Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNP CommentKelly McParland: Could Democrats blow another chance to contain Trump?The party remains clueless as to why it keeps losingLast updated 9 hours ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier speaks during the "Our Team, Our Year" Get Out The Vote (GOTV) rally at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 2026. Photo by KENA BETANCUR /AFP via Getty ImagesEveryone’s talking about the big socialist upsurge in the U.S.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIn reality it’s not that big an uprising. The “national leftward pull,” as cited in one news report, consisted of a handful of primary victories in New York and Colorado, two Democratic states choosing among Democrats for November’s mid-term elections. The revolution, as such, consists of parts of the country that were already inclined towards leftyism showing signs of feeling even more lefty than usual.Still, it’s captured a lot of attention. Numerous newssitespronounced the results a “socialist sweep.” The New York Post termed it “anti-Israel, anti-capitalist” as well. Fox News warned MAGAites that “the Democratic Socialists of America are dictating their terms and sending warnings to the Democratic Party not to cross them.”This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThat elements of the left would be feeling more than a little agitated with the performance of the Democratic establishment is entirely reasonable: The two most senior elected Democrats remain Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. HakeemJeffries, two New York political lifers drawn from the usual old guard cast of characters, the ones who thought Hillary Clinton was a sure bet to beat Donald Trump in 2016, couldn’t come up with anyone younger or more vibrant than Joe Biden in 2020 and lacked the nerve to keep Biden from self-destructing in 2024 until it was far too late.Eighteen months into Donald Trump’s second term there’s no indication a greater sense of vigour has seized the party’s upper echelons. The most talked about figure remains Bernie Sanders, the 84-year-old senator from Vermont who isn’t even a party member but caucuses with Democrats for the sake of convenience. Potential candidates for the 2028 election include a pair of weather-beaten names: California Gov. Gavin Newsom — direct from a high-cost, high-tax state known for its crime and homelessness crises and its inability to deal with wildfires, and former vice-president Kamala Harris, another Californian who’s already lost once to Trump but doesn’t think it was her fault.Outside the cobwebbed confines of the party’s leadership there’s a pervasive worry. Among that portion of the population fervently praying for deliverance from an increasingly madcap White House, anything that threatens the chances of outpacing Republicans in November’s midterms is reason for alarm. Having blown their chances repeatedly, the likelihood they’ll do it again can’t be dismissed.According to pollsters, upward of six in 10 Americans has reached the conclusion the Trump team of grifters, billionaires, opportunists and oddballs is a pox on the country and needs to be stopped before it can rename the capital in his honour and require all newborns to be painted with orange faces.Why it took them so long is a question for later. For now the task is to avoid fumbling the last chance they’ll have before 2028 to put a halt to the turmoil. A sharp lurch to the left would certainly be one way to snatch a late-game defeat.New York has established itself as the cradle of the radical cause. The city that established Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the country’s official angry young Democrat followed it up by electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor. Choosing a Muslim in the largest concentration of Jewish residents outside Israel was certainly a novelty, but the startled reaction was a bit overdone given that the best party elders could manage as a rival was the disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, still living down the sexual allegations that drove him from office.With the energetic, articulate young Mamdani in the vanguard, suddenly everyone from Staten Island to Yonkers is a democratic socialist and government-run food stores are all the rage. In the pre-November primaries the insurgents added to their ranks from a slate of what the Associated Press called “Mamdani’s slate of fiery progressives.”Three establishment-backed candidates were rejected in favour of Mamdani endorsees, the most extreme of which proved too radical even for endorsement by Ocasio-Cortez. Before a collection of aging posts could be deleted from her account, Darializa Avila Chevalier was accused of wanting to abolish prisons, police and borders, seize public property and nationalize factories, end all deportations, reject Israel’s right to existence and cut defense spending to zero rather than provide “a reward for war crimes.”Avila Chevalier says she’s matured a bit since some of those posts, though don’t expect that to temper any of the attack ads certain to be fired at her. What’s not widely appreciated is that there is no such party as the Democratic Socialists of America; the DSA identifies itself as an activist organization that endorses candidates it approves of, just like labour unions, farm groups and other special interests. The DSA says it backed 90 primary candidates, of which 30 won. That’s a 33 per cent success rate, of which many would likely have won anyway.The degree to which alarmist headlines greeted the results shows just how jittery anti-Trump forces remain. The president’s ability to survive scandal has opponents understandably befuddled. In the very week of the primaries it was reported his net worth while in office had skyrocketed, his war on Iran was a shambles, his $5 million verdict of sexual abuse was upheld and a million investors learned they’d lost US$3.8 billion by buying Trump’s much-deflated crypto coin.Yet if the Democrat hierarchy accepts that it has a problem, it’s not letting on. Harris is already organizing for a second presidential bid, including discussions with both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez, and a reported outreach to pro-Palestinian groups. The initial candidate for a crucial Senate seat in Maine is a scandal-plagued political rookie named Graham Platner, with a Nazi-like tattoo, a raft of sexy texts to women who aren’t his wife, and a collection of former girlfriends with complaints about his behaviour, including an allegation of sexual assault. He only quit the race Wednesday, leaving Democrats scrambling to find a replacement by July 27.Pressed in a lengthy interview whether she supported Platner, Hillary Clinton dodged, hedged and evaded, professing that everyone has their “bumps in the road” before finding something else to talk about. She did call Biden’s determination to seek re-election “a terrible mistake,” but was vague on why she did nothing about it at the time.It’s not a good look, never mind the fact the woman who categorically blew an eminently winnable election can still claim status as an esteemed party sage. That’s not the sign of a party with fresh blood, new ideas and an exciting plan for recapturing supporters wearied by a decade of disappointments and defeats.National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.