Free Republic

Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York City's mayoral race shows what's coming for America's big cities — because it follows the socialist-populist playbook once wielded by Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Each promised equality and delivered ruin. Each created enemies to consolidate control. Each left behind poverty, censorship, and exile. New York, once the capital of capitalism, has now chosen a man eager to run the same playbook. And when the consequences come — as they always do — they won't stay contained to the five boroughs. Florida has become the new New York, and Miami-Dade...

Internal planning documents reveal that the Democratic Socialists of America is preparing to use its influence over newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani to advance an aggressive political program that reaches far beyond ordinary city governance and deep into socialist and anti-Israel activism. According to a leaked strategy file from the group’s Anti-War Working Group (AWWG), obtained by Just the News, the DSA intends to “make the terms clear going in” for Mamdani’s administration, explicitly linking its support to his willingness to carry out the organization’s agenda. Notes from internal meetings stress the need to “make it clear to electeds that...

Tucker Carlson mounted a full-throated defense of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) in Thursday morning’s edition of the former Fox News host’s newsletter. Under the sub-header, “Jews for Mamdani,” Carlson wrote the following: "You saw the campaign attacks against Zohran Mamdani. He’s a socialist! True. He’s a communist! Possibly true. He’s an antisemite! Wait, what? Is the incoming mayor a fan of Israel? Does he want America to fight its wars? Not particularly. But a Jew hater? That’s a different conversation. We’ve never seen anything to suggest he falls into that ugly camp. Because he doesn’t. He plainly...

Believe or not, there exists a rather poorly financed Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, devoted to documenting evils of Communism. Not very surprisingly, they do not get too much money, mostly from the real victims. https://victimsofcommunism.org In my mind they should get like 100x more money than BLM ACLU or SPLC. They are actually nonpolitical, some Democrats (Lantos) were members. So "freedom loving" "immigrant concerned" Soros, antifa and ACLU should chip in, but they do not! I am wondering, when will NYC qualify for membership? When will the refugees from Mamdani terror be able to claim a seat at the...

New York City has elected a democratic socialist as its next mayor. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won with a progressive platform focused on making the city more affordable, through free bus service, frozen rents, universal childcare and a higher minimum wage, among other ideas. The state assemblymember represented both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party on the ballot. He quoted prominent late-19th and early-20th century socialist Eugene Debs in his victory speech Tuesday night. And he is a longtime member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Introduction In 1997 Ralph Raico published an article titled “Keynes and the Reds.” Raico’s article highlighted John Maynard Keynes’s review of a 1936 book by the British socialists Sidney and Beatrice Webb called Soviet Communism. In his review, Keynes discusses Joseph Stalin’s USSR and concludes: “The result is impressive.” For Raico, a historian in the classical liberal tradition, this statement contradicts the conventional idea that Keynes was a model liberal.

Will & Grace actress Debra Messing has courted backlash after sharing on election day a political meme suggesting that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a "jihadist." As Americans headed to the polls Tuesday, the 57-year-old Emmy winner reposted an image on her verified Instagram Story from another account called The Persian Jewess. The original image showed an edited ballot that listed two candidates: One that read, "A Democrat. Just a Democrat," and the other that said, "An actual communist jihadist. A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist." The Persian Jewess account initially shared the image with a caption...

Will & Grace actress Debra Messing has courted backlash after sharing on election day a political meme suggesting that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a "jihadist." As Americans headed to the polls Tuesday, the 57-year-old Emmy winner reposted an image on her verified Instagram Story from another account called The Persian Jewess. The original image showed an edited ballot that listed two candidates: One that read, "A Democrat. Just a Democrat," and the other that said, "An actual communist jihadist. A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist."

Don’t forget—especially if you’re a teacher—Friday, November 7, is Victims of Communism Day. If you want to reach your students, the above site teaches the magnitude of communism’s horrors forcefully and quickly. It’s like the Black Book of Communism condensed to a 1-minute perusal.

There’s no getting around it: Our "corporate media" is down on capitalism, and a new poll showing a growing disdain for the foundation of American economic thought shows the media tilt may be working -- or the professorial tilt. An NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters found that support for capitalism fell under 50 percent for the first time in seven years. The chilling shift “comes as some democratic socialists, like New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, gain prominence in the Democratic Party,” NBC News national politics reporter Ben Kamisar wrote in his November 2 item. Only 44 percent...

Attempting to bargain with the Left is futile. The current Schumer shutdown amply illuminates their fanaticism, quest for power, and economic illiteracy. What’s more, the four long, hard years before the second Trump administration offered endless clues as to how far the Democrats and the Left in general have regressed. ... What is the common denominator to the socially destructive, heart-sickening behaviors which we’ve witnessed repeatedly? Each and every activity of the Left, from the minuscule to the monumental, in one way or another, is undertaken to diminish the status, strength, and sovereignty of America. Whether it's attempting to flood...

