The resurrected bogey is unlikely to be as scary and sweeping as the previous Red Scares in US history targeting the radical left. The first in the aftermath of WW I was directed against the anarcho-syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Eugene Debs and the left wing of the Socialist Party, and Emma Goldman and other anarchist agitators. The second after WW II purged the Communist Party from the trade unions, educational system, and cultural industries.
It should be harder for the increasingly unpopular and desperate Trump administration to paint the DSA and other left-wing social democrats as dangerous reds in the service of a foreign power. The latter are much smaller with much more limited influence in a trade union movement which is itself no longer as militant and as threatening to the employers and the system as it was in those earlier periods. But the administration will try to use the DSA's electoral successes to reverse the fading Republican chances in the midterms and to secure additional funding and executive power for its pursuit of the more vulnerable and isolated Palestine solidarity, anti-ICE, and Marxist and anarchist activists. ********************************* Johnson Says Pentagon Needs More Money for ‘Fighting Communism on Our Own Shores’ Trump has threatened to deploy the military against the “enemy within” and has recently promoted the idea that “democratic socialism must be criminalized.” Stephen Prager Common Dreams Jul 14, 2026 As he pushed for Congress to approve $350 billion in new spending requested by the Pentagon, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Tuesday that some of the funds were needed for “fighting communism on our own shores,” an ominous notion in light of President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy the US military against his domestic enemies. In addition to the already record-breaking $1.1 trillion military spending bill that was approved last month by the House Appropriations Committee, the Pentagon has requested a separate $350 billion package to be passed through a separate GOP-led spending bill known as “Reconciliation 3.0,” which can pass without Democratic support. Johnson (La.) has faced pushback from some GOP senators, including Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and the hospitalized Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), as he’s sought additional spending. During a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson made his case for Republicans to back the reconciliation proposal. The speaker argued that the package included “transformational funding that will help us change the dynamic of the Department of War and make it more efficient and effective,” including Trump’s request to “effectively double the funding for national defense.” “Look, we live in dangerous times,” Johnson said. “We’re fighting communism on our own shores, and we’re fighting evil terrorists and tyrants around the world, and we have to be able to protect our national security.” In the weeks following a series of Democratic primary victories by progressive and democratic socialist candidates in New York, Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, and elsewhere, Trump and his allies in the GOP have relentlessly hammered on the idea that the nation was under siege by “godless Communists” who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of life,” rhetoric that echoed McCarthy era red-baiting to many critics. In just two weeks since those primaries on June 23, Reuters found that Trump had invoked “communism” at least 81 times to demonize candidates and officials like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and others, who have promoted policies like Medicare for All, higher taxes on the wealthy, the expansion of public utilities, the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, cutting off aid to Israel, and other policies supported by large numbers of Democratic voters. Trump’s recent rhetoric has indicated that opposing “communism” goes beyond simply voting to keep these candidates out of power. He’s referred to the so-called communists as “animals,” as a “cancer” that needs to be “cut out fast.” He said during a July 3 speech outside Mount Rushmore that “communists” cannot be “loyal” to America and he will “send them into exile... send them quickly away.” On Sunday, Trump reposted a video from the right-wing radio host Michael Savage with the title “DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM MUST BE CRIMINALIZED; LEADERS DEPORTED.” Johnson echoed Trump’s rhetoric on Tuesday, continuing to describe passing the military spending proposal as part of the existential fight against internal communist enemies. “THE BARBARIANS ARE INSIDE THE GATE!” Johnson posted to social media alongside a video of himself promoting the bill. “We are fighting right now in Congress over whether we’re going to maintain our status as a constitutional republic OR trade that in, dismantle the foundations and GO DOWN THIS DARK ROAD OF DEATH TO COMMUNISM,” he continued. “THAT is the question.” With these comments, Johnson was explicitly tying increased military funding to Trump’s fight against communism, though it’s unclear which aspect of the budget proposal would be directed toward those ends. Federal troops are generally barred from domestic law enforcement, though the president can deploy them in cases of domestic insurrection and violence that ordinary law enforcement cannot handle. Trump has deployed active duty Marines to US cities like Los Angeles and ordered the National Guard to deploy to many others, including Portland, Memphis, and Chicago, which courts have said violated the law. He has also suggested using armed forces to target his ideological enemies. During a speech to generals last year, he said cities should be used as “training grounds for our military” as they fight an “enemy within,” which has included immigrants, the “radical left” and protest movements that have mobilized in opposition to his administration. Stephen Prager is a staff writer for Common Dreams. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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