OPINION — Frustration with political institutions and the current state of affairs in America is running high. A Gallup report shows that confidence in most of our institutions is at a low 27%. A Pew Research poll revealed that six in 10 Americans think the country’s best days are behind us. The frustration is real, and it helps explain the otherwise inexplicable appeal of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Many people still do not know what the Democratic Socialists of America stand for, although their platform is easily available. The proposals are patently absurd, and all of this would be quite amusing if it were not for the desperate way that people are turning to it and voting for its candidates. In difficult times, people can make poor choices, and the DSA is definitely one. And yet DSA members hold over 250 public offices in the country today, and many more have won primary elections in recent weeks.
The first thing to understand about the DSA is that it may be “of” America, but it is not “for” America. Their proposals constitute a complete rejection of American institutions, the Constitution and our economic system. The party platform says quite clearly, “We need a new political system.”
