Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced a Senate resolution Thursday condemning socialism as a failed ideology as New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D) campaigns on socialist policies.
Scott announced the resolution in a press release and reiterated his stance in a post on X, writing, “Socialism NEVER works. It’s destroyed countries, crushed economies and robbed millions of their basic human rights. I’m proud to lead a resolution condemning this failed ideology and reminding the far-left that Americans will ALWAYS reject it.”
The resolution, titled Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism, declares that socialism “collapses into communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships,” and cites historical examples in the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela. It asserts that socialist policies have led to famine, repression, and mass killings, pointing to figures including Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Hugo Chávez, and Nicolás Maduro.
In his statement, Scott emphasized his experience representing Florida communities with ties to countries ruled by socialist governments. “Just look at Cuba and Venezuela, or talk to any of the thousands of families in my state who fled those regimes after evil dictators stripped them of every opportunity,” he said. “Time and time again, socialism has led to the same, inevitable outcomes: misery, poverty, and oppression.”
Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) brought forward a companion resolution in the House.
She remarked:
History is clear: from Stalin’s gulags and Cambodia’s killing fields to Castro’s firing squads in Havana, socialism has always ended in misery, suffering, and death. Entire nations have been destroyed and millions of lives shattered, including many in my own community who fled its brutality.”
The resolution follows Scott’s letter to the Wall Street Journal in July, where he criticized Mamdani and other socialists for vilifying capitalism while benefiting from it. In the piece, Scott wrote that capitalism made the American Dream possible for him, noting his own rise from public housing to founding a business and later running the nation’s largest healthcare company.
Mamdani, a member of the New York State Assembly who won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor earlier this summer, has drawn national attention because of his socialist platform. In recent years, he has advocated for government-run grocery stores, the abolition of private property, and what he called the “end goal” of “seizing the means of production.” The Democratic Socialists of America have described Mamdani as one of their strongest allies in elected office, and party leaders openly acknowledge their role in shaping his platform.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) put forth the “MAMDANI Act” earlier this year to examine the effects of city-run grocery stores, warning the plan could disrupt food prices and supply chains nationwide. Lawler said Mamdani’s proposals were “straight out of the Marxist playbook.”
Even within his own party, Mamdani has drawn mixed reactions. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) defended him under the “big tent” banner of the Democratic Party, saying in July that “the bigger the tent, the more likely it is that we can reach the greatest number of Americans.” But other Democrats, including Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), have distanced themselves. Suozzi suggested Mamdani and other socialists “create their own party” and warned that socialism has “failed everywhere throughout the United States of America.”
Scott has positioned himself as one of the Senate’s leading opponents of socialism. In past statements, he called Vice President Kamala Harris’s push for price controls “pure socialism” and warned against left-wing movements like the teachers’ union-backed “RedforEd” campaign.
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