We deserve better than this. We are already the world’s laughingstock. Don’t make us the stupidest. Here’s some reality if you need it for your Uncle Harry at dinner:

Communism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for a classless, moneyless, and stateless society where all property and the means of production (like factories, farms, and mines) are owned collectively by the community rather than by private individuals.

_______

A democratic socialist is a person who advocates for a decentralized, democratically run economy where the means of production are often socially owned. Unlike authoritarian forms of socialism, they believe political freedom and democratic decision-making must be both the means and the end of achieving an equal, classless society.

_______

Are there any communists in the United States Congress? No, there are no openly affiliated members of the Communist Party currently serving in the U.S. Congress. While some conservative critics have historically leveled accusations of radicalism against left-leaning lawmakers, all current members of Congress align with mainstream American political parties, with a few identifying as democratic socialists or independents.

_______

Have any members of the Communist Party USA been nominated for office by the Democratic Party? The Democratic Party has nominated no open or self-identified members of the Communist Party USA for major state or federal office.

____

I’m no great fan of the Democratic Party these days, but as numbed as I am from the news, I couldn’t have imagined anyone in any serious political position – even the Democrats –  so dumb as to revert to such an old,out-of-touch, and ridiculous idea as to embrace the ghost of Joseph McCarthy in 2026, an alcoholic censured by Congress.

He tried the big lie too. If you pay attention to Americans at all, you may notice that the vast majority of them are afraid of not being able to afford eating, getting sick, or keeping their own homes.

The President and his party – they control every major branch of government –  do not seem to know that there is no poll of any kind that finds a vast number of Americans, apart from a handful of Old Farts, worried about communists taking over the country, even though our President’s best friend is Mr. Putin, who was a leading member of the KGB.

Young people today – the ones who are voting for mayors, senators and governors all over the country – are just not going to be drawn by mummified old lies and phobies. They want to be able to buy food, buy homes, pay for gasoline, find jobs.

______

Pretending that the fear of communist ghosts will save them next year shows the panic the Grand Old Farty is in. What a stupid idea to start a Communist Panic now. How old and silly and out of step with the world. Really? Is that the best they can do?

It didn’t even work in 1950 for long; why on earth would they think it would work now?

Could it possibly be true they don’t know the difference between a communist and a Social Democrat? That is really frightening.

Most Americans pay little attention to the news, red or blue, but it is suicide to assume they are ignorant enough to go for this. H.D. Mencken warned politicians not to overestimate the intelligence of the people. He also warned them to underestimate their intelligence.

The internet makes it no longer possible to get away with a lie as big and foolish as that one.