DSA Emerges As Major Rival To Democratic Establishment

American politics has always been a shifting contest between power and capital. For the modern Democratic Party, this means facing a serious rival in the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. That group challenges the establishment and sometimes overshadows it completely. There is little left for party leaders to do against its growing influence.

The United States has seen many political parties rise and fall over time. You have the Federalists starting in 1789, followed by the Whig Party in 1830. The Libertarian Party appeared in 1971, while the Green Party launched in 2001. The current Democratic Party dates back to 1828. It remains the longest-running major political party in American history.

These lesser-known parties once served a purpose. They checked the power of dominant groups or pushed specific issues forward. For example, the Greenback Party fought for paper money in the late 1800s. That group is gone today, yet paper currency has replaced gold as the main form of money in America. When the Whig party failed due to its own shortcomings, it paved the way for the Republican Party. Now, the Democratic Party faces a similar threat from DSA. This modern version of the Socialist Party began in 1901. Some also point to the American Communist Party, which started in 1919.

DSA candidates are running across the country. They have achieved no greater success than Zohran Mamdani's victory as Mayor of New York. Establishment Democrats are sounding alarms. The Wall Street Journal ran a headline calling it "A Small Band of Socialists Is Sowing Panic in the Democratic Party." NBC News wrote that a "Slumping Democratic establishment takes another blow with Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan win." Van Jones, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, warned recently that DSA was hijacking the party.

Some other Democrats welcome this shift. They say the Democratic Party is a big tent group. As noted in recent writings, both groups align on major issues like the Green New Deal, taxation, government healthcare, and defunding the police. However, the plain truth remains clear. The Democratic Party has no control over DSA. More importantly, it cannot stop that group from claiming its members are Democrats or redefining what the party stands for.

This situation exists because money escaped the tight grip of major parties twenty years ago. Before 2010, political parties dominated candidate selection through fundraising, endorsements, and spending. Their preferred candidates almost always won Democratic primaries in that era. Today, that power is nearly gone. We live in the Age of the Super PAC. In any given race, these groups can wield power that overpowers a major party.

The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC changed everything starting in 2010. A PAC could now raise and spend unlimited funds to support a candidate provided it does not coordinate with them. As the former chairman of the California Republican Party, I know that before Citizens United, political parties were essentially super PACs. No more.

Evidence of this shift is everywhere. For instance, Elizabeth Simons, the daughter of the late hedge fund billionaire Jim Simons, was involved in recent developments regarding funding and influence within these races.

A woman who shares a $32.5 billion fortune with her stepmother Marilyn and two siblings wrote a check for $250,000 to New Yorkers For Lower Costs. This main independent group branded itself as the "official support PAC to elect Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City."

New Yorkers for Lower Costs reported nearly $2 million in donations. It spent this money to back Mamdani. He likely could not have won without it.

Mamdani, a member of the DSA, entered the race for mayor of New York as a Democrat. No law prevents that move. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has run as a Democrat for years despite his socialist views.

The plain truth is that the Democrat Party holds no control over the DSA. They cannot stop it from calling its members "Democrats" or redefining the party identity.

Look at the Democrat National Committee today. It is not the center of political fundraising anymore. The party is broke, yet Democrats do not seem overly concerned. Instead, they will rely on super PACs to fight the midterms.

That dynamic did not exist before 2010. Nor is it likely to end soon.

Call it the age of the Super PAC. Right now, the DSA makes full use of this system. It endangers the longest reigning major political party in American history, the Democrats.