[Read the ABC report at the end of this post]
No one in the Republican party renounces or denounces these sociopathic terrorists (Timothy McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, killing 167 Americans) nor does the leadership of the Republican party tell these groups to leave the GOP and create their own party.
For some reason, the Republican party has created for itself an aura of entitlement by monopolizing the notion of "patriotism", a fake one to be sure, but one that is wrapped by the flag and other superficial slogans and imagery that belong to nationalism rather than patriotism. In contrast, the Democrat party always seems to be apologetic and insecure, as if willingly fitting the GOP's description of the Democrats as being "less-Americans" simply because it embraces immigrants and people of different races, creeds and backgrounds, whereas the Republicans are largely a white Anglo-Saxon protestant party.
For those who don't know the difference: Patriotism is love of one's country, pure and simple. Nationalism is hatred of other countries and peoples which, by default, suggests love of one's country. A patriot is someone who loves his country without hating other peoples and countries. A nationalist is someone who must hate others to prove he loves his country.
For those who don't know the difference: Patriotism is love of one's country, pure and simple. Nationalism is hatred of other countries and peoples which, by default, suggests love of one's country. A patriot is someone who loves his country without hating other peoples and countries. A nationalist is someone who must hate others to prove he loves his country.
REPUBLICANS AND THEIR MAGA AND WHITE CHRISTIAN SUPREMACIST AFFILIATES ARE NOT PATRIOTS. THEY ARE NATIONALISTS WHO CONFLATE HATE FOR OTHERS WITH LOVE FOR COUNTRY.
In contrast, the Democrats do play into the GOP's dirty game of having to constantly defend their patriotism. The fact that Democrats include in their ranks Catholics, Blacks, immigrants and disaffected minorities of all brands has constituted the central accusation by Republicans that the Democrats are not "pure" Americans. What the Democrats fail to do is assert their patriotism with more fervor; they always seem to be on the defensive because their patriotism is not coupled with hatred of others. But they are naive in assuming that a timid, apologetic, and centrist posture is their key to fighting the Republicans. AND THAT IS because they are trapped by the Republicans into a defensive posture.
Just as Republicans and the GOP embrace hard-right radical extremists - they still defend their own barbarians for attacking Congress in the insurrection of January 6, 2021 - the Democrat party must embrace more hard-left groups. What's good for the Republican goose must be good for the Democrat gander!
Around the world, people who do not understand the internal dynamics of US politics always see the Republicans as the "real" Americans. This is perhaps because the Republicans are interventionists and warmongers who launch useless and deadly wars - which they never win, but that is less important for ignorant outsiders who see Republicans as "stronger" than Democrats - By waging wars ands beating their chest like apes and other primates, Republicans are more visible to the rest of the world.
And now, faithful to their assumed weakness and succumbing more to the GOP-inflicted guilt of being "less Americans", traditional establishment Democrats, like James Carville below, are playing their GOP-assigned role as weak centrists by demanding that progressive candidates who label themselves as Socialist Democrats and who are winning one victory after another from within the party, leave the party and start their own. By telling the progressive Democrats they do not belong to the party and that they should leave the party and start their own, Carville is falling into the GOP trap. He is accepting of a GOP that embraces right wing radicalism, but is rejecting a Democrat party that embraces everyone, even hard-left constituents. Carville has apparently not learned anything from the past decade of a Trump-dominated GOP.
And that is why the American people who denounce Trump's Republican party by and large find the Democrats not up to par, not a sufficient counterpart.
Mr. Carville: Use the progressive members of your party to rally the troops and signal to the GOP that the Democrats are as entitled Americans as the GOP claims to be. You need to fight dirty just like the GOP always does, especially after it was hijacked by Donald Dumb.
=====================================================
James Carville says Mamdani-backed candidates should form separate party
Alicia Sitz
Thu, June 25, 2026
(NewsNation) — Democratic socialist candidates made major gains in elections across the country Tuesday night.
Three candidates gaining the most attention are Democratic socialists Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and progressive Democrat Brad Lander. All of them were backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in what was considered a major test of his political influence and the strength of the city's progressive movement overall.
