doubled down on the support she voiced for Hamas the day after the terrorist group led the attack against Israel on Oct. 7.

"For his part, Mamdani referred last week to the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC and its supporters as “monsters,” channeling the key antisemitic conspiracy theory that accuses the Jews of controlling America in the pursuit of diabolical goals.

"The ultra-conservative Islamists and the ultra-progressive leftists are united in two main things that drive them: their desire to end America and the west, and their deranged loathing of Israel and the Jewish people." . . .

The Iranian Regime Is Unspeakably Evil

 Armstrong Williams

""The Iranian regime does not seek coexistence. It is run by men who are evil in ways most Americans do not understand. These men do not want to coexist. They want to dominate, and they will do anything, literally, in pursuit of that goal."

Listen to this powerful exchange with former CIA operative Sam Faddis as he recounts the brutal aftermath of the massacre of more than 30,000 student protesters in Iran. He describes the unimaginable horror families faced when they were finally given permission to claim the… pic.twitter.com/dv6nAbLlMJ

— Armstrong Williams 🇺🇸 (@Arightside) June 26, 2026

 Armstrong Williams  Baltimore Sun Owner ☀️, Broadcast Owner 📺, Philanthropist🎗️, #AmericaFirst 🇺🇸: Watch the #ArmstrongWilliamsShow - WJLA 24/7 News 10:30 - 11:30am EST Sat

"If you don’t like this country and what we represent, find yourself another home. America is a nation that represents unity, not division. To those who sow discord in our country, who destroy and upend our traditions for their own personal, selfish and political gain, leave, you are not wanted here."

Ex-fire chief sues LA Mayor Karen Bass over Palisades Fire claims

 News Nation

Crowley’s attorneys allege she repeatedly warned city leaders budget cuts, staffing shortages and aging infrastructure had weakened the department’s ability to respond to major emergencies. They argue Bass retaliated against Crowley after she publicly criticized the city’s funding of the fire department.

"(NewsNation) — Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has filed a defamation lawsuit against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, alleging the mayor falsely blamed her for the city’s response to the January 2025 Palisades Fire and damaged her professional reputation.

"According to the lawsuit, cited by the Los Angeles Times, Crowley alleges Bass made false statements while campaigning for reelection, including allegations Crowley was responsible for inoperable fire engines and failed to properly deploy firefighters ahead of the deadly wildfire. Crowley argues those statements were made while Bass was a political candidate and are therefore not protected by government immunity.

"The lawsuit alleges Bass “sought to avoid accountability by shifting blame and lying — including by falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event.”

. . . 

"Bass demoted Crowley weeks after the fire but did not terminate her employment with the department. Crowley remains an assistant chief in the Valley Bureau.

More...

The Law Has Finally Caught Up to Gavin Newsom

Victor Davis Hanson

Apparently, Gavin Newsom will be running for president in 2028. I don’t know whether his slogan will be, “I will remake the United States in the way that I remade California.” Let’s hope not. 

 

"Gavin Newsom and his wife are currently under investigation by the Department of Justice in a serious state fund scandal.

"Allegedly, Newsom transferred millions to charities operated by his wife, creating an obvious conflict of interest and funding Left-wing organizations that keep the Newsoms in power. "While Newsom claims the investigation by Trump’s DOJ is law-fare, the real law-fare may have occurred during Joe Biden’s presidency. “Now there’s no cover, no exemption and now you’re going to face scrutiny.” . . .

. . . "We have the highest gasoline taxes and the highest gasoline prices. You’re bragging that you’re stopping oil and gas exploration and production in one of the wealthiest oil and gas states naturally in the country.  

"You’ve shut down the timber industry. You’ve done all of this, and yet you’re not even addressing any of the problems. 

"You have no solutions, and you’re campaigning when you’re under a cloud of allegations of rampant fraud. What’s your future? Will you still be a candidate for president?" . . . 

Speaking of Gavin Newsom:   LAST NIGHT: Gaviп Newsom attacked Johппy Joey Joпes — aпd received a respoпse he probably пever expected. 

 As a combat veteraп who sυffered life-chaпgiпg iпjυries while serviпg his coυпtry, he has ofteп spokeп aboυt perseveraпce, sacrifice, aпd the importaпce of maiпtaiпiпg perspective dυriпg difficυlt times. 

. . . "Rather thaп eпgagiпg iп persoпal attacks, Joпes chose to focυs oп priпciples.

