City Journal Audio – "Inside the DSA's Growing Influence"

Host: Rafael Mangual (A)
Guests: Daniel DiMartino (C), Stu Smith (B)
Date: November 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode investigates the expanding influence of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), focusing on their post-Mamdani election momentum and how they have become a robust political force, particularly in New York City. The host and his guests dissect the internal dynamics, ideological divisions, electoral strategies, and the socio-economic and cultural currents propelling the DSA, while also considering the broader implications for American politics.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Rise of the DSA and Mamdani’s Election

• Discussion opens on changes in the DSA’s image: once marginalized, now mainstream and electorally potent ([01:20]).
• Stu Smith contextualizes:
  • The turning point was the “Bernie Revolution” (2016), moving the DSA’s median age from seniors to late 20s ([02:47]).
  • DSA’s internal split:
    • Electoral faction: Sees gaining office as the pathway forward.
    • Militant/organizing faction: Prioritizes street activism and critique of the state, suspicious of electoral compromises ([03:05], [04:19]).

“Before [Bernie], the DSA was a group where the average age was probably in their 60s or 70s. ... Now you have this youth wing.” – Stu Smith [03:03]

2. DSA’s Internal Factions and Organization

• DSA described as a “multi-tendency” organization—Bernie Bros, Maoists, Leninists, Communists all in uneasy alliance but beset by infighting ([03:05], [04:19]).
• Stu likens the structure to “Game of Thrones," with numerous caucuses (“houses”) wielding influence ([07:17]).
  • Key caucuses: Groundworks (reform electoralists), Red Star (Lenin Communists), Socialist Majority, Marxist Unity (MUG), Springs of Revolution (super-revolutionary, even reject the term “caucus”) ([09:55]).
• Leadership conflict:
  • Ashik Sadiq (Groundworks) pushes for electoral reform.
  • Megan Roemer (Red Star) embodies hardline communist thought; current National Political Committee nearly split between “communist” and “reform” caucuses ([07:36], [09:24]).

“If you believe in electoral politics as a DSA member, you are technically on the right.” – Stu Smith [09:40]

3. Effective Despite Infighting

• DSA succeeds because talented organizers rise above the chaos—embodied by members like Hazel who skillfully apply Robert’s Rules of Order to maintain discipline ([11:32]).
• Process obsession and highly organized personalities thrive in the DSA’s intense environment ([12:23]).

4. DSA’s Economic Messaging

• Daniel DiMartino traces the DSA’s core economic grievances back to Occupy Wall Street and the Great Recession—resentment of the rich, belief in a zero-sum economy ([13:42]).
  • DSA’s animating grievance: “the rich are rich because the poor are poor”—a message largely absent from American mainstream politics until recently ([14:09]).
• Notably, DSA’s American base contrasts with classic socialism—it is popular among young, highly-paid professionals, not the disenfranchised poor ([16:27]).

“People who make over $100,000 a year support socialism at a higher rate than those who make less than $50k.” – Daniel DiMartino [16:27]

5. The New “Entitlement” and Education’s Role

• DSA support concentrated in “upwardly mobile but dissatisfied” youth, especially college-educated professionals who see themselves as wrongly denied lifestyles they were raised to expect—fueling urban affordability grievances ([17:55]).
• Daniel highlights a major reason: leftist capture of the education system and ideology centered around intersectionality and guilt—“oppressed and oppressor” logic. Rich-vs-poor narratives alone don’t succeed in America; education reframes the struggle ([19:37], [20:43]).

“In America, people want to be rich, unlike in other countries ... This is really more about the education system than the material conditions.” – Daniel DiMartino [19:37]

6. DSA and Cultural Radicalism

• DSA is “post-woke” and militantly progressive, championing not only economic revolution but issues like police abolition, trans rights, and international solidarity (notably pro-Palestine) ([22:01]).
• National Political Committee statements reinforce radical positions like police abolition and support for Palestine ([22:01]).

“It was talking about ... Palestinian Liberation Resistance. ... They don’t want any police, and what does that have to crime itself?” – Stu Smith [22:01]

7. Outside Influence and Foreign Connections

• DSA leadership and associated organizations (like The People’s Forum) maintain ties with regimes such as Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea; foreign funding and organization are potential drivers ([25:27], [26:19]).
  • DSA’s International Committee has made trips to Venezuela and Cuba, maintaining a connection with anti-American movements ([28:01]).
  • Daniel calls for greater transparency and restrictions on foreign money targeting U.S. nonprofits ([37:17]).

