Young Dems radicalism threatens to doom their party in midterms and beyond

Energy is the word of the day, week, month, and years to come in the Democratic Party.As progressive challengers take on — and often dispatch — establishment figures in primaries from sea to shining sea, their movement has earned rounds of applause for its vitality.Former President Barack Obama, for example, has deemed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani an “extraordinary talent.”Ex-Vice President Kamala Harris has praised him for “bringing people in,” marveling that it’s “so powerful.”Three far-left congressional candidates endorsed by the mayor prevailed in the Big Apple last month; Graham Platner retired Gov.Janet Mills before primary day in Maine and has been replaced on the ballot by a fellow traveler; and Abdul El-Sayed has gone from underdog to favorite in his race against Haley Stevens in Michigan.Energy, momentum, dynamism: whatever you want to call it, this faction has it in spades, in large part thanks to the young voters who have propelled them to victory — and ushered in an entirely new era for their party.A new Manhattan Institute survey of 1,121 likely voters across the country leaves little doubt as to whether this is a blip on the radar or a taste of the courses to come.Among left-leaning respondents between the age of 18 and 34, 67% identify as democratic socialists.Among those between 35 and 49, that figure drops, but is still 56%.Even among 50 to 64-year-olds, 45% are reaching for their hammers and sickles.The forecast for Team Blue is red — with a string of inevitable electoral disappointments.Because what’s popular among the ascendant majority in the Democratic base is not among the American majority that decides elections.“There is a reason why Republicans nationwide are licking their chops,” observed CNN data guru Harry Enten during one recent segment about the Democratic Socialists of America’s dismal net favorability rating of negative 27 points.Sixty-six percent of Democrats have a positive view of “socialis...