A staff writer at "The Atlantic" has produced an excellent, unbiased look at the challenge to the Democratic Party posed by the radical positions of some self-proclaimed socialists:

There’s Nothing Democratic About These Socialists

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) was formed in opposition to the very thing it has become.

By Jonathan Chait

(Excerpts)

The general idea that Democratic Party loyalists seem to have about members of the Democratic Socialists of America is that they’re a lot like Democrats, but perhaps a bit more passionate.
But the DSA’s version of democratic socialism goes far beyond routine public functions such as garbage collection and Social
The DSA, in fact, seems to despise the Democratic Party. Its feelings about Democrats encompass not only the party’s leadership but also the philosophical commitments that have guided it since the New Deal.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, the favorite candidate of New York Mayor and self-proclaimed socialist, Zohran Mamdani, has called Joe Biden a “rapist” and wrote “Fuck Kamala Harris” on social media.
She proceeded to be nominated for a House race in New York by Democratic voters who presumably do not all share those feelings
Chevalier has called for seizing land and the means of production and has repeatedly praised communism.
Some DSA activists are alarmed that the organization is in danger of surrendering its commitment to democratic principles.
In 2021, eight founding DSA members had warned that far-left, authoritarian-minded factions were attempting to gain control of the group.

FULL STORY

See IndieDems Feature Article on June 16 Runoff Election in Georgia

Friday, June 12, is the last day of early voting in Georgia’s general primary runoff. The runoff is being held for those offices in which no candidate in the May 19 primary election obtained a majority of the votes. The formal vote takes place on June 16. If you voted in the May election, you must use the same party’s ballot in the runoff. If you did not vote in May, you can choose either party’s ballot in the runoff.

Click here for the AJC overview of the June 16 runoff.

The following are the Democratic candidates for key positions in the runoff.

Secretary of State

Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett is in a showdown with former Fulton County State Court judge and reality TV host Penny Brown Reynolds.

LEARN MORE about the election and the office

Lieutenant Governor

State Sen. Josh McLaurin is facing former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes.

LEARN MORE about the election and the office

Insurance Commissioner

Insurance agent DeAndre Mathis is vying with former state lawmaker and former Atlanta City Council member Keisha Sean Waites. The winner will challenge Republican John King, who is seeking a second full term and had no primary challenger.

LEARN MORE about the election and the office

Labor Commissioner

Nonprofit leader Nikki Porcher is facing community organizer Michele Sanchez. The winner will challenge Holmes, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary.

LEARN MORE about the election and the office

From the Atlantic magazine:

Trump’s 250th Celebration Is a Fiasco

The president has turned a solemn occasion into a Day of Trump.

By David Frum

(Excerpt)

"...the president was complaining that seven of the nine acts scheduled to headline the July 4 weekend musical program canceled within 48 hours of one another because they realized that the event was degenerating into a hyperpartisan salute to Trump personally. His proposed solution? Replace the canceled acts with a Trump rally speech! A speech that will focus on Trump’s outrage that a judge blocked him from renaming the Kennedy Center after himself!"

FULL STORY

As The Iran war continues, the U.S. supply of critical weapons systems is depleted, the economy spirals downward, and the budget deficit explodes, President Trump is energetically pursuing his campaign to embed his legacy (and image) throughout American society.

Portrait on Passports. The State Department is preparing to commemorate America's 250th anniversary by releasing a limited-edition U.S. passport that will feature Donald Trump’s portrait on the inside cover. His image will be surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence, an American flag, and the president's signature rendered in gold.

Build Huge Ballroom. A gunman’s attempt to attack a gathering of Trump and his cabinet members attending the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association inside the Washington Hilton has given added impetus to Trump’s out-of-the-blue proposal to build a huge ballroom on White House grounds. A federal District Judge last month had ordered the administration to pause work on the ballroom, demanding it receive “express authorization from Congress” before proceeding, as “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”

Build Triumphal Arch. Trump also wants to build a triumphal arch in Washington. Trump insisted that his arch be taller than the France’s famous Arc de Triomphe, which stands roughly 164 feet tall, and settled eventually on the idea that the arch should rise to 250 feet, to celebrate America’s 250 years. It would be more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial and the tallest triumphal arch in any of the world’s capital cities.

