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The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
What you missed at the socialism 2025 annual conference
While those who love America spent the Fourth of July weekend celebrating the country's freedom and independence, those who hate America spent that same weekend in Chicago (where else?) decrying that freedom and wishing everyone was more dependent — on government handouts, socialized medicine, environmental mandates and price controls. Welcome to the Socialism 2025 annual conference. The only thing missing was a keynote speech by New York City's Democratic candidate for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Maybe he'll do it next year, when he's mayor and the event might even be in the socialist paradise of New York. The unofficial theme of this year's conference was probably best stated by University of Minnesota professor Melanie Yazzie, who told the conferees, 'I hope to dismantle the United States. I hope you seek to dismantle the United States.' The audience applauded. Gotta say, the socialists have made significant gains dismantling the country over the last decade or two. But they hit a wall last November. Even so, socialism is having a moment. A recent survey conducted by YouGov for the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute found 62 percent of Americans under the age of 30 have a 'favorable' view of socialism, and 34 percent have a favorable view of communism. An estimated 2,000 participants attended the conference at the Haytt Regency McCormick Place hotel — even socialists like to plan their revolution in style. And there was no shortage of issues to discuss at the conference. By my count there were about 160 sessions over the four-day event (full list here). Had you been there you might have attended: ' From the River to the World ' — For the past few years we've heard protesters chanting 'From the River to the Sea,' described by the American Jewish Committee as 'a phrase that can be used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel and/or ethnic cleansing of Jews living there, to be replaced with Palestinian control over the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.' Apparently by substituting the word 'world,' the socialists think many pro-Palestinian protesters need to be more ambitious. 'Marxism Education Series' — The agenda described this session as ' a cluster of courses on Marxist theory and history designed to introduce and deepen the understanding of Marxism for activists and organizers.' 'Defeating the End Times Triad: Christian Zionists, Christian Nationalists, and Technofacists' — Five panelists discussed how 'our dystopian conjuncture [of] Christian Zionism, Christian nationalism and End-Times technofascism work together to further genocidal aggression in Palestine alongside the entrenchment of authoritarian repression in the US and worldwide.' I probably would have attended just to find out what 'End-Times technofacism' is. ' Deny, Defend, Depose: Health Struggle After Luigi ' — Most people were horrified when UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot, allegedly by Luigi Mangione. But some Americans, especially younger adults, cheered Mangione as a hero. The Cato Institute survey mentioned above also reported, 'Notably, a majority (54 percent) of strong liberals believe that violence against the rich is sometimes justified, compared to 9 percent of strong conservatives.' In this session a three-person panel described 'what the fight for health communism may look like under this new [Trump] regime.' Apparently, the speakers weren't renouncing Mangione-type violence as part of their 'fight.' ' DIY Abortion ' — and if that sounds dangerous, it is. Interestingly, the conference had a code of conduct where organizers pleaded with conference attendees to behave themselves better than they do during street protests. There would be no 'Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning speech,' or 'Real or implied threat of physical harm,' and no 'Sustained disruption of talks or other events.' That last one is odd, since disrupting talks is one of the left's standard practices. And just to make sure everyone is safe, there's this: 'Attendees are required to wear a mask (N95 or K95) over their mouth and nose while indoors at the conference.' While much of what went on at the Socialism 2025 conference would strike most Americans as extreme, even fringe, socialist sympathizers in Congress — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Pamala Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — are the real energy and drive behind today's Democratic Party. And now add Zohran Mamdani. If you're sorry you missed this year's Socialism 2025 conference, take heart. You'll have another chance to sip fine wine with the socialists. The Democratic Socialists of America, boasting 90,000 members, will have their biennial convention Aug. 8-10 in Chicago (where else?).
