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Summarizing the key lessons that Democrats should take away from election results that were much less favorable than expected, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (DVa.) reportedly told fellow members of her caucus during a conference call on Thursday that they shouldn't say the word socialism "ever again."

This would be good policy advice, whether or not it's good political advice. But as it turns out, socialism islooking like a major political loser this election cycle, with the specter of it likely costing former Vice President Joe Biden his chance at winning Florida. Indeed, this could be a rough couple of years for progressives: A Biden presidency coupled with a Republican-controlled Senatean outcome that is far from certain, but gaining some degree of likelihoodwould make it almost impossible for Democrats to push through the structural changes (such as D.C. statehood or an expansion of the Supreme Court) that could allow the left to take power.

This is something of a reversal of fortunes. For democratic socialists, the 2020 election cycle began with great promise; the hard left had not one but two ardently progressive primary candidates in Sens. Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) and Bernie Sanders (IVt.), the latter of whom had shown auspicious resilience against Hillary Clinton in 2016. There had also been small, encouraging signs in the years between then and now: the surprise election of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) in 2018, the success of socialist magazines and podcasts, the increasing salience of issues like economic inequality and Medicare for All, the formation of "the Squad."

But neither Warren nor Sanders could overcome Biden, the candidate who had worked hardest to put serious distance between himself and the term socialist. If anything, Biden needed to work even harder at this, since President Donald Trump's reelection campaign was able to tie Democrats to Latin American socialism in the minds of some Florida voters, leading to a surprisingly good showing for Trump among Latinoand particularly Cubanvoters.

Progressives often operate under the assumption that their failure to win elections is a result of malfeasance: More democracy, more activism, and more turnout will produce the broad mandate they need to enact change. They also assume that an increasingly racially diverse electorate will override the white voters who don't support fundamental, revolutionary changes to the economy. But the 2020 results are casting doubt on both of these beliefs: Trump is on track to have the GOP's best showing among minorities in decades, and while he will indeed lose the popular vote to Biden, the unusually high turnout did not lend itself to any sort of blue wave.

Not all of the results are in yet, and it's possible that subsequent election-related developments could change the outlook for progressives. But a GOP-controlled Senate will kill any chances of big, lofty, leftist legislation. The Senate could vote down Biden's judicial picks, and they could thwart liberal Cabinet nominees. Warren's bid for Treasury Secretary will be dead in the water.

"The Biden presidency will be doomed to failure before it starts," writesNew Yorkmagazine's Eric Levitz, who correctly notes that progressives are on the brink of catastrophe.

Democrats are clearly unhappy with this result, and many blame the excesses of the left for putting them in such a position.

"Democrats' messaging is terrible; it doesn't resonate," Rep. Kurt Schrader (DOre.), a moderate Blue Dog Democrat, toldThe Washington Post. "When [voters] see the far left that gets all the news media attention, they get scared. They're very afraid that this will become a supernanny state, and their ability to do things on their own is going to be taken away."

Former Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, now a commentator for MSNBC, told viewers on Wednesday she was worried that far-left positions on issues were scaring potential voters away. Her remarks drew a rebuke from Ocasio-Cortez, who said McCaskill's loss in 2016 means she's no expert on winning elections. (McCaskill might have responded that AOC's own victory in an inner-city House district hardly confers a great deal of political expertise.)

Even some progressives think it's in the party's best interest to at the very least stop using the wordsocialism.

"I think Republicans did get some traction trying to scare people on this 'socialist narrative,'" Rep. Jared Huffman (DCalif.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told The Washington Post. "What's the point of embracing a phrase like that?"

If a large number of Democrats actually absorbed this message, it would be icing on the cake. Right now, it appears that some of the worst impulses of both parties have been checked, and the next administration will take office with neither a mandate nor an ability to enact transformational economic policy changes.

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The 2020 Election Results Look Like a Massive Rebuke of Socialism - Reason

While many had hoped that Election Day would result in asweeping rebuke of Trump and Trumpism, neither apandemic nor an economic recession were enough to deliver an overwhelming rejection. And although its looking likely that Biden will eke out avictory, the 2020 election was in many ways abust for the Democratic Party, which lost seats in the House and most likely did not win amajority in theSenate.

But democratic socialism, popularized by near-presidential nominee Bernie Sanders (IVt.), had amuch better night. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organization that boasts nearly 80,000 members nationwide, endorsed 29 candidates and 11 ballot initiatives, winning 20 and 8respectively. There are now democratic socialist caucuses in 15 statehouses, including Montana. (Disclosure: Iam anationally elected leader of the organization; Isit on the Democratic Socialist LaborCommission.)

DSAs victories, both in the primaries and the general election, have rolled in as pundits and pollsters decry socialism as polarizing and raise fears that socialist candidates will end up backfiring and getting Republicans elected. Sanders supposed lack of electability was one of the most commonly used arguments against him in the primary. His primary opponents and prominent writers like Jonathan Chait claimed that the vast majority of Americans wouldnt vote for asocialist, and that there was no way he could defeatTrump.

