Will democratic socialism play well in Peoria?

OPINION:

At least in New York City, the Democratic Party’s symbol should be the hammer and sickle combined with a scimitar.

A trio of wins for Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidates for Democratic congressional nominations should serve as a red flag, literally and figuratively, for friends of Israel and proponents of democracy.

In the 10th Congressional District, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander easily ousted two-term Rep. Dan Goldman by a vote of 66% to 33.8%. Mr. Goldman is a certified progressive who served as lead counsel in the first impeachment of President Trump before his election to Congress and is at best a lukewarm supporter of Israel. Still, it was not enough for the anti-Zionist mob.

In a much-closer race, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a co-founder of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which organized the Gaza encampment two years ago, defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, by a vote of 49.4% to 45.9%.

Besides being pro-Hamas — she attended a rally for the terrorist group the day after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre — Ms. Chevalier is opposed to any deportations under any circumstances and wants to abolish prisons even for murderers.

Ms. Chevalier is a co-founder of Columbia University Apartheid Divest. The organization’s stated goal? “We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization. … As the fascism ingrained in the American consciousness becomes ever more explicit and irrefutable, we seek community and instruction from militants in the Global South, who have been on the frontlines in the fight against tyranny and domination which undergird the imperialist world order.”

In the fight for an open seat in the 7th Congressional District, New York State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez won handily against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso by 56% to 36% of the vote. The contest came down to who is more anti-Israel. Both called Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip “genocidal,” but Ms. Valdez accused Mr. Reynoso of taking too long to smear the Jewish state.

Because all three of the DSA-endorsed candidates won in deep-blue districts, it is a foregone conclusion that they will join the Democratic Death Squad in Congress.

What was once the party of Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, all stalwart supporters of Israel, has become the party of insane influencer Hasan Piker, who calls Israel a “settler colonial operation” and says America deserved 9/11, when 3,000 Americans died. On Tuesday night, he called out Ritchie Torres, a Democratic progressive who is supportive of Israel, after nine of his endorsed candidates won their New York primaries.

“Ritchie Torres, I know you won tonight. I’ll see you in two years, motherf——-. I’m coming for you,” Mr. Piker warned. “Every day, every time there’s a decision that you can make where you are pro-Israel, I hope you remember.”

A threat reminiscent of the Nazis in the years leading up to World War II.

The far-left victories in New York show the Democratic Party’s ongoing shift from establishment left to bizarro left.

If Ms. Chevalier and Ms. Valdez are the new faces of the Democratic Party, Republicans should do everything they can to show those faces to voters in Middle America in the midterm election campaigns. Let us see whether what is popular in the city that elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani plays well in Peoria, as the old saying goes.