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Mamdani camp silent when confronted with calls to 'radicalize' high schoolers, 'dismantle' US
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's campaign did not respond when confronted with a handful of radical platforms and messages that were promoted during an annual gathering of socialist activists and leaders in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend, Fox News Digital found. "Socialism 2025" was held in Chicago Thursday through Sunday, where activists promoted "radicalizing" high school students, overthrowing the U.S. government and how to perform a "DIY" abortion and required all attendees to wear N95 or K95 while indoors, in addition to common rhetoric slamming capitalism. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign Tuesday morning inquiring if the NYC Socialist Democrat agreed or disagreed with the platforms and ideas promoted at the conference, and if they were ones he would implement if elected the next mayor of the Big Apple, but did not immediately receive a response. Mamdani did not attend the conference in Chicago, but describes himself as a Democratic socialist and has previously embraced radical left-wing policies, such as ending private homeownership in favor of communal living, Fox Digital has previously reported. The socialism conference included panels dominated by college professors, as well as community organizers, activists and others. "Socialism 2025 is a four-day conference bringing together thousands of socialists and radical activists from around the country to take part in discussions about social movements, abolition, Marxism, decolonization, working-class history, and the debates and strategies for organizing today," the conference touts on its website. Fox News Digital provided Mamdani's office with a bullet-point list of six quotes and platforms promoted at the event, including one woman who identified herself as a Wisconsin high school teacher calling for youths to be "radicalized" before they enter college. "All of you who got radicalized in college, imagine if you got radicalized four years earlier," the woman, who was a member of the audience, was heard saying during the conference. Another Chicago-based activist who spoke during a panel called for the U.S. government to be overthrown. "I think it's important to say the state isn't democratic. We don't live in a democracy. We should start saying that more so. I mean, there are so many different ways — I'm not going to go into it — but people are clapping, so there's general agreement. I'm glad we agree on that," the activist said during a panel Saturday called, "Their End is Our Beginning: Cops, Capitalism, and Abolition," which receive applause from the crowd. "So, do we capture the state or do we try to replace it with something different?" he continued. "And I think it's the latter. We have to replace it with something different." While during another panel on "Gender, Sexuality, Reproduction and the State: Fighting Back Against the So-Called Law," a woman from the audience announced that the conference would hold a do-it-yourself abortion panel to discuss how to use and where to buy legal abortion pills. While a panel speaker for the same forum appeared to call for the abolition of the family. "But… the bigger part of abolition as everybody's reminding us in that tradition is the building of infrastructures of real safety, real accountability, real justice," the activist said during the panel. "You know it's the same with the family. Capitalist care has to be abolished in the sense that we are all pretty clear that care is a real need. What does the family offer us? What is the promise? It's like a promise that you will be deeply, profoundly, unconditionally, selflessly and uncalculatedly known and held." "Is the family really doing that?" she added, before adding that the idea of family has shortcomings and can be replaced with "mutual aid." While yet another activist declared during a video clip circulating social media that she seeks to "dismantle the United States" and said "everyone" should join her in her activism — "no questions asked." "I seek to dismantle the United States," the activist said, according to video footage circulating on X. "I hope you seek to dismantle the United States. And if that isn't your politics, OK. I speak as if everybody has this commitment. And the thing is, you should. You should listen to indigenous people when they are telling you this is the goal. Not only is this the goal, but this is the starting point." "Decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species. It's the only thing that's going to save us as a planet. And everyone should be on board with it, no questions asked." Mamdani trounced top NYC mayoral competitor and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the polls in June. Mamdani's victory is viewed as the Democrat Party moving farther to the left in New York City after national voters sounded off in the 2024 election that the party's embrace of some left-wing policies alienated Americans. President Donald Trump has slammed Mamdani as a "Communist Lunatic" and vowed he would "save New York City." "As President of the United States, I'm not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York," Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier in July. "Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I'll save New York City, and make it 'Hot' and 'Great' again, just like I did with the Good Ol' USA!"
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Anti-Israel professor curses out employer University of Chicago, says she teaches to build power
A leftist professor slammed her "evil" university as a "colonialist landlord," but said she continues to work at the school because she views it as a place in American society where she can amass power. "F--- the University of Chicago, it's evil, you know it's a colonial landlord. Like, why would I put any of my political energy into this space? I kind of had a little bit of disdain for people who spent their time doing that," University of Chicago Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies Eman Abdelhadi said at the Socialism 2025 convention Saturday. Socialism 2025 bills itself as "a four-day conference bringing together thousands of socialists and radical activists from around the country to take part in discussions about social movements, abolition, Marxism, decolonization, working-class history, and the debates and strategies for organizing today." Abdelhadi made her remarks at the panel entitled "Revolutionary Accompaniment: Holding Each Other When Things Fall Apart." "This is a painful lesson that a lot of us in the Palestine solidarity movement have been learning is that we don't have power… what we don't have is power… the question I'm asking myself, and I'm asking you to ask yourself, 'is where can I actually build power?'" the professor said. Abdelhadi went on to say that after she realized that the University of Chicago, which was founded in 1890, is one of the Windy City's largest employers, it occurred to her that she had access to thousands of people whom she could organize around her far-left causes. "Turns out, I work at one of the biggest employers in the city of Chicago. I work at a place that is a landlord, a healthcare provider, a police force, f--- that s---, but, they are, and a place where I have access to thousands of people that I could potentially organize… actually, this is where I need to build power. That's possible structural leverage," said Abdelhadi, who was wearing a black COVID mask over her face. University campuses have become a hotbed of antisemitism in the wake of Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel, which saw the most Jews killed in a single day since the Holocaust. Anti-Israel tent encampments emerged at university campuses across the country, particularly at elite institutions. The encampments saw students praise Hamas, chant for the extermination of Jews in Israel from "the river to the sea" and assault and harass Jewish students. Abdelhadi claimed at the panel that though her anti-Israel movement lacks power, it has won the "moral high ground." Abdelhadi teaches in the University of Chicago's Department of Comparative Human Development and is working on a book focused on how subcultural communities reproduce themselves across generations, according to her professor's page on the University of Chicago website. She described herself as a "young brown queer woman" during the panel. The University of Chicago and Professor Abdelhadi did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
