Democrats did start the fire of socialism. Now, they are afraid it will burn them

Democrats spent years flirting with socialism, firing up their base with the promise of "equity" and now they’re scared to look it in the eye. As New York City sparkled on election night, the real shockwave was in the Democratic Party war room. Democratic Socialists of America candidate Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old darling of the far left, shut down the race capturing 50.4% of the vote and defeating both former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa in a record turnout of more than 2 million voters.

Mamdani is the youngest mayor since 1892, running on extreme promises of higher taxes on millionaires, rent freezes, free childcare and a tolerance of a "globalize the intifada" message that has sparked fear among Jewish voters.

While progressives read the election result as a mandate for socialism, the establishment remained fearfully silent, without words or a unified message. The party elders — from former President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to the usual power brokers — are quiet.

Once the greatest unifier in the Democratic Party, Obama called Mamdani before the election and said he ran an "impressive campaign," offering to be a sounding board but never endorsing him. As he stumped in races for two winning gubernatorial candidates – Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and held get-out-the-vote rallies in New Jersey for Mikie Sherrill – he couldn’t travel a few more miles to America’s largest city to support his own party’s nominee.

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This was a calculated move because Mamdani, an unapologetic, self-described socialist with policies and a record of backing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and refusing to condemn violent anti-Israel rhetoric would alienate key coalitions: minorities, labor and the moderate base. Obama knows how toxic his own creation has become. As one Democratic strategist said it best: "Obama is being very careful. An Obama endorsement of Mamdani could be used against Democrats across the country."

Schumer hid from his own base refusing to say who he voted for in New York. The same Schumer who once flexed his position to lead the Democratic Party is now hiding from his own city, saying spinelessly, "I look forward to working with the next mayor." Instead of confronting the socialist takeover of his own party, he’s trying to dodge it, which is surrender.

In Washington, Democrats know that Mamdani is political pill as Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine ignored questions about Mamdani with a vague "local races" excuse. And Connecticut Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal said, I don't think anyone in New York is really interested in what Dick Blumenthal thinks about its mayoral race," even though his state borders New York. These non-answers are a warning sign that the party has lost its ideological compass.

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The silence from Democratic Party leaders tells the truth. A new Pew Research poll shows that 67% of Democrats are frustrated with their own party and believe it’s out of touch — an overwhelming rebuke of its leadership. Only 28% have a favorable view of their party’s direction. Voters don’t see policies that work for hardworking Americans; they see higher taxes, rising inflation and collapsing public safety. They’re struggling to pay their bills while Democrats promise "equity."

This is precisely why Democrats are in a full-blown meltdown over Mamdani. His equity agenda is a carbon copy of 1970s socialism: rent freezes, a 2% millionaire tax that will destroy business investment, free childcare, free buses, city-run grocery stores and more. It’s massive spending disguised as "equity," with no plan to pay for it. Economists warn these policies could trigger another mass exodus of residents from New York City, creating the kind of economic fragility the Cato Institute has cautioned against.

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Democrats spent decades selling socialism through "equity" slogans to fire up their base, and now they’re silent as Mamdani’s win sets a national precedent that’s burning through their party from the inside out.

As Obama, Schumer and Kaine ghost, duck and sidestep Mamdani in a self-preservation dance, frustration inside their own base will only grow. The Democratic establishment is terrified of the socialist revolution it created while courting "equity" voters and ideals and now it’s lost control of its own party.

The truth is Democrats aren’t running against Republicans, and they don’t have a President Donald Trump problem, they have a Democrat problem. The party is paralyzed by fear and fractured as its radical wing takes control. Voters who were once promised sanity and stability have been abandoned, and activists now hold the reins.

If leaders like Obama and Schumer don’t find the courage to confront the socialism they unleashed, they won’t just lose New York it will trigger a reckoning across the country in the midterms and beyond. A movement built on envy and resentment always turns on its creators.

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