Right Thinkers Republican panelists speak out against socialism at get-out-the-vote meeting

By RICK MILLER

Olean Star

ALLEGANY — The conservative Right Thinkers group held a discussion on socialism with a panel of four elected officials at its meeting Monday that turned into a Republican get-out-the-vote rally.

Moderator and founder Nate Smith read questions submitted in advance to Rep. Nick Langworthy, Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, State Sen. George Borrello and Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric Butler.

Why is socialism making a comeback and why is it popular on the left? Smith asked the Republican officials.

“Socialism is polling very well,” said Sempolinski, who noted he served with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “He shouldn’t be running a popsicle stand,” he said of the former assemblyman, a Democratic socialist. Republicans, he said, need to appeal to younger folks.

“I think socialism is making a comeback because people are hearing the promises without hearing about the costs or the control that comes with them,” Butler said. “Frustration with today’s economy doesn’t make socialism a good answer. I don’t want Americans having to ask the government to get ahead.”

Borrello thanked the audience for coming and said their help was needed over the next two weeks before the election. “I hope this is a good sign,” he said. “Socialism is tapping into a very powerful, very basic human emotion, jealousy. Jealousy is what drives socialism. It is all about the redistribution of wealth — taking from others to give to someone else, who, frankly, hasn’t earned that.”

Langworthy, blamed the response to COVID-19 for the rise in socialism. “We taught Americans that there was such a thing as a free lunch. We showered public money over people to tell them not to work, not to leave the house and people kind of submitted very quickly. A lot of their rights, a lot of the strength in this room is a reaction to that COVID and the people coming together here each and every month because our rights were infringed on.”

He added: “In many cases our young people expect the same lifestyle that their parents worked for 40 years to achieve upon retirement, and they think they are going to walk off a college campus with a certificate that says I’m very smart, and they are entitled to that same lifestyle.”

Langworthy said socialism was on the ballot in two weeks. “There are some people that are poised to become members of the U.S. House of Representatives that are going to make AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) look like a moderate member from the Midwest. They make no illusions that they believe in the American way of life. They want to tear the system down and rebuild it,” the congressman said.

Next, Smith asked the panel to assess the midterm elections and what Republicans should be doing in the last two weeks before Election Day.

The sheriff’s advice was simple: “Republicans, we need to get out the vote, obviously. But we can’t mistake enthusiasm locally for a guaranteed victory in November. I don’t know many people who are banging a drum for Kathy Hochul or Letitia James. But at the end of the day, we can’t fall into the misconception that we’ve got anything in the bag because there’s a whole lot of people downstate that are drinking the Kool-Aid and we’re going to be in big trouble if we don’t come out on the right side of this deal. I’ve lived in this county all my life and I’ve never been more concerned about the state of our state and our country than I am right now.”

Borrello maintained that despite national headwinds against Republicans, in New York, Gov. Hochul is unpopular and Bruce Blakeman has good grassroots support. “We have tailwinds here in New York,” he said of Republican candidates. Hochul, he said, is “talking pretty much about Trump. She said it 41 times in a debate with Bruce Blakeman. We have to fight that visceral reaction to Republicans bad, Trump  bad.”

In his answer to the question about the midterms, Langworthy agreed there was “a wind in your face nationally,” more so because Republicans control the White House, Senate and House. “When I’m polling in New York it’s like I’m polling in a different country … and that is uniquely because of Kathy Hochul.” The congressman said Republicans need to “vote at a level we have not seen before.” Too many people are leaving the state for opportunities elsewhere, he said. “This is probably the last shot we’ve got to save New York” by electing Blakeman.

Sempolinski said national headwinds are one thing, but with Democrats controlling the Governor’s Office, Senate and Assembly, “How are you going to blame Republicans when things are so bad? When you open up your energy bill and it’s gone up exponentially, that’s not Republicans, It’s Democrats and everybody is smart enough to know it.” The assemblyman urged those attending to focus on their friends and neighbors who are registered, but don’t vote unless it’s a presidential election year. “You’ve got to talk to them and tell them this vote matters,” he said, adding that for those not registered, they can do so through Friday.

In another question, Smith asked the panelists about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, AOC and Rep. Rishada Tlaib, among the most recognizable. “If New York City will elect a member of the DSA as its mayor, is any American city safe?” Smith asked.

Langworthy cautioned against the “socialism with a smile” exhibited by Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez. He noted that “the City of New York doesn’t think the way we think in this room. They don’t share the same values and views of government as we do in upstate New York.” he said. “I mean this is here to stay,” he said of Democratic Socialist movement. And that DSA movement is going to try to replace the current leadership of the state Democratic Party.” As a counter, the congressman said, “We need new blood. We need to constantly be bringing in younger, fresher, more talented people into the forefront.”

Sempolinski said Mamdani used his Assembly seat “as a platform to make his little TikTok videos. This isn’t a serious guy until he is, until he’s mayor of New York City. “We have to find a way to counter this momentum, this charisma, this appealing to what people want to hear and we have to do it in a way that’s smart. We have to do it in a way that doesn’t compromise our values. We can’t just give away more stuff just to counter the other guy giving away more stuff.” Moreover, the assemblyman said, “We need to get every Republican and Conservative vote possible out. If we do build a grand common sense coalition from the center left to the right and everything in between, we can win.”

Butler, addressing the same question, said, “At the end of the day, putting the word democratic in front of the word socialism doesn’t change what it is, right? Socialism is socialism.” He said his father taught him “There’s no free lunch.” Butler pointed to civil unrest in Europe, which he said stemmed from governments making promises they can’t afford to keep. “I’m not against those social programs,” he said. “When somebody needs a hand up, that’s what we should be here for. But it shouldn’t be a way of life, right? We should be able to get people back on their feet, independent and free.”

Borrello said establishment Democrats “live in fear of being taken out by a member of the DSA. There are Democrats out there right now like Kathy Hochul who live in fear of the DSA agenda. They’re letting the tail wag the dog in their party. They think they know what’s good for you and your family. They are so out of touch because they’ve never had to face adversity in their life. They’ve never had to work hard for what they have. Now you can say yes, there’s right wing crazy people in the Republican Party, but they don’t run the show in the Republican Party.”