"We are showing there is a new path for politics in our city and in our country," Mamdani said. "We are showing that last June, a year ago tomorrow, was not an anomaly. It was not the end. It was the beginning."
However, some in the Democratic Party believe success of the left could bring the party down.
Democratic strategist James Carville thinks some critics of Tuesday's results are being overly dramatic, calling their reactions "90% hysterical." But he told NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday that he doesn't understand or appreciate these candidates' efforts to use the Democratic Party to advance their socialist ideals.
"All of these people hate Democrats," Carville told Vargas. "Why do you want to run as a Democrat? Start your own movement. If it's such a powerful, sweeping movement that's got momentum everywhere, then go ahead and be at the head of it. Don't use the Democratic Party to advance it."
Carville specifically called out Chevalier, saying Democrats shouldn't seat her if she wins in November. He said her views were against anything Democrats support.
"We believe in pluralism. She doesn't even believe in interracial dating," Carville said.
Carville referred to social media posts Chevalier published from 2018 to 2022. The posts included attacks on Democratic leaders, questioned the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized interracial relationships.
Carville also called out the socialist movement's anti-Israel sentiment, saying it's not what the Democratic Party is about.
"You can be hugely anti the policies of the government of Israel. …But when you say, 'I don't think Israel should exist,' then I don't have room for you," Carville said. "When you start to write, 'They don't have to exist,' or you run against the concept of Jewish people, then you've got no place at my table."
While Carville said they are entitled to their opinions and that free speech protects them, having them seated in the Democratic caucus is not appropriate based on the party's values.
"We just don't want to be in the same political party with them."
NewsNation's Steph Whiteside and Jessica Kartalija contributed to this article.
In contrast, the Democrats do play into the GOP's dirty game of having to constantly defend their patriotism. The fact that Democrats include in their ranks Catholics, Blacks, immigrants and disaffected minorities of all brands has constituted the central accusation by Republicans that the Democrats are not "pure" Americans. What the Democrats fail to do is assert their patriotism with more fervor; they always seem to be on the defensive because their patriotism is not coupled with hatred of others. But they are naive in assuming that a timid, apologetic, and centrist posture is their key to fighting the Republicans. AND THAT IS because they are trapped by the Republicans into a defensive posture.
Just as Republicans and the GOP embrace hard-right radical extremists - they still defend their own barbarians for attacking Congress in the insurrection of January 6, 2021 - the Democrat party must embrace more hard-left groups. What's good for the Republican goose must be good for the Democrat gander!
Around the world, people who do not understand the internal dynamics of US politics always see the Republicans as the "real" Americans. This is perhaps because the Republicans are interventionists and warmongers who launch useless and deadly wars - which they never win, but that is less important for ignorant outsiders who see Republicans as "stronger" than Democrats - By waging wars ands beating their chest like apes and other primates, Republicans are more visible to the rest of the world.
And now, faithful to their assumed weakness and succumbing more to the GOP-inflicted guilt of being "less Americans", traditional establishment Democrats, like James Carville below, are playing their GOP-assigned role as weak centrists by demanding that progressive candidates who label themselves as Socialist Democrats and who are winning one victory after another from within the party, leave the party and start their own. By telling the progressive Democrats they do not belong to the party and that they should leave the party and start their own, Carville is falling into the GOP trap. He is accepting of a GOP that embraces right wing radicalism, but is rejecting a Democrat party that embraces everyone, even hard-left constituents. Carville has apparently not learned anything from the past decade of a Trump-dominated GOP.
And that is why the American people who denounce Trump's Republican party by and large find the Democrats not up to par, not a sufficient counterpart.
Mr. Carville: Use the progressive members of your party to rally the troops and signal to the GOP that the Democrats are as entitled Americans as the GOP claims to be. You need to fight dirty just like the GOP always does, especially after it was hijacked by Donald Dumb.
=====================================================
James Carville says Mamdani-backed candidates should form separate party
Alicia Sitz
Thu, June 25, 2026
(NewsNation) — Democratic socialist candidates made major gains in elections across the country Tuesday night.
Three candidates gaining the most attention are Democratic socialists Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and progressive Democrat Brad Lander. All of them were backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in what was considered a major test of his political influence and the strength of the city's progressive movement overall.