While theres no real way to know for certain if thats true, it is clear that centrist Democrats arent necessarily shoo-ins themselves. Democrat Jon Ossoff, who lost acongressional special election in 2017, looks like he will also lose this cycles Senate race in Georgia. Democrat Sara Gideon, who raised $70 million to run against Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine, has conceded, and it looks like Democrat Cal Cunningham will also lose his run for Senate in North Carolina. Amy McGrath, who ran as apro-Trump Democrat, raised nearly $90 million and still lost to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. The list goes on and on. Even Joe Biden, who seems set to be our next president, often spoke more about beating Trump than any policies he would enact once inoffice.

Plenty of progressive candidates also lost, but most candidates nationally endorsed by DSA sailed through. And while its true that many of them had tough primary battles and less difficult elections on Tuesday, they still won as DSA members. All four members of The Squada progressive bloc in Congress that includes Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.)were reelected to the House. (Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez are DSA members and endorsed by the organization.) Progressives also added two more DSA-endorsed members to their squad: Democratic Rep.-elect Jamaal Bowman in New York, and Democratic Rep.-elect Cori Bush, the first ever Black Congresswoman inMissouri.

Although the current iteration of DSA has been around since the early 1980s, the organization only became politically relevant during Sanders first presidential campaign in 2015, and exploded when Trump was elected. Five years is avery short period of time to have helped elect City Council members, state senators and representatives, and members of Congress all across the country. According to a2018 Reuters survey, 70% of Americans support anational health care plandue to Sanders popularization of the universal healthcare program and to the organizing and canvassing DSA chapters, along with other organizations like National Nurses United, have done around thelegislation.

DSA-backed candidates succeed for afew main reasons: They campaign on actual policies, have avision of how to govern, and dont just depend on the fact that theyre not Republicans. These policies include Medicare for All, aGreen New Deal and aJobs Guaranteeprograms that would improve the quality of life for working people all over this country. And because policies they support are so popular and inspiring, DSA-backed candidates attract dedicated canvassers and organizers, willing to spend nights and weekends knocking doors and making calls to get themelected.

Now, thanks to DSA members across the country, there is asocialist in Austin City Council and in both the Rhode Island and Montana State Houses. In Pennsylvania, there are three socialists who are almost certainly headed to the legislature in Harrisburg. Socialists in Boulder, Colorado worked alongside the ACLU to win aballot measure that guarantees no eviction without representation, and DSA members partnered with the labor unions AFSCME and SEIU to pass Preschool for All in Multnomah County, Oregon. And in both Florida and Portland, Maine, ballot initiatives for a $15 minimum wagepassed.

While its clear that most DSA victories have been in big cities or more liberal states thus far, its important that we dont discount the incredible organizing happening in the South and in rural areas. (Marquita Bradshaw ran aDSA-backed campaign for Senate in Tennessee but lost; Kim Roney, endorsed by her DSA chapter, won aseat on the Asheville CityCouncil.)

And while the Democratic party is loath to give DSA any encouragement, DSA member Tlaib may have helped to secure Bidens victory in Michigan by helping to massively increase voter turnout from 2016. DSAs ideology, focused on asociety that works for all of us instead of the wealthy few, is far more inspiring to young and working people than someone who is running for office just because theyre not Trump. It might take the Democratic Party time to realize that (or perhaps it never will), but to the average person, political conditions are changing fastand DSA is playing acritical role in thattransformation.

As a5013 nonprofit publication, In These Times does not oppose or endorse candidates for politicaloffice.

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What Democrats Should Learn From the Spate of Socialist Wins on Election Day - In These Times

Albania, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Greece these are only a few counties where the United States has supported fascist authoritarian governments in order to combat communism. Anti-communist sentiments continue to reverberate in American politics. Today, the political theory of socialism is under siege as some fear a larger central government and loss of economic freedoms. Under democratic socialism, citizens collectively own and distribute resources through a democratically elected government. In America, democratic socialism is popularized as simply socialism.

While Republicans politicians may claim that this idea is very popular amongst American liberals, this theory is not actually widely supported across America. Contrastingly, fascism and its many characteristics, including high militarization and hypernationalism, pose a greater threat to American democracy than socialism. Although we are not likely to see the emergence of a socialist or fascist government in the present age, we have already witnessed the seeds of fascism in American politics.

We must be aware of how fascism arose in the past to understand why fascism is more relevant than ever. In the 1930s in Western Europe, fascism arose from the ashes of economic collapse and imminent war. These are pre-conditions for government dependency as a solution, or disillusion with the current government. America is currently experiencing these conditions following a pandemic and economic collapse. Whether Americans will simply demand a government solution or a new government structure and what the structure would look like remains in contention.

Despite defeating fascist powers during World War II, there is a disturbing resurgence of fascist rhetoric in America ignited by President Donald Trump. To preface, many experts agree Trump is not a fascist. Rather, some political scientists prefer the terms populist or kleptocrat. Regardless, the need to even clarify his ideological alignment is concerning. The danger lies in how the Trump administration has embraced the semblance of fascism in speech and policy. For example, Trump exudes ultranationalism in speeches and has dismissed political dissidents. Some Democrats even claim Trump attempted to suppress political opposition by withholding funds from the U.S. Postal Service during an election cycle heavily reliant on mail-in voting.

