Zohran shows us Democrats who fight vs. polite opposition

Zohran Mamdani at the Resist Fascism Rally in Bryant Park, October 2024. Photo: Bingjiefu He via Wikimedia Commons.

The Democratic Party has long been a coalition of factions—progressives, centrists, and the ever-dwindling bloc of conservative Democrats. But that old map is rapidly becoming obsolete.

The real divide now—the one shaping the future of the party and the direction of American democracy—is between Democrats who politely object to Donald Trump’s fascism and those who are ready to throw political punches to stop it.

This new dynamic was on full display with the primary victory of Zohran Mamdani, the firebrand socialist legislator from Queens.

Mamdani didn’t just win. He trounced the establishment-backed challenger who had support from party leaders, big donors, and pro-Israel lobbying groups seeking to punish him for his pro-Palestinian stances.

What was supposed to be a clean purge of the Left turned into a humiliating defeat for the moderates.

And it wasn’t just a policy win—it was a tone win.

Mamdani and others like him don’t speak in carefully polished soundbites. They’re angry. They’re unapologetic. And they’re not afraid to name names or make enemies.

That’s the energy Democratic voters are increasingly rewarding.

Meanwhile, the other wing of the party—the professional-class centrists who appear nightly on MSNBC with a furrowed brow and a calm voice—keeps wringing its hands about Trump while doing next to nothing to stop him.

They condemn his actions with all the urgency of a mild weather advisory. They call him dangerous in one breath and then praise “bipartisanship” in the next. They let the media chase “both sides” neutrality while the far-right torches democracy in plain sight. They hold hearings, write op-eds, and send strongly worded tweets—but rarely seem to fight like they believe the stakes are life or death.

And that’s the problem: Trump and the MAGA movement aren’t playing politics.

They’re waging war.

Cultural war.

Legal war.

Moral war.

And too many Democrats are still bringing committee reports to a gunfight.

Voters are noticing. They’re tired of being told to stay calm. They’re tired of Democrats who tell them not to protest too loudly, not to push too hard, not to “alienate the middle.”

What middle?

The one that still thinks both parties are the same?

The one that’s somehow undecided about whether a dictator should rule this country?

Mamdani’s win wasn’t just a local district win in New York. It was a wake-up call. A signal flare. A sign that the base wants fighters, not consultants.

The people want Democrats who aren’t afraid to be called “radical” when the alternative is being complicit.

Because the truth is, you can’t meet fascism halfway.

You can’t negotiate with white nationalism.

You don’t compromise with people who want to erase entire communities from American life.

You either confront them—or you get out of the way.

The Democratic Party’s internal struggle isn’t about socialism versus capitalism anymore.

It’s about courage versus cowardice.

Rage versus routine.

Resistance versus respectability.

So let the polite Democrats clutch their pearls. The rest of us are ready to throw some damn punches.