Democrats and Democratic Socialists; Current Events

This is a cross-post from the Straight Talk About Politics Group. Original group can be found here:
https://www.meetup.com/straight-talk-about-politics-and-more/events/315816220
Please sign up for the event in the original group, linked just above. The Zoom link will only be posted there to help guard against Zoom bombers. Thank you for understanding.

First there was Bernie Sanders. For a long time, there was just Bernie.

But then there was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. House Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, Jamaal Bowman and others. Mayors Zohran Mamdani and Brandon Johnson.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has become one of the most successful ideological movements inside the Democratic Party in decades. Rather than competing against Democrats, DSA has largely pursued a strategy of electing democratic socialists and socialist-aligned progressives in Democratic primaries, steadily moving the party to the left. The trend continues in this election cycle: Claire Valdez, Melat Kiros, and Darializa Avila Chevalier all won high-profile Democratic primaries for Congressional seats, in some cases beating long-serving incumbents.

DSA’s influence on the Democratic Party, however, has been most evident in policy priorities. Once considered fringe causes, Medicare for All, Green New Deal, federal jobs guarantees, tuition-free public college, universal child care, expanded union rights, rent stabilization and tenant protections, wealth taxes, student debt cancellation, etc. are increasingly issues Democratic candidates are running on and, when successful in that, trying to implement.

So, will DSA be successful in taking over the Democratic Party? Or has that effectively already happened? And would it be bad for America? DSA’s program and platform also includes goals like abolishing Senate and appointing the President and Supreme Court by the House of Representatives, nationalizing large swaths of the economy, ending incarceration, defunding police, opening the border, abolishing ICE, ending all aid to Israel and supporting Palestine, closing all US military bases on foreign soil, as well as the Department of War.

Speaking of war, it has almost fully come back to Iran, and the cease fire is dead. What should the US do there, going forward? Should Congress continue to fund the war effort?

Are there any other issues, foreign or domestic, you would like to discuss? Come and share your opinion in a passionate, but respectful discussion. Or just bring your popcorn, sit back and listen to the others talk it over.