Appeasement, Containment and the Democrats’ Internal War

Beneath signs of Democrats’ midterm momentum is evidence of a longer-term strategic failure. Democrats’ dual strategy of appeasing and containing their democratic socialist interlopers is collapsing.

The Democrats and their civil war

Less than two months from November’s midterms, generic ballot polling gives Democrats reason for optimism. According to RealClearPolitics’ average of these polls, on Sept. 20, Democrats held an 8.1-point advantage; even Rasmussen, which has historically been more favorable to Republicans and very accurate, gives Democrats a 5-point advantage.

Yet beneath this battle’s surface is evidence that Democrats are losing the war – their internal war. Democrats’ favorable November polling is increasingly bolstered by the growing numbers of democratic socialists within the party. This internal socialist surge is not limited to those candidates seeking Democratic nominations; it includes growing numbers of Democrats who are supporting them and propelling them to victory.

To appreciate this dynamic, step back from today’s snapshot to a montage from the last decade.

Ten years ago, in 2016’s Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders was a gadfly socialist upstart taking a quixotic joust at Hillary Clinton’s establishment windmill. The party establishment pulled out all stops to shut Bernie down; even so, he went the distance and lost the nomination only because of the establishment’s control of the super delegates who in turn gave Hillary the nomination.

Ten years later: Who is more influential now, Hillary or Bernie?

Appeasement and containment have failed

The 2016 presidential was not a one-off exercise. In 2016, the party establishment did everything possible behind the scenes to stop Sanders, but they did not lash out at his supporters or those calling themselves socialists. This established a Democratic Party pattern of appeasement and containment of their socialist gate-crashers.

The problem for today’s Democrats is that the socialists now are not just Bernie. They have come in a steady succession. 

In 2018, there came “the Squad” with two of its young women members (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib) having DSA roots and receiving its backing, while garnering loads of attention. More would follow in the intervening congressional elections; the ranks of those claiming to be socialists would grow and the ranks of so-called “progressives” would grow even more.

In 2025, Zohran Mamdani in New York and Katie Wilson in Seattle would win big-city mayoral races as socialists on both coasts. In 2026, more democratic socialists are contesting and winning Democratic primaries, often taking out establishment Democrats in the process.

Interspersed throughout Democrats’ decade of democratic socialist ascendancy have been additional near misses where the party establishment’s candidates barely survived.

Through it all, the Democrat establishment have neither rejected the DSA nor denounced them. Instead, they have “given” them deep blue areas, allowing (appeasing) them to run and win there, while fighting tooth and nail to keep them out (containing) of swing areas where democratic socialists would likely lose a general election.

A rearguard action

As the accelerating pace of the 10 last years has shown, Democrats’ strategy amounts to a rearguard action at best. Don’t believe it? Then ask the earlier Hillary-Bernie question more broadly: Who is more influential now, the Democratic establishment or democratic socialists? Where does the party’s energy reside?

Democrats’ attempts at appeasement are implicit acceptance of their democratic socialist interlopers. This has only encouraged more and added to their numbers across the party. And their attempts at containment have still allowed democratic socialists’ agenda into Congress and forced divisive votes for establishment members outside of deep-blue areas.

This short-term approach has created a long-term problem. Democratic socialists are not going away; instead, they are flocking into the party. 

Following current trends, democratic socialists soon will not be containable within deep-blue bastions (as evidence: the Florida Senate race). As their numbers increase, they will rebel against the party establishment’s impediments (as DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz suffered in 2016).

Democrats’ appeasement and containment strategy is only a short-term solution, papering over the party’s 10-year problem that continues growing underneath. Donald Trump has helped immensely in this regard, consolidating opposition and quelling divisive dissent. But in two years, Trump’s departure will rip this paper off.

The Democrats will fracture

Eventually, Democrats will fracture on the fissures that radical democratic socialists are opening within the party: antisemitism, transgender policies, wealth taxes, an extreme green agenda, Medicare for All, open borders, Defund the Police, DEI, the latest DSA agenda to gut the Supreme Court and presidency’s independence, elimination of the Senate, socializing of large corporations and “essential” industries, and more. Already, there are signs that the party is cracking: Just ask Sen. John Fetterman, former Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, or knowledgeable insiders like Rahm Emanuel and James Carville. 

Appeasing and containing, even if these were working, are not the same as excising. And it is excising that Democrats needed to do 10 years ago – and now must do – before it is too late.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.