“Gaviп Newsom says my views are coпtribυtiпg to divisioп,” Joпes stated.

“Bυt what trυly divides people is the belief that oпly oпe perspective deserves to be heard while everyoпe else shoυld remaiп sileпt.”

"The remarks qυickly spread across social media platforms, where sυpporters praised his emphasis oп opeп dialogυe aпd mυtυal respect.

"Withiп hoυrs, clips of the respoпse had beeп viewed aпd shared thoυsaпds of times." . . .

Where Are the Bill Kristols and Michael Steeles on the Democrat Side Today?

"Democrats and Republicans are not flip sides of the same coin."

The American Spectator  

"And the Democrats aren’t political adversaries anymore. They’re now enemy agents. And they’re not quiet about it. Act accordingly, and vote these bastards down as best you can, because your country is at stake."

Uncle Paul's Parodies

. . . "The outgoing leadership cadre in the Democrat Party has certainly run itself into the ground. There is little question in that. You can’t look at a single leader among the modern Democrat Party who offers new ideas or approaches or even differs with the orthodoxy in any real respect." . . .

…and this is the new breed of Democrat. It’s now a party made up of people who don’t even bother to hold down a job (James Talarico, for example, makes $80,000 a year as a DEI consultant on top of the $14,000 per year the Texas Senate pays him), who absolutely hate people who do, who choose Palestinian terrorists over Israeli farmers and music fans, who think Somali welfare pirates must be protected at all costs and can’t be sent home, and openly take the side of Iranian mullahs over American servicemen.

"Never in American history has a more loathsome and revolutionary political faction existed. The pro-slavery Democrats of the mid-19th century were fundamentally wrong in many respects, with slavery obviously first and foremost among those, but at least they hewed to some of the spirit of the founding of the country, and the structure and mission of the Confederate government were somewhat recognizable as an American idea.

"But this? Mamdani, Chevalier, Nithya Raman, the odious Janeese George, who’ll soon be the mayor of Washington, D.C.?

"It’s very much a foreign occupation of our big blue cities by a class of people with values that are largely irreconcilable with those of the rest of the country." . . .

Scott McKay is a contributing editor at The American Spectator  and publisher of the Hayride, which offers news and commentary on Louisiana and national politics, and RVIVR.com, a national political news aggregation and opinion site. 

Democrats board the crazy train in New York

 American Thinker published a consensus on this fearful tide sweeping American politics. TD

Monica Showalter  

. . . "Two is that President Obama, with his masked far-left, third-world background, swung the party leftward with his divisive executive orders and fashion-friendly exterior."  

 

"Democrats found themselves surprised by the election result in New York's primaries, where Democrat  voters chose extremists of the most repulsive sort over establishment-endorsed candidates, to win three New York primaries, driving their party to the farthest left it's ever been.

"According to the New York Post:

Democrats were shocked when a trio of anti-Israel, socialist candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept Tuesday’s New York House primary races, warning that their ascendance represents a changing of the guard for the party as voters embrace the far left.

“The roof is collapsing on the Democratic Party establishment tonight,” progressive political activist and CNN commentator Van Jones told Kaitlan Collins as election results rolled in.

“And you can’t write off New York City because this … is a power center for the establishment and the insurgency. And they’re going head to head tonight,” he said

"And right now, this is no longer a movement. This is a movement and a machine at the same time. And there’s just no way to sugarcoat this: If Mamdani pulls off a hat trick, this is a new era in Democratic Party politics.”

"It's so bad the winners are from the kind of left that makes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez look like a moderate.

"They're calling for the death of Western Civilization:" . . .  More...

Democrat party dead? Marxists and RINOs ascendant? America doomed?

"Though I am a conservative, I must say that this is not good news for the United States of America."

. . . " Wokeness, suicidal empathy, and rapid demographic change have combined with the collapse of objective educational institutions and media outlets to sentence us to a sort of nation-wide version of MAID, Marxist Assistance In Dying." . . .

The other problem with socialism  

. . . "It would be tragic if the United States, which fought on the side of freedom throughout the Cold War, succumbed to socialism in the end. I worry the rising tide of suicidal empathy, coupled with a lack of knowledge about socialism’s history and sheer immorality, could bring a socialist revolution to the United States. I hope I am wrong." . . . 

 

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.

