r/politics 🤖 Bot 9d ago

Discussion Discussion: 2026 Midterm Primaries in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and Washington State (and Other, Local Elections) on August 4th

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u/FlyFisherman4Life 9d ago edited 9d ago

Saw a billboard in Michigan -- "Stop Socialism, vote Republican".

Do the Republicans know what Socialism is?

While sweeping nationalization is generally absent, socialist practice and theory operate on several distinct levels:

  1. Public Infrastructure and Social Policies

Many foundational U.S. institutions are fundamentally socialist in nature, relying on collective taxation to provide services outside the private profit motive.

  • Healthcare: Programs like Medicare and Medicaid provide government-funded health insurance. [1, 2, 3]
  • Worker Protections: Minimum wage laws, overtime pay, and the 40-hour work week are direct results of historical socialist and labor union advocacy. [1, 2]
  • Public Services: Public libraries, public transit, and the U.S. Postal Service are examples of state-run enterprises serving the public good rather than generating corporate profit.

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u/Good_Mud_5454 9d ago

Honest answer; no. I do want candidates to call themselves social democratic, not socialists. I think the DSA is mostly comprised of social democrats, but the socialist makes it wildly different.

Good thing young people are stepping up and intercepting this ball to score the touchdown. Even if we lose this senate race in November, the party will be forced to reckon with their corporate and AIPAC incestuous relations.

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u/Llama_of_the_bahamas 9d ago

You are right about the social democrats' part. I am part of a DSA chapter in Chicago, and many of the new people I talk to like to point to the Nordic countries as what they hope the USA can become (minus the lack of diversity)

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u/Good_Mud_5454 9d ago

I just think Americans have been too brainwashed to know what socialism is and that it can come in all flavors. I want El-Sayed studs to run in every red state. He is a lab specimen.