Tea at Trianon: The Democrats Have a Serious Socialism Problem

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, September 21, 2026

The Democrats Have a Serious Socialism Problem

From Chronicles:

“Resolved, That the House of Representatives condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States,” a congressional resolution passed on Sept. 1 boldly declares. The resolution further states that the House recommits itself to upholding the Constitution, supports “fair, free, and secure elections” in which participation is reserved for “American citizens only,” and calls for Congress to pass the SAVE Act “to ensure election security, increase public confidence in America’s voting system, and close loopholes in order to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections.”

In a healthy democracy—or even in an ailing democracy run by a complacent and self-serving uniparty—one might expect that none of the elements of this resolution would be controversial. Who, after all, would oppose upholding the Constitution, object to elections that are fair, free, and secure, favor allowing noncitizens to vote, and actively want to worsen public confidence in our nation’s voting system?

In our current climate, one would expect opposition to come primarily from the radical left and its leading official organization, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Indeed, the resolution recognizes this, opening with “the condemnation and denouncement of socialism in all its forms” and continuing its preamble stating that “the DSA’s ideology and socialism, in any form, are incompatible with American values and the United States Constitution.” The DSA appears to agree with that assessment, as it has claimed (as the resolution’s preamble further observes) that “the United States never was a democracy.”

But DSA members are not the only or even the primary votes in opposition to this resolution. The resolution passed by a relatively narrow margin of 220 votes to 192, with all Republicans and only eight Democrats voting in favor of it. That is to say that 192 Democrats—the vast majority of the congressional delegation of that party—voted against it. (Read more.)