Socialists Are Not Just Shouting From the Sidelines Anymore
The Democratic Socialists of America have been building real influence inside Democratic politics, and conservatives should not pretend it is still just a campus club with handmade signs and bad economic takes. The movement has backed or inspired recent primary wins in major blue areas, including New York City races tied to DSA-backed Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a Colorado primary victory by Melat Kiros, a DSA insurgent in the Denver area. Kiros had reportedly worked as a barista after losing a legal job over an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas open letter to law firms. A recent poll cited in the original reporting also found that roughly one-third of Democratic voters want candidates who call themselves “Democratic socialists.” That is not a fringe whisper anymore, it is a faction with a microphone, a ballot line, and apparently a deep emotional attachment to 2020-era habits.
Joe Wrote Helped Put the Movement on Display
One figure in this story is Joe Wrote, identified as Joe Mayall, a Denver socialist writer whose work has appeared in far-left outlets such as Jacobin and on his own Substack. His posts have celebrated socialist gains and framed DSA victories as something much bigger than local primary drama. In one post, he pushed back on the idea that DSA wins were limited to “deep blue primaries,” saying that socialists had “conquered New York City, the heart of the Democratic establishment.” That kind of language is not exactly the soothing bedtime story Democrats tell suburban voters when they insist socialism is just pothole repair with better branding. It is the sound of a movement that believes it is taking territory, not politely asking for a seat at the committee table.
https://t.co/bpIoyUCTNW pic.twitter.com/s5v3vVpH2q
— Joe Wrote (@joewrote) June 24, 2026
The centrist spin is that DSA won in "Deep blue primaries." This is cope to avoid admitting socialists just conquered New York City, the heart of the Democratic establishment.
— Joe Wrote (@joewrote) June 24, 2026
The Denver Meeting Photo Became the Receipt
The viral moment came after a post described the first Denver DSA general meeting after Melat Kiros’s victory as a “packed house” with a “line out the door,” adding that “Big things are happening.” Then came the image critics could not stop sharing, a room where many attendees appeared to be wearing masks in July 2026. According to Greg Price, the post was deleted after the Denver DSA got roasted online. If your political revolution still looks like it is waiting for Dr. Fauci to give permission to clap, people are going to notice. To be fair, masks remain a personal choice, but when a movement that talks like Lenin meets in a room that looks like a lockdown reunion, the contrast writes its own punchline.
Denver DSA activist deletes his post of their meeting after getting roasted because over half the people in the room are wearing masks in July of 2026.
Lmfao pic.twitter.com/gYErJRJQi7
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 13, 2026
Critics Pounced Because the Optics Were Too Easy
Conservative commentators and social media accounts jumped on the images almost immediately. Clay Travis called masks in airports and on planes a “far left wing status symbol,” while End Wokeness and Libs of TikTok shared the meeting footage and mocked the attempt to delete it. The reason it spread is not complicated. The same political crowd that often demands control over markets, policing, health care, speech rules, and energy policy looked, in that moment, like it still had not emotionally left the pandemic command center. That does not mean every person in the room has the same reason for wearing a mask, but political images matter. Campaigns know it. Activists know it. Voters know it. And this image handed opponents a clean, simple message: these are the people who want to run your life.
I’m stunned by the number of people still wearing masks in airports and on planes when I travel to the east or west coast. It’s a far left wing status symbol now. https://t.co/dNpPuUSlLW
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 13, 2026
Look at the crowd at today's DSA event.
They tried to delete this. Too late. pic.twitter.com/aTxJ81aYQD
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 13, 2026
They just deleted this after realizing how ridiculous they look for wearing masks in 2026 lmaooo
The internet is forever pic.twitter.com/snQCC0SqRI
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 13, 2026
Democrats Have a Branding Problem They Cannot Mask Forever
The bigger story is not just one deleted post or one awkward room in Denver. It is that the Democratic Party is being pulled by activists who are far more radical than the “moderate” packaging used in general elections. DSA-aligned candidates push Medicare-for-All, anti-Israel politics, and big-government economic plans while celebrating wins as proof that socialism is moving from the protest sign into the party structure. Conservatives should take that seriously, even while laughing at the absurd parts, because bad ideas can still win primaries when turnout is low and the activist base is fired up. The left keeps telling America this is the future. The viral Denver photo gave voters a rare look at the future’s waiting room.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
JIMMY
Find more articles like this at steadfastandloyal.com.
Leave a Comment