Cato poll shows 86% of Americans grateful to be American; DSA primary wins force party split into the open
A Cato Institute survey finding that 86% of Americans are grateful to be in this country and 74% say the American Dream is personally available to them arrived alongside a July Fourth weekend that sharpened the Democratic Party's internal split on ideology and economic policy. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his holiday address to attack "monopolies that dominate every industry," "oligarchs who buy elections," and a health insurance industry he characterized as exploitative. Fifteen House moderates responded with an open letter declaring they are "capitalist, not socialist" and "proud, not ashamed of America."
A Cato Institute survey finding that 86% of Americans are grateful to be in this country and 74% say the American Dream is personally available to them arrived alongside a July Fourth weekend that sharpened the Democratic Party's internal split on ideology and economic policy. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his holiday address to attack "monopolies that dominate every industry," "oligarchs who buy elections," and a health insurance industry he characterized as exploitative. Fifteen House moderates responded with an open letter declaring they are "capitalist, not socialist" and "proud, not ashamed of America."
DSA growth and the platform it is pushing
The Democratic Socialists of America carried 6,500 members into Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run. Membership rose to 8,500 during that campaign, then another 13,000 signed on in the eight months following the election. The movement has since reached New York City's mayoralty through Mamdani, and two democratic socialists were seated in the House in 2019, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The DSA platform includes Medicare for All, higher taxes on top earners, free public transit, and government-subsidized groceries and child care. More radical proposals circulating in the movement include abolishing prisons and eliminating private property rights. Fox News columnist Liz Peek contends those positions mark the boundary the silent majority has historically refused to cross.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both face DSA primary threats, a pressure the open letter from 15 House moderates makes impossible to paper over.
The spending and inflation record that frames the debate
Federal spending under Joe Biden reached its highest share of the economy since World War II. Inflation crossed above 9% during that period. Peek draws a direct line from that fiscal posture to the inflationary surge, arguing that DSA-scale spending programs would replay the same dynamic.
The policy crossover is real: DSA candidates are running on affordability too, but through government provision rather than market competition. That message has succeeded in deep-blue districts with low voter turnout. Whether it scales is the open question.
What to watch
Black and Jewish voters, both identified in Peek's analysis as significant Democratic blocs, are already speaking out against DSA candidates. The Cato data shows 70% of Americans view the nation's founding principles as relevant today, 86% say the Constitution is essential to protecting individual rights, and 82% say it enables the country's prosperity. The movement's test is whether it can convert low-turnout primary wins into general-election coalitions where those numbers work against it.
Related reading
Filed by the newsroom of MarketPR on July 7, 2026. Source: MarketPR. Indicative figures are not investment advice.