“They went to Venezuela and met with the dictator of my country, Maduro, in 2021 ... Give me a break.” – Daniel DiMartino [28:01]

8. National Expansion and New Political Threats

• DSA is building national infrastructure: YDSA chapters on college campuses, emerging city council victories in places like Portland, and youngest DSA officials elected in Ithaca from Cornell ([27:19]).
• The concern: DSA strategy may further infiltrate the Democratic Party, pushing it leftward and making radicals gatekeepers in blue strongholds ([28:01]).

9. How Should Critics Respond?

• Debate over whether to form an alternative centrist party (as colleague Charles Lehman suggests) or fight for control of Democratic primaries, given the closed nature of New York’s primary system ([31:25]).
• Parents and non-leftists must do better at educating young people on American values and counteracting leftward pressure from institutions ([33:11]).

“Parents need to do a better job at home ... The best hope to persuade somebody is somebody who loves them." – Daniel DiMartino [32:09]

10. Where Is the Hope?

• Potential for DSA overreach—success could expose the unpopularity or impracticality of their program, causing backlash and discrediting their politics ([35:20]).
• Daniel calls for policy responses (transparency, banning foreign funding, school choice, and party accountability) alongside persuasion ([37:09], [38:19]).
• The host warns that DSA policies on crime and public safety, if implemented, would have grim real-world consequences, particularly for vulnerable communities ([38:19]).
• Daniel closes with a warning from Venezuela: socialism comes “by votes, not by bullets,” and the U.S. is not immune ([39:53]).

“Venezuela is the only country that was ever destroyed by socialism democratically ... If socialism comes to America, it will be by votes, not by bullets." – Daniel DiMartino [39:53]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On DSA’s Internal Drama:
  “It's like Game of Thrones where you have all these different houses with different kind of philosophies.”
  – Stu Smith [07:17]

• Cultural Contradiction:
  “I have seen people discuss like in places where they're like, 'I just joined the New York City DSA. What do you mean, they're Maoists?'”
  – Stu Smith [24:11]

• On Economic Paradox:
  “Here in America, it seems to be the upper middle class professionals [who support socialism] ... very different from Venezuela where it was the poor who supported Chavez.”
  – Daniel DiMartino [16:27]

• Daniel’s Warning:
  “Venezuela is the only country that was ever destroyed by socialism democratically ... If socialism comes to America, it will be by votes, not by bullets.”
  – Daniel DiMartino [39:53]

• Host’s Closing Hope:
  “Ultimately, if these people get their way, it's gonna be incredibly dark and incredibly bloody, but it will be an eye opener.”
  – Rafael Mangual [38:19]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:20] – Introduction of DSA’s shift from fringe to mainstream
• [02:47] – DSA’s transformation post-Bernie Sanders
• [04:19] – DSA internal factions and debate over strategy
• [07:17] – “Game of Thrones” caucus structure explanation
• [09:40] – Electoral vs. radical wings and internal labels
• [11:32] – How infighting doesn’t blunt political success
• [13:42] – Economic underpinnings: Occupy Wall Street and the recession
• [16:27] – DSA’s support base: Young, highly-paid professionals
• [19:37] – Roots of DSA popularity in the American educational system
• [22:01] – DSA’s militant cultural agenda
• [24:11] – Indoctrination and surprise at radicalism within DSA
• [25:27] – Ties to international socialist regimes and foreign funding
• [27:13] – DSA’s national network and city-by-city expansion
• [31:25] – Should critics found a centrist party or focus on primaries?
• [32:09]/[33:11] – Parental and institutional roles in countering DSA ideology
• [35:20] – Is DSA overreach a self-limiting problem?
• [37:17] – Policy responses: Transparency and school choice
• [38:19] – Real risks of policy: Crime and public safety concerns
• [39:53] – Venezuela as a warning for American complacency

Conclusion

The episode delivers a thorough and at times urgent exploration of the DSA’s newfound potency, the complexities and contradictions within its coalition, and the cultural, educational, and political factors fueling its rise. The hosts offer both warnings and lines of hope—advocating vigilance, civic engagement, policy reform, and, crucially, strong family and educational counterbalances to ideological radicalism.