Locals who observed the visit by multi-billionaire Mike Bloomberg got to witness a perfect example of the condition of the Democrat Party today. Some say the Republicans have changed and maybe they have. They are no longer going to be bullied by the Schiffs and Pelosis. But it’s Democrats who have drastically changed. They are not the party of Woodrow Wilson, FDR or JFK. They are becoming the Socialist Workers Party.

In 1903 Russia the Socialist Workers movement split into two factions. The Mensheviks were described as moderates willing to work with the middle class in a kind of slow-go approach to socialism. The Bolsheviks were radicals who wanted immediate confiscation of private property and a radical change where worker’s councils or Soviets became the government. Sound familiar? Read the Green New Deal.

Today Mayor Pete, who has been accused of cozying up to Wall Street billionaires, could be a Menshevik. Conversely Bernie Sanders, who has admired Marxist ideals all his life, and his radical followers epitomize the Bolsheviks. History tells us the Bolsheviks pushed out the Mensheviks and became the communists. Ignorance of history will condemn one to repeat it. So we should watch carefully what is playing out before us similar to a hundred years ago.

At the Bessie Smith Hall today, people got to witness an example of Bolshevik tactics as someone attempted to take over the microphone and rebuke the crowd and Bloomberg. Had she been allowed to speak it would likely have been similar to Bernie’s rants Monday night in New Hampshire. Granted Mike Bloomberg is no dynamic speaker and without this bit of drama his talk could have been a cure for insomnia. The event did highlight the different approaches the Democrats want to take. Make no mistake, both factions of the modern Democrat Party are on the same path to socialism. And like the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks, they differ on timing and tactics.

So why wasn’t McKenzie Arena rented for everyone to hear how he plans to get it done? Whatever “it” is. There were some unable to get in the limited space at the Bessie Smith Hall. Were local party leaders underestimating Mike’s crowd appeal? Trump only drew 12,000 inside and thousands more outside.

There’s the problem with Democrats. They are quite disorganized (Iowa, who qualifies for debates, the concept of superdelegates) and they offer no message of unity other than hate for Donald Trump and a burning desire remove him from office. Bolshevik Bernie might stir up a crowd on a college campus promising to cancel student debt, featuring a rock band and bringing along hundreds of noisy out-of-state volunteers. In contrast Menshevik Mike’s low key message is more slow-go, less threatening. But it’s slow-go to socialism. They don’t want to frighten those who might fear confiscation of their 401Ks to pay for free stuff like AOC and Bernie might do.

History does repeat itself, but my choice for America is the fire of Liberty of George Washington not the failed ideas of Karl Marx. And remember the Mensheviks didn’t win in Russia.

Ralph Miller