With socialism threatening to break into mainstream American politics, many are asking how the country reached this point. Some on the Left recognize that the shift has been years in the making, but few are willing to address its underlying causes.

In a July 14 article in the New York Times titled “The Democratic Establishment Had This Coming,” opinion writer Mara Gay argues that the rise of the socialist wing in the Democratic Party rose from years of establishment failures, including defeats in presidential and congressional elections and an inability to shape the Supreme Court.