POLITICS: They’ll talk about socialism’s rise — but it’s really just Democrats’ fall

Don’t be fooled by conventional reading of the latest Gallup survey as showing the country moving Bernie Sanders’ way.

The poll seems to show a small drop in Americans’ view of capitalism, but a closer look suggest the only sure thing is that Democrats continue to shift left fast.

The pollsters report that the share of Americans with a positive view of capitalism fell from 60% in 2021 to 54% this year. (It was 61% in 2010, the first year Gallup asked.)

Yet that drop came purely among Democrats and independents, an eight-point fall among each since 2021.

And, notably, for the first ever, under half of Democrats (42%) view capitalism positively — even as Dems’ positive views of socialism has soared from 50% in 2010 to 66% now.

Most Americans (57%) still view socialism negatively.

Here’s the thing: Without access to the raw data, we can’t be sure Gallup isn’t overcounting Dems when it calculates the numbers for Americans overall.

And we do know that Americans are leaving the Democratic Party by the millions, with the GOP picking up about the same — an exodus that parallels the party’s turn to socialism.

In short, it’s not that Bernie Sanders AOC, Zohran Mamdani & Co. are changing people’s minds: The socialism-lovers are simply driving those who disagree out of a party that’s losing the rest of the country as a direct result.