Revisiting Bernie's 'Democratic Socialism' speech, ten years later

Comments: by Chris Talgo, opinion contributor - 05/27/26 7:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Chris Talgo, opinion contributor - 05/27/26 7:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty Before 2015, the term democratic socialism was foreign to the American political lexicon. It was certainly not cool among the chattering class, to say nothing of the politically powerless. Then, something happened that thrust democratic socialism into the national limelight, where it has remained ever since. Bernie Sanders, the septuagenarian independent U.S. senator from Vermont, almost won the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination, running under the banner of democratic socialism. In late 2015, Sanders was gaining grassroots traction and media attention as a presidential candidate when he delivered a speech at Georgetown University titled, An Address on Democratic Socialism in America. In it, Sanders laid out the democratic socialism s modern platform: Medicare-for-all, free college, free childcare, free maternity leave and government does everything it can to create a full-employment economy. Sanders emphasized that, democratic socialism … does not allow the greed and profiteering of the fossil fuel industry to destroy our environment and our planet. And it means to me that we have a moral responsibility to combat climate change and leave this planet healthy and habitable for our kids and our grandchildren. He chastised the wealthy. Democratic socialism means that, in a democratic, civilized society, the wealthiest people and the largest corporations must pay their fair share of taxes. And, strangely enough, he declared that under democratic socialism, everyone in this country who is 18 years of age or older is registered to vote, end of discussion. We all know what happened next. The following year, Democrats denied Sanders the presidential nomination in favor of Hillary Clinton. It was democratic socialist d j vu in 2020, when multiple Democratic rivals conspired to drop out at the same time in order to sideline Sanders in favor of Joe Biden. Although the executive branch remains elusive, we have seen democratic socialism metastasize across America in the years since Bernie s address. Democratic socialists currently serve in Congress, state legislatures, and city councils. They are mayors of New York City and Seattle. The Democratic Socialists of America organization has chapters all over the country, and it boasts of a politically and social media savvy youth group, the YSDA. With the 2026 midterm primary season coming into swing, democratic socialists are seeking a greater presence in Congress, running in primaries against establishment incumbents. To address some of Sanders s basic tenets and bring them into proper 2026 context, consider. Today, the national debt is $39.2 trillion. The federal government spends more than $7 trillion each year, more than $1 trillion over its annual revenues. Social Security and Medicaid have multi-trillion-dollar unfunded liabilities. And many states and cities are very deep in debt, some of them drowning in unfunded pension liabilities. In short, there is absolutely no way to fund the massive expansion in federal spending at the heart of Sanders s democratic socialist agenda. Unless you are okay with massive inflation due to unprecedented money printing, democratic socialist free-stuff schemes are absolutely a no-go. Sanders s climate change fearmongering has also fallen flat. It no longer resonates with most Americans, who rank it very low on their list of concerns. Sanders s flagellation of fossil fuels has backfired as more Americans recognize that they play a vital role in society and form the energy backbone for many of their conveniences and necessities. Bernie and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have certainly achieved federal legislative success, passing bits and pieces of The Green New Deal under laws like the Inflation Reduction Act. But billions of taxpayer dollars in subsidies have met the reality of night and non-windy conditions. Washington has made things worse by introducing a heavy dose of corruption via government grants and contracts. As usual, the federal government overpromised and then failed to deliver even on basics, such as electric vehicle charging stations. During the pandemic, democratic socialists like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez demanded all sorts of free stuff, including a federal universal basic income — which is to say, a welfare check for everyone. They encouraged lockdowns and discouraged liberty. Most recently, they have adopted alarmism over artificial intelligence, specifically concerning data centers. Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are demanding a federal moratorium on data center construction. They claim data centers harm communities, destroy the environment, and increase electricity or utility prices. Do you know what is actually much worse for the environment than AI infrastructure? Huge solar panels with s

Revisiting Bernie's 'Democratic Socialism' speech, ten years later

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