Link Self to Kennedy Center. Trump has already, of course, taken control of the Kennedy Center, causing a dramatic loss of its prestige in the arts. Some of the first performers to cancel was a touring production of the musical Hamilton and actress and writer Issa Rae, who canceled her sold-out March production. A slew of cancellations by artists and performance companies followed after Trump-appointed members of the Kennedy Center's board voted to add Trump’s name to its title. In February, Trump announced plans to close the Center for two years in July for extensive remodeling.

All the above highlights Trump’s totalitarian impulses, and will cost the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars at a time when Trump and his Republicans have slashed spending on the health and welfare of average citizens, at home and abroad.

And what irresponsible and unaccountable Republicans remain solidly in the Trump camp while he engages in this adolescent sideshow? Let’s begin by naming seven in high places, the Chiefs of Staff to Republican U.S. Representatives from Georgia:

Philip Singleton, COS to Rep. Mitch McCormick;
Alex Stone, COS to Rep. Brian Jack;
Alice Johnson, COS to Rep. Austin Scott:
Nicholas Brown, COS to Rep. Andrew Clyde
Brandon Phillips, COS to Rep. Mike Collins
Lauren Hodge, COS to Rep. Rick Allen
Rob Adkerson, COS to Rep. Barry Loudermilk

(The Georgia Recorder is published by States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital. Here is its wrap-up of the 2026 election.)

Kemp rejects calls to redraw this year’s political maps, early voting surge and other news

MORE NEWS:

Georgia GOP race for state school chief pits incumbent experience against calls for change | Ross Williams
The 2020 election continues to cast a shadow over the race for Georgia’s next top election official | Maya Homan
Candidates vying to be Georgia’s next top lawyer sharpen attacks as early voting starts | Jill Nolin
As early voting starts, GOP Senate hopefuls make appeals to Georgia voters, spar with each other | Ross Williams
GOP candidates for governor in Georgia clash over the mounds of cash pouring into the race | Alander Rocha
US House passes ‘skinny’ farm bill that keeps big GOP cuts to food assistance | Jacob Fischler

Supreme Court decision weakening Voting Rights Act could impact future political maps in Georgia

From the New York Times

Summary:

"President Donald Trump’s latest tantrums against NATO remind us that toddlers love repetition. Trump has threatened to pull out of the transatlantic alliance so many times — it’s become, well, a joke. He recently called America’s European allies “cowards” for refusing to race to his command and seize the Strait of Hormuz."

"At least three NATO allies have told Trump, in so many words, to take a flying leap...At least some good has come from Trump’s foot-stomping petulance. Europe has begun focusing on developing its own military defenses rather than leaning so heavily on U.S. power."

From the New York Times:

Excerpts:

Trump has created a veritable pardon industry, in which people with White House connections accept payments from wealthy convicts. Among those on whom he has bestowed freedom are:

Dozens of people convicted of fraud.
Juan Orlando Hernández, a former president of Honduras, who helped traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States
Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for running Silk Road, a sprawling criminal enterprise that sold drugs.
There seems to be no crime too ugly for a Trump pardon.

Worst of all, Mr. Trump granted clemency on the first day of his second term to everyone who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

He did not distinguish between rioters who were relatively peaceful and those who attacked police officers. About 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters received a clean slate, regardless of their actions.
The results have been disastrous. At least 12 of the pardoned rioters have since been charged with other serious crimes, including child molestation, assault, harassment, murder plots and charges related to a vicious dog attack.

