Democrats embracing socialism is dangerous for America

The Democratic Party continues to go further to the extreme left. 

Their latest clarion call is the idea of “Democratic Socialism.” Socialism by any other name is still socialism, and trying to infiltrate it into our modern political process and system of government is dangerous. 
 
{mosads}There is no doubt that this new rise of socialism found in the base of the Democratic Party is a flawed economic ideology that must be challenged by all Americans who support free enterprise.

Sadly, too many big-name Democrats think it’s a great idea.

“Republicans are going to call us socialists no matter what we do,” said New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate and self-proclaimed socialist Cynthia Nixon at the Netroots conference this month. “So we might as well give them the real thing,” she concluded.

Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous recently responded to a question about his far-left leanings and how they might affect his electoral prospects with this answer: “go ahead, call me a socialist.” Okay, we will. It will only help Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, and I am okay with that. 
 
In less than a decade, what at one time seemed to be a small subsection of the Democratic coalition has become its loudest voice. In 2016, the Democratic base came close to handing avowed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) its party’s nomination. Reflecting on that election, Hillary Clinton claimed being a capitalist “probably” hurt her campaign. But we all know there was a lot more to point to than being a capitalist that led to her defeat to President Trump. 
 
In June, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District. Ocasio-Cortez ran on a full-blown socialist platform, which included calls for universal single-payer healthcare, “free” education for all, housing as a human right, guaranteed jobs, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Watch any number of her recent interviews and you will see she even struggles with articulating how to implement her own socialist ideas in our system of government. 
 
When Sanders introduced his socialist healthcare plan — Medicare for All — in Sept. 2017, 16 of Sanders’ Senate Democratic colleagues signed on as co-sponsors to the bill. Those cosponsors included other rumored presidential contenders such as Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of New York, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. 
 
A number of high-profile Democrats are also embracing the idea of a job guarantee as expressed by Ocasio-Cortez’s extreme platform. Booker has devised such a plan, as has Sanders. Gillibrand has also expressed her support for the proposal.

Some Democrats are backing the idea of universal basic income, a policy that is now officially part of the California Democratic Party’s platform. Former President Obama recently said that he supports such a policy.

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — to which Ocasio-Cortez belongs — are fast becoming the new face of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). They have already emerged as its loudest voice. The group advocates for things like the abolition of capitalism, the abolition of prisons, socialist healthcare, and calls for the boycott of Israel. In the 2017 local elections, 15 candidates affiliated with DSA were elected on the Democrat ticket.

I can not think of one modern socialist country that I would say, yes, this is what America should become. In fact, the list of successful socialist countries is as long as the list of presidential elections Secretary Clinton has won. But if they want to take one socialist country in the news right now to model, take a look at Venezuela. 
 
The South American country is now effectively a failed state thanks to the socialist policies pursued by Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro. Basic groceries in Venezuela are now a rare luxury. Citizens are actually losing weight because they don’t have food! The IMF announced this week that it expects inflation in the country to reach 1 million percent. 
 
Sir Winston Churchill famously said “the inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”

Socialism has been tried repeatedly — and it has repeatedly failed. At best it results in widespread poverty, and at worst it can lead to the deaths of millions of people. I would prefer none of the above here in America. 
 
Paris Dennard is a CNN political commentator and former official in the George W. Bush White House. Follow him on Twitter at @PARISDENNARD.