US House Votes to Condemn Socialism With Help From Democrats.

Rachel Hurley 

11-21-25

Rachelandthecity.com

JFC. Does ANYONE in power have any sense at all?

The House voted this morning to condemn socialism - 285 to 98 - just hours before NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House at 3 PM. 

Eighty-six Democrats joined Republicans in this performative garbage, including Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Mamdani just three weeks ago but apparently needs to distance himself from the democratic socialist running America's largest city before he walks into the Oval Office.

Maria Salazar, whose parents fled Cuba, led the charge with a resolution that denounces socialism "in all its forms." The timing is supposedly a coincidence - they just happened to schedule this vote for the same Friday morning that Mamdani meets Trump. Sure it was. Just like it's a coincidence that Republicans have been promising to make Mamdani the "new, radical face of the Democratic Party" for their 2026 attack ads.

Here's what makes this particularly insane. Mamdani isn't some fringe candidate who squeaked through on a technicality. He crushed Andrew Cuomo twice - once in the June primary, again in the November general. He brought out more voters than any NYC mayoral race since 1969. Young people actually showed up. Working-class communities that usually sit out local elections came out in droves. 

But instead of learning from that success, 86 Democrats decided to preemptively surrender to Republican framing right before their own mayor sits down with a hostile president. Josh Gottheimer stood up there warning about "government-run grocery stores" like that's the real threat to America. Meanwhile, people can't afford groceries at the corporate-run ones we have now, but sure, let's focus on the hypothetical socialist produce section.

The whole thing is ASININE. Byron Donalds claimed socialism "always leads to a destruction of liberties" while Trump literally threatens to withhold federal funding from cities that don't kiss his ring. Trump demands companies hand over stock to the government - actual government seizure of private property - but we're supposed to be terrified of a mayor who wants to make buses free.

Maxine Waters tried to point out the obvious hypocrisy. She asked why Republicans are silent when Trump follows "Chinese communist tactics" by demanding equity stakes in companies. Nobody answered her because this was never about principles. It was about making sure Democrats help Republicans paint their own mayor as an extremist right before his crucial White House meeting.

What Mamdani actually wants isn't radical at all. Freeze rents on rent-stabilized apartments. Universal childcare. A higher minimum wage. Free buses. These aren't Soviet five-year plans. They're policies that exist in countries Republicans vacation to. Norway has most of this stuff. So does Denmark. Last I checked, Copenhagen hasn't devolved into a gulag.

The resolution lists Stalin, Mao, Castro - all the greatest hits - as if Mamdani is planning to collectivize Central Park. Meanwhile, the actual authoritarians are the ones threatening "seditious treason" charges against Democrats, sending the National Guard to blue cities, and demanding loyalty oaths from federal workers. But yeah, the real danger is a Muslim democratic socialist mayor who wants people to afford rent.

Even better is watching Jeffries try to thread this needle. When asked if he condemns socialism yesterday, he just kept repeating "strong floor, no ceiling" like he was having a stroke. Three times he said it. The top House Democrat couldn't just say "I support the policies that New York City voters overwhelmingly chose." He endorsed Mamdani on October 24th. Three weeks later, he's voting to basically condemn him hours before the guy has to negotiate with Trump.

The Democrats who voted for this think they're being strategic. They think distancing themselves from socialism will protect them in the suburbs. What they're actually doing is validating every Republican attack line while alienating the exact voters who just proved they'll show up when you give them something to vote for.

Republicans will still call every Democrat a socialist. They called Biden - BIDEN - a socialist. They called Hillary a socialist. They said Obama was a secret Muslim socialist from Kenya. Voting for this resolution doesn't buy you protection. It just shows them you're scared.

Here's the pattern that drives me insane. Every time a progressive wins something meaningful, Democrats rush to denounce them harder than they ever denounce Republicans. 

When AOC won in 2018, half the party spent more energy distancing themselves from her than from kids in cages. When Sanders almost won the primary, they acted like he was more dangerous than Trump.

The particularly stupid part is that Democrats use socialist programs every day and their constituents love them. Medicare? Socialist. Social Security? Socialist. Public schools? Socialist. The fire department? Socialist. The interstate highway system? Socialist. But god forbid we apply the same principle to childcare or housing.

Mark Pocan tried to add an amendment declaring that Social Security and Medicare aren't socialism. Republicans blocked it. They know exactly what game they're playing. They want to use this vote to justify cutting the programs people actually depend on while Democrats are too cowardly to defend them.

Tom Suozzi, who voted for the resolution, tweeted that the answer isn't "the populism of Donald Trump or Zohran Mamdani." Imagine thinking those two things are equivalent. One threatens the death penalty for "seditious treason." The other wants to freeze rent. Clearly the same level of threat to democracy.

While 86 Democrats were busy condemning socialism this morning, Mamdani was boarding a plane to face down a president who calls him a "communist lunatic" and questions whether he's even legally in the country. Mamdani became a citizen in 2018. Trump was born here and tried to overthrow the government. Guess which one Democrats just condemned?

 

The resolution claims socialist ideology promotes "a concentration of power." You know what actually concentrates power? Billionaires buying Supreme Court justices. Tech monopolies controlling all information. Three companies owning every rental property in your city. But sure, worry about the theoretical state-owned grocery store while actual monopolies destroy the economy.

 

What really happened here is that Democrats got spooked by Mamdani's success. They saw a young, Muslim, democratic socialist win big in New York and immediately thought "we need to distance ourselves from this before his meeting with Trump." 

Not "maybe we should learn from this." Not "perhaps voters want bold solutions to actual problems." Just pure, reflexive COWARDICE.

In a few hours, Mamdani will walk into the Oval Office with Trump already threatening to strip NYC of federal funding. And instead of backing their mayor, House Democrats just gave Trump ammunition by condemning the very ideology New Yorkers voted for.

The future of the Democratic Party just proved you can win by standing for something real. And the response from House Democrats was to immediately, publicly reject everything about it right before he needs their support most.

They're condemning their own future while enabling the actual authoritarians. They're so scared of being called socialists that they'd rather help Republicans destroy popular programs than defend them. They're more worried about hypothetical government grocery stores than actual corporate monopolies.

Frankly, nobody in power has any sense at all.