"We are showing there is a new path for politics in our city and in our country," Mamdani said. "We are showing that last June, a year ago tomorrow, was not an anomaly. It was not the end. It was the beginning."
However, some in the Democratic Party believe success of the left could bring the party down.
Democratic strategist James Carville thinks some critics of Tuesday's results are being overly dramatic, calling their reactions "90% hysterical." But he told NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday that he doesn't understand or appreciate these candidates' efforts to use the Democratic Party to advance their socialist ideals.
"All of these people hate Democrats," Carville told Vargas. "Why do you want to run as a Democrat? Start your own movement. If it's such a powerful, sweeping movement that's got momentum everywhere, then go ahead and be at the head of it. Don't use the Democratic Party to advance it."
Carville specifically called out Chevalier, saying Democrats shouldn't seat her if she wins in November. He said her views were against anything Democrats support.
"We believe in pluralism. She doesn't even believe in interracial dating," Carville said.
Carville referred to social media posts Chevalier published from 2018 to 2022. The posts included attacks on Democratic leaders, questioned the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized interracial relationships.
Carville also called out the socialist movement's anti-Israel sentiment, saying it's not what the Democratic Party is about.
"You can be hugely anti the policies of the government of Israel. …But when you say, 'I don't think Israel should exist,' then I don't have room for you," Carville said. "When you start to write, 'They don't have to exist,' or you run against the concept of Jewish people, then you've got no place at my table."
While Carville said they are entitled to their opinions and that free speech protects them, having them seated in the Democratic caucus is not appropriate based on the party's values.
"We just don't want to be in the same political party with them."
NewsNation's Steph Whiteside and Jessica Kartalija contributed to this article.
======================================================
Can Democrat veterans running for Congress reclaim the patriotism narrative from the GOP?
OREN OPPENHEIM and GABY VINICK
Fri, June 26, 2026
Some of the military veterans running for Congress as Democrats in the 2026 midterms see themselves as part of the party's push to showcase itself as patriotic amid polling showing Democrats broadly feeling less proud of the country than Republicans.
An Ipsos poll conducted earlier this year found 63% of Republicans saying that the phrase "I feel proud to be an American" described them extremely well, compared to just 14% of Democrats. The same poll found 65% of Republicans saying the phrase "there's no place I'd rather live than the U.S." described them extremely well, compared to 19% of Democrats.
Houssein Hersi/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Captain Nancy Lacore delivers a speech during a handover ceremony at the Camp Lemonier navy base in Djibouti, July 20, 2017.
One caveat: the discrepancy between Democrats and Republicans in the poll could be explained in part by Democratic opposition to the White House and its policies.
But those military veteran Democrats are campaigning in part on saying that patriotism isn't partisan, or that critiquing the government can itself come from having pride in the country and wanting it to improve.
"I think that's kind of silly to think that patriotism belongs to one particular party," said Nancy Lacore, a retired vice admiral and former Chief of Navy Reserve running for Congress in South Carolina after having been removed from her position by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in 2025.
"In my mind, patriotism isn't about, like, 'Oh, I got the biggest flag' or 'I'm cheering the loudest at events.' To me, patriotism is grounded in service, that you love your country enough to try to make it better, serve your country, strengthen it, uphold the Constitution."
'The most patriotic duty you have is to question'
In Florida's 13th Congressional District, Leela Gray, a retired Army brigadier general, is one of the Democrats running for the chance to flip a seat held by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. Gray told ABC News, "I served in uniform for 30 years. I had no idea if people were an independent or a Republican or a Democrat. It didn't matter. What mattered was, could you trust the person next to you?"
U.S. Army - PHOTO: Brig. Gen. Leela Gray waits to be introduced as the guest speaker for the Sisters in Arms general session at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., July 6, 2018.
Over in Kansas, two former service members are among the Democrats competing in a crowded field to unseat incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall.
State Sen. Patrick Schmidt is a former naval intelligence officer based in Topeka who still serves in the Army Reserve. He told ABC News he rejects the premise that Democrats need to "reclaim" patriotism: "We're all trying to figure out how do we communicate with more people, how do we meet more people, but I think I reject the idea that we've lost the plot."
