Johnson’s best imitation of Joseph McCarthy.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has set the GOP’s agenda for the forthcoming midterm elections. Rather than focusing on issues like affordability, inflation, or the economy, the campaign will center on communism. Trump’s undeclared war is also absent from the discussion.
At a recent press event, Johnson stated, “The election will be over whether we’re gonna maintain our freedom in a constitutional republic. That is the question on the ballot this fall.”
Johnson mentioned that Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon requires an extra $350,000,000,000 for various purposes. “You heard the president talk about how he wants to effectively double the funding for national defense. Look, we live in dangerous times. We’re fighting communism on our own shores.”
Gone are the days when Republicans debated tax cuts. Johnson warned, “We’re not arguing over marginal tax rates anymore. We’re arguing on whether or not freedom is going to survive.”
Although he did not specify names, Johnson was referring to socialist Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of the largest city in the U.S., and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), who secured victories in 35 primary races this year. The Washington Examiner reported that “DSA-backed candidates sent shockwaves through Congress after two high-profile congressional primaries in New York.”
According to a September Gallup poll, “Americans overall continue to be skeptical of socialism, but Democrats are the exception. Since 2016, more Democrats have held positive views of socialism than of capitalism, with the gap expanding to 24 points today.” The same month, the DSA Fund and Jacobin reported that Democrats favor democratic socialism over capitalism by a 58-point margin, noting that socialism is particularly popular among likely voters under 45.
For Republicans, especially Trump supporters and the MAGA faction, this political shift presents a major threat, explaining why Trump now openly criticizes communism. In late June, the president said:
The Communists are finally making their move. I’ve been waiting and preparing for this for a long time. It’s easy to be a Communist — All you have to do is say, “I’ll give you everything,” but that means you’re taking it away from others that have earned it. Over thousands of years, that Ideology has not worked once.
Democratic socialists promote political democracy and social ownership within either market or planned economies, while communism aims to create a classless, stateless society with collective ownership. Marxist communism often rejects reform in favor of revolution. Both fall under the broader socialist umbrella.
Figures like Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, and AOC are not radical communists such as Mao or Che Guevara. Instead, they represent establishment democratic socialism with a cosmopolitan bent, advocating for increased social spending rather than a proletarian dictatorship.
Earlier this month, Trump said, “We can’t take care of daycare. We’re fighting wars. It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these things.”
Last month, Elon Musk, the richest individual worldwide, called for invoking the Communist Control Act, a Senate bill passed unanimously in 1954 and signed by President Dwight Eisenhower amid the Cold War’s Second Red Scare.
This legislation banned the Communist Party USA and criminalized both membership and support. The party’s membership peaked around 70,000 during the Great Depression but significantly declined by the late 1940s when the Red Scare intensified.
Government scrutiny extended to organizations alleged to be communist-influenced, including civil rights groups and labor unions. J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI conducted investigations, surveillance, and arrests of communists and suspected communists. A 1951 FBI probe resulted in the arrest, trial, and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage.
By early July, Trump had denounced communism more than 80 times, claiming, “It’s becoming a communist party. These are not social Dumocrats, these are hardcore, godless Communists,” he said. This is despite no candidates affiliated with the Communist Party ever securing office at state or federal levels.
Marc Selverstone, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs, clarified, “The reality is that none of these major political figures in the Democratic Party, even those further out on the left, are identifying as communists.”
However, Trump and House Speaker Johnson’s strategy of weaponizing anti-communist rhetoric appears ineffective for winning midterms. The MAGA base does not address key voter concerns across the spectrum.
A substantial share of voters, especially younger generations, feel the pinch of rising costs. Nearly half report being impacted strongly by inflation, and 41% of young voters express significant concern over rising housing prices.
Ultimately, economic factors and opposition to Trump’s unwelcome conflict with Iran will shape November’s midterm results more than alarmist claims about radical godless communists threatening Western civilization.
Original article: anotherdayintheempire.substack.com
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