Once communism kicks in, there's no way out. Sure, communism has always failed and will ultimately fail in New York City, but one should expect early “funded” success. The market factors that trigger capital flight take time. Wealthy people and corporations take time to relocate to more tax-friendly environments. It takes time to sell whatever real estate assets one may possess in “the City.” With increased supply and a depressed forecast for investment, many will either hold their asset(s) or take the loss. Either option delays the inevitable. The DNC, globalists, and Zohran Mamdani’s Muslim, and sadly, Jewish, backers will...

What is the source of the wealth of a nation? That’s actually the question addressed by Adam Smith in “The Wealth of Nations.” Smith doesn’t put it in these exact terms, but his answer lies in some combination of hard work of the people plus figuring out how to work more efficiently through specialization and exchange. And then there’s the other theory that the wealth just appears somehow, by luck or magic (or maybe by oppression of marginalized peoples). Which theory you buy into has everything to do with what you might think are appropriate public policies. At Hot Air...

Can a Christian be a communist? I answer that question with an emphatic “no.” In the first place, it leaves out God and Jesus Christ. It regards religion intellectually as the product of fear and ignorance. And it regards religion historically as an instrument serving the ends of exploiters. A second reason that we can’t accept communism is that its methods are opposed to Christianity. Since for the communist there is no divine or absolute moral order…force, violence, murder, and lying are all justifiable means to bring about the millennial end… In the third place, we have to disagree with...

Young people seem to have a favorable view of socialism. This comes as somewhat of a surprise to older generations, whose experiences with that doctrine have understandably led to less approving opinions of it. It seems that young people approve of socialism in defiance of indisputable facts. Relevant facts may be summarized in such observations as “socialism has failed every time it has been tried,” and “socialism has been responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths in the last century.” Despite readily available evidence in support of these assertions, young people seem unmoved by them. The reasons for this are...

The troubling rise of Zohran Mamdani is about more than policy. It's about culture.A self-proclaimed socialist is on track to become New York City's next mayor. The rise of Zohran Mamdani represents a troubling moment in American politics. In some ways, his candidacy isn't a radical departure from the mainstream Democratic Party. He promises to "freeze the rent for millions," make buses "free" in part to prevent disgruntled riders from attacking bus drivers, and provide "universal" (i.e., government-sponsored) day care. When Kamala Harris ran for president, she pledged to "cap unfair rent increases" by suing corporate landlords. Elizabeth Warren regularly...

The only upside to living through this dark time is it pushes us to rethink and perhaps totally remake things we once thought immutable. Like the Democratic party. In case you hadn’t noticed, the current Democratic party is dysfunctional, if not dead. Better dysfunctional than a fascist cult like the Trump Republican party. But if there were ever a time when America needed a strong, vibrant Democratic party, it’s now. And we don’t have one. The brightest light in the Democratic party is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old member of the New York state assembly who has a good chance of...

Those aren’t the bills they’re looking for. Gov. Kathy Hochul bizarrely tried to run interference on the embarrassing “tax the rich” chants she was heckled with at Zohran Mamdani‘s rally — claiming Monday she thought it was a pro-Buffalo Bills chorus. “I thought they were saying ‘Let’s go Bills,’” she said when pressed by a Post reporter over the anti-fat cat chant.“I wasn’t sure… I heard some noise, I heard a lot of cheers. But later on it became clear to me, I know there is a passion for that.” The Democratic governor’s appearance Sunday at the “New York is...

The same Americans who embraced the cutsie socialism of the No Kings protests are completely ignorant about actual socialism. As Bill Maher once laid bare, “For Millennials, the word socialism doesn’t conjure up images of Stalin and Castro, it conjures up images of naked Danish people on a month-long paid vacation…it’s not such a jarring proposition when socialism comes along and says you are entitled to free stuff.” That casual humor hides a grave reality: a growing portion of Democrats embrace an ideology they do not truly understand, mistaking state control and economic tyranny for harmless perks. This misunderstanding has...

Millions of student loan borrowers will see the “light at the end of the tunnel” after the Trump administration agreed to reinstate loan forgiveness plans it had partially blocked following a court battle. The Trump administration reached an agreement with the American Federation of Teachers to approve student debt cancellation for millions of borrowers who continually make their regular payments. The AFT and Department of Education came to an agreement Friday to begin cancelling student loans for borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans... “This is a tremendous win for borrowers. With today’s filing, borrowers can rest a little easier,” said...