LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Shaun Navarro knows the stereotypes: Socialists want to raise taxes, get free stuff from the government and not work.
But he and his fellow members of the Democratic Socialists of America — there are more than 700 here in Las Vegas — say doubters should come to a meeting and see the DSA in person.
WATCH | Senior political reporter Steve Sebelius sat down with Navarro to discuss socialism, as well as opponents to it:
"I think there's a lot of stigma around DSA," he says. "There's a lot of it that's much different than what you see online. I think if you come talk to us, you would see your neighbors, you'd see people like you, you see people that are just everyday people. And I really encourage people to come."
Interest in the group has surged since democratic socialists have won elections for House seats in New York City, running against incumbent Democrats. They've also won primaries in Colorado, and one is running for governor of Wisconsin. They've claimed mayoralties in New York City, Seattle and, perhaps soon, Washington, D.C.
Here in Las Vegas, Navarro ran for Assembly District 34 in the June primary, gaining 40% of the vote against incumbent Democrat Hanadi Nadeem. In Assembly District 10, DSA member Val Thomason notched 37% against incumbent Democrat Venise Karris in Assembly District 10.
You don't have to look far to see the contrast.
"I want prosperity for everyone," Navarro said. "And I think specifically here in Nevada, the rich have been doing very well, and I think that's why we're seeing a lot of the issues we're seeing now with housing, with health care, is that our state, more or less, has been up for sale."
"I mean, we were founded as a mining state; essentially our state economy is based on extraction, extraction of resources in the mining industry, extraction of people's money through gaming and hospitality," he said.
And that's not the only way DSA members differ from the mainstream candidates who get elected to office. The DSA also believes:
- Collective ownership of things essential to life, including electricity generation and transportation.
- Expanding the social safety net with government-paid child care, pre-kindergarten, public higher education and rent controls.
- Single-payer health care for everyone.
- Raising the minimum wage.
- Higher taxes on wealthy people.
- An end to military support for Israel.
- Defunding the police and prisons.
Navarro says getting rid of police wouldn't happen overnight; instead, it would be gradual as crime rates fell because people were no longer struggling with economic pressures or homelessness.
"I think when people are desperate, they do things they wouldn't normally do," he said. "I think when you have a lack of education funding, when you have this desperation we see in many communities when they see no hope for the future, that's when you see a rise in crime. It would just be like we snap our fingers and there's no more police."
Not everybody is sold.
Jill Douglass, chairwoman of the Clark County Republican Party and a candidate for Assembly District 37 in November, says socialism would blunt what makes America work.
"What's shocking is that when you talk to people on the streets and you talk about government in general, most people want limited government and they understand that what has made America great is our exceptionalism, which has been created by innovation and opportunity that exists for everybody," Douglass said. "So you can also look at socialism in other places and clearly it doesn't work. When the government starts taking from people and controlling, then there's less, there's less creativity, less innovation, less opportunity and you get bad results. We've seen that everywhere."
Douglass says the American system of government is designed to limit government power, while socialism necessarily requires an expansion of it.
"Nowhere in our Constitution does it say the government is to provide for you," she said. "It does say the government is to protect you, and the government guarantees you life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, so it's up to you."
Douglass says the Democratic Party is paralyzed by the DSA challenges, which often come in safe blue districts. But party leaders aren't shutting the surge down for fear of losing votes from the base, she says. To be sure, a message seeking comment from the Nevada State Democratic Party went unanswered on Tuesday.
But Navarro says candidates running against DSA members mimicked their rhetoric in the primary, a sign they know the base is dissatisfied with the status quo and wants change.
"We're seeing a lack of upward mobility and as we see less and less people be able to work up, they're going to have a completely different idea," he said. "I think the younger generations have a completely different perception of capitalism, the American system, because they've just, from the day they're born, they've just seen life-changing events, horrific things happen and they lack faith in the system."
For those who have lost faith, Navarro says, democratic socialism offers hope.
"I think also we like to say a better world is possible; it's believing that we can achieve something better outside of our current capitalistic system and to kind of really sum it up, it's people over profits," he said.