The Democratic debate is over. The left won

 If you're ignorant enough to believe Israel attacked Hamas, you can easily believe in Democrat socialism; Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Mayor Mamdani. And be taught to shake your fist in anger on command:

Byron York  THE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE IS OVER. THE LEFT WON. When a political party loses a big election, it usually goes into a period of introspection. What went wrong? How can it be fixed?

"When Democrats lost the 2024 election, some argued the party had gone too far left, that it needed to move toward the center. Others said no, the party had not gone far enough to the left, and that it needed to move past progressivism toward outright socialism.

"A debate ensued. Now, with Tuesday's elections in New York City, the argument is settled. The socialists won, and the Democratic Party is headed further left.

"Lots of press accounts are calling New York's socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani a "kingmaker." They're right. Mamdani, who did not exactly win his own office in a landslide — he won last year with 50.8% of the vote — risked his political capital to support three far-left challengers to established Democrats. The challengers won.

"There was Darializa Avila Chevalier, a graduate student who believes in open borders, no prisons, and free everything (including her favorite, Free Palestine). Avila Chevalier took down five-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who wields quite a bit of power as chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

"There was Brad Lander, first an opponent and then a key ally of Mamdani, who took down two-term incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman. And then there was Claire Valdez, a state assemblywoman who won the nomination for a seat opened by the retirement of 17-term incumbent Rep. Nydia Velazquez. That race was remarkable because Velazquez was adamantly opposed to Mamdani's candidate and felt that Mamdani had betrayed her in the election — and she still lost." . . .  More...

‘By Zohran, he’s got it!’ - Silvio Canto, Jr.    

"Yes, they are coming, whether the party wants them or not.  They are on a mission from God, or whatever they believe in. The first target will be Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania if he decides to run for president.  He is Jewish, and we know what just happened to Representative Goldman on Tuesday night." . . .

They saw what Hamas did to innocent Israelis that Oct 7th yet still champion their murderous cause! 

"I almost feel sorry for leftists. Almost. But I don’t. The reason is simple: so much of what they say and do runs counter to the core principles on which this country was founded.   

"Søren Kierkegaard observed that there are two ways to err: to believe what is not true, and to refuse to believe what is true. Leftists frequently demonstrate both." 

. . . "The kettle is simmering. The frog is growing restless. In much of Western Europe and the United Kingdom, citizens have watched their cultural foundations erode with little effective resistance. America still has time to choose a different path."

CHANGING HISTORY Islam’s accelerating takeover of Europe

 

Europe Diplomatic Magazine  

Their numbers are growing, too. Indeed, they’re inclined to conflate anti-Muslim hatred with any sort of criticism of Islam or its followers. It licenses them to hate virtually everybody who doesn’t share their extreme views.

"If you wanted to launch a slimming campaign, aimed at encouraging people to lose weight, you might think you need an emblem of some sort, a figure that represents your weight-loss aims. Would you choose Father Christmas (Santa Claus, if you prefer), that jolly fat man in red who allegedly squeezes down chimneys to leave presents for children? Probably not: he’s not quite the image you’re likely to favour or to ask others to copy, surely. He’s the wrong shape. By that token, would you seek to encourage gender equality with a woman who chooses to wear a Muslim veil? Probably not, but it’s what has happened in Belgium. It may sound somewhat odd, but we’ll come back to that a little later in this article. The lady in question has not suggested that other Muslim women should cast off their veils, either, and nor has she suggested that Muslim men should start wearing them. Why ever not? Surely, she should have done one or the other? Parity, after all, must surely be the aim. There’s no doubt that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Europe. In fact, it has so many adherents that some people are predicting that in Belgium (and not only Belgium) it could, within a human lifespan, become Europe’s dominant faith. Those who don’t share it, and who remain resolutely Christian or Jewish (or determined Atheists), fear that they and their descendants could soon be a minority, mere outsiders in a Muslim entity." . . .  More...

"Europe Diplomatic Magazine is an entirely independent publication . . .It is dedicated to providing the most progressive and objective analyses of the political, social, economic and security issues affecting Europe and the world at large." . . .