John Hanna/AP - PHOTO: Kansas Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Schmidt answers questions during an interview with The Associated Press, Oct. 31, 2022, at his campaign headquarters in Topeka, Kansas.
Another Democrat in the race, Noah Taylor of El Dorado, is a former Army infantryman and counterintelligence analyst who co-founded the nonpartisan political advocacy group Leading Kansas.
"We stopped talking about the things that make America great, and being a patriot doesn't mean that you can't criticize this country. In fact, the most patriotic duty you have is to question, to make things better," Taylor said in an interview.
Noah Taylor/X - PHOTO: Noah Taylor, candidate for Congress in Kansas in a video posted to his X account.'I love this country'
In New Jersey's toss-up 7th District, Rebecca Bennett won the Democratic nomination in early June to take on GOP Rep. Tom Kean. Bennett is a former Navy helicopter pilot and served for over a decade and also worked as a test pilot and served in the Air National Guard.
She said she does not shy away from any themes of patriotism: "I am a patriot. I love this country. It's why I joined the military. It's why I'm doing this now. And I explicitly say that in my stump [speech] every time when I'm talking to people."
Ryan Murphy/AP - PHOTO: Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, speaks during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J.
Democratic veterans running for Congress also point to their military bona fides when discussing the Iran war and how it's driven up prices.
Matt Maasdam, a retired Navy SEAL and onetime military aide to former President Barack Obama who is running in a swing district in Michigan, told ABC News, "As somebody who watched Baghdad and Kabul roads get fixed while I was overseas, I want to see Michigan's roads get fixed. If we don't have money to spend on health care and education in America, why are we spending billions of dollars dropping bombs on the other side of the world?"
Matt Maasdam For Congress via AP - PHOTO: This undated image provided by Matt Maasdam For Congress, shows Matt Maasdam, a Democrat running for Michigan's 7th Congressional District.
Maasdam is a candidate in Michigan's 7th District Democratic primary in which the winner will take on incumbent GOP Rep. Tom Barrett. Barrett, himself a former Army helicopter pilot, has voted in Congress to rein in President Donald Trump's powers to conduct the Iran war.
Jason Cabel Roe, a spokesperson for Barrett's campaign, told ABC News, "Tom Barrett wasn't elected to Congress because of his service in the Army, he was elected because he has deep ties to the 7th District, and faces the same struggles as thousands of other families living in the district."
Will it work?
Running a large set of veteran candidates is something of a reprisal of a strategy that worked before for the Democratic Party, like in the 2018 midterms when former Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and former CIA case officer Abigail Spanberger in Virginia flipped GOP-held seats. Both went on to be elected governor in their respective states.
The strategy isn't foolproof by any means, even in intra-party Democratic primaries. For instance, in Texas' 9th Congressional District, former astronaut and Air Force fighter pilot Terry Virts lost in the Democratic primary in March. In Kentucky, former Marine Corps fighter pilot Amy McGrath -- who was the party's nominee for a Senate seat in 2020 -- lost in the state's Democratic Senate primary in May.
Are Democrats intentionally prioritizing or recruiting veterans this cycle because of the gulf between the parties on patriotism?
Sawyer Hackett, a Democratic political strategist, told ABC News, "As much as I would love to credit the Democratic Party leaders for recruiting a slate of fantastic veteran candidates, I think, honestly, most of it is organic," because, he argued, veterans are more attuned to actions taken by Trump as commander-in-chief.
Hackett acknowledged that the party is also recruiting veterans, but thinks that veterans already active with the party are encouraging others.
But why do Democrats feel veterans can be successful candidates?
Emily Cherniack, CEO of the Democratic-aligned New Politics, argued that along with high prices, "people are really pissed that Trump has not solved the problems he promised to solve, and so they're really looking for a new generation of leadership."
New Politics recruits candidates with military backgrounds and has endorsed Bennett and Maasdam.
And Matt Corridoni, a Democratic strategist who advises Democratic groups The Bench and VoteVets, which are boosting some candidates including Maasdam and Lacore, argued, "Because they are veterans and they have the experience of putting service over self, people trust them on a wide range of issues. ... especially right now, though, with Iran, they can speak with an extra level of credibility."
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