House Republicans are launching a caucus to fight back the new wave of socialist sympathies coming to the fore in American politics.

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) first announced the creation of the House Anti-Socialism Caucus weeks ago, but tweeted last week that he had received approval from the House to formally launch the group.

"Since getting it approved earlier this week, we've seen great support," Stewart told Blaze Media in a statement Friday. "We have seven original members, and I am confident that it will continue to grow."

According to information from Stewart's office, the seven other original members of the new caucus are Republican Reps. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), Guy Reschenthaler (Pa.), Rob Bishop (Utah), Bill Flores (Texas), Vicky Hartzler (Mo.), Roger Williams (Texas), and Ralph Norman (S.C.).

The purpose of the caucus is to "inform lawmakers and the public on the dangers of socialism and to serve as a bulwark to stop the advancement of socialist policies and legislation," a February news release explained.



"So much time has passed from the fall of the Iron Curtain that many have internalized — or never experienced — socialism's ultimate price," Stewart stated in the release. "If we fail to recall those dangerous times, the primitive appeal of socialism will advance and infect our institutions."

Socialism has been a growing force on the left in recent years, as evidenced most clearly by the surge of far-left support behind self-described socialist politicians Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Furthermore, a recent Harris poll found that nearly half of young Americans want to live in a socialist country.

The trend has already provided ample fodder for Republican politicians. During his 2019 State of the Union speech, President Donald Trump proudly declared that "America will never be a socialist country."

Furthermore, the president and vice president teams appear to be making the Democrats' recent flirtations with socialism a main line of attack for 2020, according to Axios.

But the new wave of socialist Democrats bothers more than those on the right. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said Tuesday that she's a "proud capitalist" who is "offended by this whole conversation about socialism."

"Socialism has no place in the American political tradition, on either side of the aisle," Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation executive director Marion Smith told Blaze Media in a statement about the caucus' formation.

"It is alarming that socialism is becoming increasingly popular here in America, especially among millennials," Smith said. "Most of them, however, don't know that socialism is the road to communism, and that if implemented, they would lose many of the freedoms that they now enjoy."