The blue party came close to nominating a socialist (and communist sympathizer) for president this year, averting that calamity only at the eleventh hour when the establishment, in a panic, settled for an unlikely savior in the person of Joe Biden.

But socialists such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez remain stars, and the drift of the party is clearly ever leftward. Polls also show rising public support for socialism. A year ago, a Fox News poll found 31% of the public had a favorable view of socialism, up 6 points from nine months earlier. At the same time, Gallup found socialism’s support at 39%.