Recent polls show steady growth in support for socialism among Democrats. A new CBS poll shows how popular it is, with 58 percent holding a positive view of socialism—26 points more than the 32 percent with a positive view of capitalism. This may explain why House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, while rejecting core parts of its platform, embraced Democratic Socialists this week as part of the Democratic Party. In addition to a variety of anti-Semitic figures within its ranks, the DSA wants to get rid of the presidency, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and other institutions (as well as borders, immigration enforcement, and much of private property).
Yet, Jeffries still believes they share values and wants them to be part of the Democratic party.
In other words, there are many “fine people” in the DSA despite being committed to the destruction of our core institutions.
The poll also found that 24 percent of Democrats have “no opinion” of socialism, while 18 percent have no opinion regarding capitalism.
Other polling shows similar results.
An Economist/YouGov survey recently found that 62 percent of Democrats said they would vote for a “Democratic Socialist” candidate.
At the same time, Democratic Socialists have been spinning fables about the Framers not opposing those who acquire too much wealth. They also repeat the mythology that socialism has worked in other countries. It destroyed the economies in France and Great Britain.
Nevertheless, British prime minister, Andy Burnham declared that he wants to restore the policies of 40 years ago, before the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.
In his own version of promising the “warmth of collectivism,” Burnham declared, “The country surrendered control of the essentials — housing, water, energy, transport — and left people exposed to higher costs.”
Burnham’s account leaves out that the supposed golden age under Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, which he was referencing, led in 1977 to the so-called “winter of discontent.” Those policies destroyed the British economy, and the nation was faced with the humiliation of being rescued by the International Monetary Fund as if it were some banana republic.
Ultimately, capitalist policies were restored by Margaret Thatcher and the economy rebounded.
In “Rage and the Republic,” I discuss the economic philosophy of the Founders in exploring the history and future of this unique Republic.
Notably, this is also the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Smith’s free-market theory was an instant hit with the founding generation. These men had just created the first major Enlightenment Revolution based on a belief in natural rights that came from God, not governments.
Yet, they knew that true individual liberty could not be achieved without economic freedom. Smith’s economic theory was the perfect companion for their political theory. Rage and the Republic discusses the rise of socialism in the United States and around the world. It calls for a recommitment to what I call a “liberty-enhancing economy.”
The Democratic leaders from Harris to Buttigieg to Newsom believe that they can ride this rage wave into power by offering up core American institutions. They wrongly believe that the mob will destroy their enemies, but not themselves.
History has proven them wrong time and time again.
This election is shaping up to be arguably the most important in our history as we fight for the identity of this Republic on its 250th anniversary. We have come face to face with Benjamin Franklin’s warning that this is a Republic if we can keep it.
Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 15:20Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,
Even Bill Maher has finally had enough. The longtime left-leaning comedian used his HBO platform to deliver a blunt message that cuts through years of open-borders ideology: if you want the American dream, you take American values with it. No exceptions. No special pleading. And no, it's not "racist" to say so.
On a recent episode of Real Time, Maher laid out a straightforward standard that should never have become controversial. Immigrants are not free to reject the foundation of the country they chose to enter.
"If you want the American dream, you have to take the American values," he said. "But you have to answer one question: Do you like Western civilization? Because that's what we are. And that's not negotiable."
? BILL MAHER: THE AMERICAN DREAM COMES WITH AMERICAN VALUES
Maher says immigrants are welcome to bring their food, language, religion and traditions — but America's fundamental values aren't up for negotiation.
"If you want the American dream, you have to take the American... pic.twitter.com/bt9jopmFur
Maher was careful to note that while some immigrants still seek to assimilate, the problem is a growing contingent that treats the melting pot with open contempt. "Melting pot? F - you, you melt," was how he characterized the new attitude.
He listed practices that remain firmly off-limits: honor killings, forcing women to cover their faces, polygamy, cousin marriage, and female genital mutilation. "There's lots of stuff we don't do here, and it's non-negotiable."
These, he stressed, are not "White values."
They are liberal values - gay rights, women's equality, free speech, separation of religion and state - that people fought and died to establish.
"It's not racist to say if you want to come here to help form a more perfect union, great. But some things are too fundamental to change," Maher stressed.
He went further, calling out progressive politicians who quietly soft-pedal those same liberal values when they collide with Muslim sensitivities.
He cited Democratic congressional candidate Melissa Chaudhry, who reportedly explained the absence of LGBTQ issues on her website by saying "a lot of Muslims do not feel that way, unfortunately."
Maher's response was direct:
"Is this the progressive policy now? ... We throw gay people under the bus any time it clashes with what makes Muslims uncomfortable?"
He also dismantled activist Linda Sarsour's line that "Our number one priority is our community. It is not to assimilate." Maher's reply: "OK, but that's not really how immigration works."
He offered a simple analogy. Move to Japan and start demanding they abandon their customs for yours, and see how far that goes.
Maher rejected the usual smear. Accusations of "Islamophobia," he said, are "just a bulls - word to cow people into not talking about this."
His concern is not skin color or demographic change. "I don't give a s - about colors. ... I care about liberal values being replaced by illiberal ones."
That clarity stands in stark contrast to the direction taken across the Atlantic. In Britain, the official response to mass migration and parallel cultural demands has been the opposite of Maher's: expand the list of protected sensitivities, log criticism, and punish those who refuse to self-censor.
Maher's monologue is not a sudden conversion to America First realism. It is a late recognition that a society which refuses to defend its own foundational principles will eventually lose them.
The United States still has the cultural confidence - and the political space - to draw the line he described. Britain's experience shows what happens when that confidence is abandoned in favor of managed decline and institutional self-censorship.
Assimilation is not oppression. It is the price of entry into a successful civilization. Maher finally said it out loud. The only remaining question is how many more on the left will admit the same before the damage becomes irreversible.
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Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 14:40