The Undercurrent

MEET ASHIK SIDDIQUE. He is the national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, and he wants to abolish the United States Senate. Siddique has never accomplished anything that would justify placing him above the constitutional system he wants to dismantle. Yet socialism has given him the confidence to believe the problem is not his lack of experience. The problem is the structure of the country itself. Abolishing the Senate would erase equal representation for every state. California could dominate Wyoming. New York could overpower Nebraska. Political control would shift toward a handful of densely populated metropolitan areas, while smaller and rural states would lose one of their principal protections in the federal government. It would also eliminate the chamber responsible for confirming federal judges and Cabinet officials, approving treaties, conducting impeachment trials, and slowing legislation before temporary political majorities can force it through. And that is the real objective. The Senate frustrates radical movements because it prevents a narrow ideological majority concentrated in major cities from immediately transforming the entire country. Socialists call that undemocratic because they do not merely want representation. They want fewer obstacles between themselves and power. Siddique says the Senate was built for wealthy landowners. His solution is to destroy one of the central checks in the Constitution and dramatically expand the House instead. DSA has repeatedly promoted abolishing or weakening institutions that restrain raw majority power, including the Senate, Electoral College, and Supreme Court. This is why socialism should never be treated as a harmless demand for cheaper healthcare or higher wages. Its leaders are openly telling you they want to redesign the government, remove constitutional guardrails, and concentrate power where their movement believes it can win. Like many of the leader in the DSA, Ashik Siddique has built remarkably little. But he is ready to demolish quite a lot.

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