Senator John Thune’s Weekly Column: Socialism Finds A Home With Democrats

Socialism Finds A Home With Democrats
By Sen. John Thune

There’s no doubt that the Democrat Party has moved left in recent years, but lately the party has taken a step further toward full-blown socialism. New York City’s mayor – a self-proclaimed democratic socialist – might be the most notable example, but he’s far from alone. Around the country, socialists and socialism are gaining a prominent new role in the Democrat Party.

When you look at the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, right away you see some predictable things, namely government control. Democratic socialists believe the government should be in charge of health care, business, housing, education, and energy. Essentially, they want to make the government the ultimate decision-maker in most aspects of Americans’ lives.

Freedom and choice are important aspects of the American way of life, especially here in South Dakota. But freedom and choice don’t last very long when government takes over. Take health care as an example. Under democratic socialism, the traditional doctor-patient relationship would involve a third party: the government. It’s the government that would decide what health care Americans can receive, what medications they can take, and when and where they can access care.

In most respects, democratic socialists’ vision involves a bigger government, but they do have a couple of things they would like to cut. They would like to defund the Pentagon, abolish immigration enforcement, and eliminate the police. Their official platform calls for “fully abolishing the police and prison system.” In what world are communities safer after abolishing police and prisons? That’s the world democratic socialists would like to bring about.

Republicans have spent the last two years implementing a much different agenda. We’ve gotten government out of the way, reducing taxes and cutting burdensome regulations that drive up costs. We made significant investments in border security, and in our national defense. And we’ve focused on helping create new opportunities for the next generation to get ahead and live their American Dream.

Democratic socialists may have a home in the Democrat Party, but their ideas remain far outside the mainstream in America. The American people don’t want a radical expansion of government. They don’t want to defund the police or abolish prisons and borders. Freedom, choice, and opportunity are still the American way, and they are at the heart of Republicans’ vision for our future.

###