These examples are distressing, however perhaps not as distressing as the infamous Executive Order 13769 or Trumps Muslim Ban. Within fascist ideology, there is often a disdain for human rights, and this order was specifically condemned by the United Nations as a human rights violation. The disregard and outright violation of human rights should concern all Americans and place the limits of democracy into question. We must consider whether weve reached the boundaries of representative democracy or if America has become desensitized to fascism. Especially, if the NO BAN act the bill created in opposition and as a response to the executive order dies in the Senate.

Conversely, socialism is not nearly as prevalent in current American politics. Historically, the Great Depression led many Americans to become disenchanted with capitalism, and under New Deal legislation, President Franklin Roosevelt passed several socialist-like policies such as social security. But in recent decades, weve seen the increasing resistance against socialist reforms from both moderate Democrats and Republicans. This trend, along with an anti-communist past, suggests that Americans may not accept socialism as a solution.

America has a complicated and often violent political history of militarism, imperialism, colonialism and nationalism. However, America has repeatedly demonized communism on American soil with the First Red Scare of 1919 and the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. Globally, America enacted military interventions and staged coup d'tats throughout and after the Cold War. Simultaneoulsy, America supported anti-communist militant dictators and regimes that perpetuated human rights abuses. If history is any indicator of the future, the American populace remains vehemently opposed or at least resistant to socialism. With the selection of former Vice President Joe Biden as the democratic nominee as opposed to Senator Bernie Sanders, it has become clear that even Democrats are not ready for a socialist leader. Despite the current trend of a rising population of young voters supporting socialism being a valid concern, there is subsequently a trend of electing older and older presidents, and opposition to socialism often increases with age.

In addition to the resistance of socialism among Democractic voters, there is even less support among politicians in Congress. Implementation of American socialism would require the unification of progressives and moderates, as well as the agreement of many Republicans. This is not likely to occur, at the very least, within the next four years. Additionally, progressive Democrats comprise a small fraction of Congress. Most are moderate Democrats who do not advocate for socialism, only agreeing with certain policies. The progressive agenda, including universal healthcare and the Green New Deal, continue to face resistance from moderate Democrats. Therefore, it is unlikely Congress would fully support truly socialist policies such as worker control.

Whether Trump wins the election or not, he has pushed the boundaries of democracy for himself while retracting it for many citizens. Trumps maneuvering of political roadblocks and what little power the opposition was able to exercise is disturbing and sets a precedent for future presidents. We, as the American people, must eliminate signs of fascism in its stead. We must protect the rights of minority groups, of women and of political opposition. As evidenced by history, fascism will not go away quietly. What has impeded the rise of fascist principles have been social movements led by the people. As citizens, as voters and as the American people, we have a moral obligation to squash fascism. We must extend the boundaries of our representative democracy, pushing against the roadblocks imposed by bureaucracy and partisan divide. We must be unafraid of change, unafraid of justice and unafraid of reform for the prosperity of current and future generations.

Yssis Cano-Santiago is a Viewpoint Writer for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com

The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.

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CANO-SANTIAGO: Fascism is a more legitimate threat to American democracy than socialism - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

Editor:

Theres so much confusion of economics with political systems. Can there be authoritarianism with a more or less socialist economic system? Sure. Its called state capitalism, although we tend to call it communism. Like Eden since the Fall, Marxist paradise has never been tried out. Its lost.

Can there be authoritarianism with a more or less capitalist economic system? Sure. Its called fascism. Ditto in the other direction, a more or less socialist economic system with a democratic form of government, confusingly called socialism, and a more or less capitalist economic system with a democratic form of government, confusingly called democracy.

So because Cuba, whence I come, is mired in the tyranny of communism does not mean that socialist countries in which democracy is the form of government cannot exist. The U.S. has had socialist elements for a long time, from public schools to public highways, from Social Security to Medicare and Medicaid. Some countries, notably European ones but also elsewhere, have more substantial socialist underpinnings.

Socialism does not mean tyranny. Tyranny means tyranny.

Alberto Cacicedo

Reading

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Letter: Let's clear up confusion over nature of socialism - Reading Eagle

Image by James Yang / The Chronicle

Socialism is when the state controls the means of production. That is, owns the factories and such where people work.

America is nothing like a socialist state at all. We are a democratic republic of states with a capitalist economy. No one wants to change that. Not even Bernie Sanders, who Ill admit made a grave marketing error in deciding to call himself a Democratic Socialist, opening the door for all uneducated alarmists to align him and anyone with the term social in their make-up, as communists which is, again, totally different from socialism.

Equating taxes that would allow everyone in the country to have health care, higher education, and housing to socialism is bunk. We pay taxes for schools, libraries, police departments, fire departments, roads, airports ports and the military. If taxes are socialist, then the U.S. military is the largest and most expensive socialist organization in the world. And everyone seems to have been fine with that since the middle of the last century.

Get a clue people. Look up the definitions of words once in a while. Stop buying into the propaganda.

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Letter: What socialism really is | Opinion | thechronicleonline.com - St. Helens Chronicle