Socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier excited for far-left power grab

The GOP is cruising for a bruising in a few weeks, when Democrats have their shot to retake one or both chambers of Congress.

If that happens, rest assured that this will not be a Democratic-controlled legislature like any other in American history: It will be the most far-left majority the country has ever seen, filled with radical people who are committed to a destructive socialist ideology that sees the United States as a unique villain on the world scale, that prefers to root for communist nations like Cuba or even China, that sympathizes with Islamic extremists and believes America deserved 9/11, that wants to throw out the Constitution and borders and global capitalism. And they are positively thirsting for power.

Just listen to this recent interview with maybe the most radical figure of all: Darializa Avila Chevalier, a would-be House member from New York City. Avila Chevalier spelled out exactly what she will do when she gets into government: She will proudly and happily wield government power as she sees fit. In fact, she thinks that if Democrats have qualms about exercising power, they need to get over those real quick, so that her socialist revolution can become reality.

That was Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, another congressional hopeful, who was sitting next to her, articulating their theory that government power is a neutral force. I, for one, disagree, and disagree strongly. I think that’s putting the matter far too nicely.

The exercise of government power — government force — is an ugly, brutish thing. It’s some external forces taking your hard-earned money and telling you how to run your life: What you can do on your own property, what terms under which you can enter into contract with other people or other groups, how much freedom you really have.

Yes, unfortunately, is necessary to have some kind of government to defend us from external threats and to punish and detain criminals. That’s what our Founders envisioned for us: An extremely constrained federal government that was limited to just protecting our lives and our liberties.

Sadly, politicians in both parties have greatly expanded the purview of the federal government — and I certainly count President Trump in that camp. He has wielded executive privilege to launch new wars, impose tariffs and do other things that clearly exceed his congressional authority.

But listen to what radical socialists like Avila Chevalier are saying. They are not saying that Democrats should work to limit the powers of the government and keep reckless politicians in check. They are saying that once they have control, they are going to exactly what Trump does and then some: wield government as they see fit.

We know exactly what they are going to do. They will start by pursuing ruinous economic policies, like massive new regulations on the tech sector, confiscation of wealth from successful people, onerous labor restrictions and environmental restrictions that will make it even more difficult to buy a home or to start a business.

But Avila Chevalier plans to use government power for even more sinister ends: abolishing the people, the border, capitalism itself, and the Constitution — that’s what the charter of the organization she’s a member of, the Democratic Socialists of America, calls for. And she’s not backing down from that. She hasn’t renounced it, or said she disagrees with it. She hasn’t even said, well, it’s a nice idea, but we can’t do it. She wants to do it. And she is not going to be constrained by the idea that wielding power is an inherently unpleasant task — inherently contrary to our liberties. These socialists will wrongly say they are protecting your liberties, even as they enact policies that will make your life much worse.

How I miss the days when people running for office would at least make vague promises that they want to get into office so they can leave you alone. They often violated those promises, but at least they tried to express the sentiment. That’s all over now.

A do-something Congress is about to be elected. They will not use their newfound power to curb government excesses so that no one abuses the office. They will go all out to enact their far-left agenda.

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.