IndieDems Comment:

The following list of Georgia‘s Republican Trump butt-kissers do not give a damn about Trump's trampling on the rule of law, or about the new victims of these criminals.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter & staffers:
Chris Crawford, Chief of Staff
Tommy Reynolds, Legislative Director
Harley Adsit, Communications Director
Hunter Kirkland, Press Secretary
Jamie Johnson, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick 7^th District
Philip Singleton, Chief of Staff
Nathan Barker, Legislative Director
Julie Singleton, Communications Director
Darren Dershem, Press Secretary
Jacqueline Tran, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Brian Jack 3^rd District
Alex Stone, Chief of Staff
Anna Claire Stietenroth, Legislative Direct
Abby Ronson, Press Secretary
Rachel Salle, Scheduler
Joseph Brannan, District Director

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott 8^th District
Alice Johnson, Chief of Staff
Zach Roberts, Legislative Director
Alex Enlow, Communications Director
Jackie Van Slambrook, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde 9^th District and his staffers:
Nicholas Brown, Chief of Staff
Dawn-Marie Sullivan, Legislative Director
Madeline Corso, Communications Director
Alexia Spentzas, Press Secretary
Lindsay Roberts, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins 10^th District and his staffers:
Brandon Phillips, Chief of Staff
Kevin Petroccioe, Legislative Director
LeeAnn Perritt, Communications Director

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen 12^th District
Lauren Hodge, Chief of Staff
Cam Shepherd, Legislative Director
Carlton Norwood, Communications Director
Heath Wheat, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, 11th District
Rob Adkerson, Chief of Staff
Nick Petromelis, Communjcations Director
Ashleigh Padgett, Legislative Director
Ashley Adkerson, Scheduler

Headline: With Mideast in conflict, Pope Leo criticizes those who invoke God for war.

“Some Trump aides and supporters cloak the war on Iran in religious terms, but the Chicago-born pope said that God ‘does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’”

IndieDems comment: Here is a list of Georgia Republicans who do not give a damn what the Pope, or any religious leaders, say is wrong about Trump and the Iran war:

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter & staffers:
Chris Crawford, Chief of Staff
Tommy Reynolds, Legislative Director
Harley Adsit, Communications Director
Hunter Kirkland, Press Secretary
Jamie Johnson, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Brian Jack 3^rd District
Alex Stone, Chief of Staff
Anna Claire Stietenroth, Legislative Direct
Abby Ronson, Press Secretary
Rachel Salle, Scheduler
Joseph Brannan, District Director

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott 8^th District
Alice Johnson, Chief of Staff
Zach Roberts, Legislative Director
Alex Enlow, Communications Director
Jackie Van Slambrook, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins 10^th District and his staffers:
Brandon Phillips, Chief of Staff
Kevin Petroccioe, Legislative Director
LeeAnn Perritt, Communications Director

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen 12^th District
Lauren Hodge, Chief of Staff
Cam Shepherd, Legislative Director
Carlton Norwood, Communications Director
Heath Wheat, Scheduler

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, 11th District
Rob Adkerson, Chief of Staff
Nick Petromelis, Communjcations Director
Ashleigh Padgett, Legislative Director
Ashley Adkerson, Scheduler

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution treated the self-made billionaire health care entrepreneur Rick Jackson’s unexpected announcement that he is running for Georgia governor with a blunt but insightful opening: “Rick Jackson’s surprise bid for Georgia governor has turned the contest into a cash arms race. And the two front-runners are loading up.”

Georgia’s gubernatorial race is now in the front ranks of the elections where the outcome is less about a contest of ideas and policies than a about who has the most money. Billionaires are buying America, and its future, one election at a time. Georgia voters now have a chance to say “no” to establishing the reign of billionaires.

MORE NEWS ON JACKSON'S BID

IndieDems.com

See IndieDems Feature Article on June 16 Runoff Election in Georgia

Trump’s 250th Celebration Is a Fiasco

Kemp rejects calls to redraw this year’s political maps, early voting surge and other news

Supreme Court decision weakening Voting Rights Act could impact future political maps in Georgia

From the New York Times:

IndieDems Comment:

IndieDems comment: Here is a list of Georgia Republicans who do not give a damn what the Pope, or any religious leaders, say is wrong about Trump and the Iran war:

Rick Jackson’s fortune will make Georgia governor’s race more expensive

8 takeaways from Rick Jackson’s surprise entry into Georgia governor’s race