A group of conservative Democrats in the House tried to one-up Republicans this week with a competing piece of legislation aimed at condemning the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and socialism in “all its forms,” after the GOP proposed an anti-socialist resolution that called for the passage of their marquee voter suppression legislation.
Last week, Republican Rep. Jeff Crank (Colorado) introduced a resolution that calls for the “condemnation and denouncement of socialism.” It calls out DSA, condemning the recent wave of DSA members running for Congress and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and says that DSA’s ideology is “incompatible with American values.”
The resolution clunkily segues into a call for the House to pass the GOP’s SAVE America Act, which puts burdensome restrictions on voting regarding ID requirements and proof of citizenship that civil rights advocates say would be the worst voter suppression bill ever passed by Congress.
The resolution reportedly infuriated some Democrats in the House — not because of the sweeping condemnation of an increasingly popular ideology among Democrats, but because the resolution contained the clause about passing SAVE America.
Unfortunately, there’s no mechanism to make that happen over night. What we’re seeing with the DSA is the first step in replacing them all. You’ll have a tough time convincing people stuck in there ways to vote more progressive, but the successes that Mamdani is having in NY and potentially other locations will hopefully spread and start to help turn that tide.
If people start actually feeling the benefits of progressive policies, some will start changing their views. The primaries have shown that tide is starting to shift. Hopefully we can ride that wave, get through a corrupt midterm, and maybe start to steer the ship in the right direction.