What the SS Said After Facing the 101st Airborne

America’s Glory

"We were not fighting men. We were fighting something that had decided not to die." — SS Panzergrenadier officer Werner Kortenhaus, field journal, Ardennes, December 1944. "Kortenhaus had survived Kursk. He had held lines against Soviet and British forces for three years. He was not a man who ran out of frame of reference easily. But somewhere in the frozen forests outside Bastogne, he encountered the 101st Airborne Division — and wrote those words. "This is the account of what happened when five SS divisions, armed with tanks, artillery, and numerical superiority in every category that is supposed to decide battles, attempted to break a surrounded American parachute force in the worst winter in decades. The 101st had no winter gear. Inadequate ammunition. Almost no artillery shells. A perimeter fifty kilometers around. Encirclement completed December 21, 1944. "On December 22, Generalleutnant Heinrich von Lüttwitz sent a formal surrender ultimatum. Acting commander Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe's written reply was one word: "Nuts." The SS assaults that followed were full-scale armored attacks. They broke against the American lines again and again. "What the German after-action reports describe is not American firepower or material advantage. SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Dinse of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich — veterans of France, Kursk, three years on the Eastern Front — filed a captured tactical assessment calling it "psychologische Immovabilität." Psychological immovability. Major Herbert Büchs wrote that the paratroopers "defended every position as though retreat had been struck from their vocabulary." SS Unterscharführer Klaus Rademacher wrote home from a field hospital: "There is something wrong with them." "Men like Sergeant Layton Black, a combat medic from Harlan County, Kentucky, who held the entrance to a field aid station against a direct SS assault with a pistol and a borrowed carbine. Or PFC Vernon Haught from Columbus, Ohio, who stayed at his machine gun when a Panzer IV came for his position, broke the assault's cohesion, and got back up after the second round threw him several meters. "This is not a story about slow-motion flags. It is a story about what it takes to make an entire division decide, each man individually, that leaving was not an option."

MSNOW people, California leaders, Democrats, and the bitterness of Joy Reid: how much can this nation suffer and survive?

                       

And this from Heritage Review:  . . . "That is a position Democratic leaders can accept or reject. But they cannot ignore it. Reid may no longer have a cable show, but she has a podcast, a speaking circuit, and an audience that treats her pronouncements as marching orders.

"The increasingly extreme positions staking out the Democratic Party's left flank create a familiar problem: every concession to the base makes the general election harder. Every refusal to concede risks a primary challenge or a stay-home protest vote.

"Reid has chosen her side. The rest of the Democratic Party now gets to decide whether her litmus test is a fringe demand or a preview of where the whole coalition is headed.

"When a party's loudest voices start issuing ultimatums that most of its own elected officials cannot meet, that is not a sign of strength. It is a sign that the people who claim to speak for the base have lost interest in actually winning." . . .

Former MSNBC Host Joy Reid Faces Outrage After Claiming America Is Only “Marginally Better” Than Iran on Women’s Rights

 Entertainment   

Reid hopped online to declare that this year’s festivities will not feature her or her black friends, making sure to throw in that she believes it’s a “slaveholder” celebration anyway.

. . . "The clip went viral almost overnight. One account shared the video and racked up thousands of views and replies within hours. Conservative commentator Clay Travis jumped in with a blunt response: "Joy Reid says women in Iran are better off than women in America. She should move to Iran then. I'm sure she would thrive there." His post pulled in over 26,000 likes and hundreds of quotes.

"Viewers piled on across platforms. One person asked if Reid really believed it or just wanted to follow a trend. Another wrote that her words were dangerously irresponsible because women in Iran face arrests for showing hair or protesting. Comments kept coming, with people pointing out that American women can vote, run companies, and fight for rights in court. No one suggested Reid should actually pack her bags, but the idea popped up in plenty of replies.

"Even accounts that usually back progressive voices stayed quiet or pushed back. The outrage crossed lines, with folks from different sides agreeing the comparison missed huge differences in daily life for women.

The Bigger Debate It Ignited

"This is not Reid's first time stirring debate. As an ousted MSNBC star who once hosted The ReidOut, she built a name for strong opinions on race, gender, and power. Now the timing hits harder because of fresh US Iran tensions, including military moves that made headlines.

"Supporters say she was just highlighting real rollbacks in the US, like abortion limits and policy shifts. They argue it is fair to question both countries without pretending America is perfect. Detractors call it tone deaf at best. They list basics like mandatory hijabs, morality police, and deadly crackdowns in Iran that simply do not exist here." . . . More...

Joy Reid Says The Fourth Of July Isn't For Black People    . . . "This time, Joy decided to explain what Black Americans supposedly think about the Fourth of July.

According to her, Black people don’t really celebrate Independence Day. She claims that Black Americans view the holiday as nothing more than a celebration of slaveholders and oppression.

The problem is simple.

She doesn’t speak for me.

And she certainly doesn’t speak for millions of other Black Americans.