Who’s afraid of the Democratic Socialists?
They may prove to be the left’s populist alternative to Trumpism
In the campaign to be mayor of New York City, opponents of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner, are bashing him for also belonging to another party, the Democratic Socialists of America. Does he agree with the DSA’s call to close jails? To cut the police budget to zero? To stop arresting people for misdemeanours? As Mr Mamdani tries to edge centreward without repudiating the Democratic Socialists, he is telling reporters his platform is different from that of the DSA.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Left ahead”
From the September 13th 2025 edition
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San Francisco’s recall fever
How much democracy is too much?
The pitfalls of being a non-profit that is beholden to government
Planned Parenthood and the consequences of defunding it
Charlie Kirk challenged liberals until the day he was murdered
The activist embodied a fiery style of conservatism and energised young voters
The ICE raid at Hyundai was a massive own goal
Georgia spent years wooing the foreign carmaker
The invasion of Chicago has been postponed
Lots of headlines, some protests, but no crackdown
A budget battle offers Democrats a chance to show some backbone
They need a clearer strategy first