Sen. Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally in Durham, N.C., February 14, 2020. (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)

We’d all like to kick Karl Marx in his foul choppers, but since he’s sub terra firma and inaccessible, the immediate thing for freedom-loving people to do — at least those who share NR’s abiding concerns with the rise of affinity towards socialism — is to strike out at this nasty ideology’s new, this-side-of-the-Atlantic iteration. Namely: The ascendancy of Bernie Sanders, socialist supreme and the man shaping up to be the ever-leftward-veering Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.


We’ve commenced a short-term webathon urging our faithful readers to make a contribution to help NR Battle Bernie’s Socialism. Hundreds have — and we are nearing our goal of $25,000 (we hope to reach and surpass that by this Sunday, when we’ll close out the effort). Over the decades, tens of thousands have given NR material support — from the Widow’s Mite to 25 grand or more — to wage this battle, one launched in our very first issue in 1955. Of our most recent donors, a number have attached sentiments and encouraging words to their gift. As is our custom, we share some randomly selected:

John sends General Jackson our way and offers a short-and-sweet size-up of the target: “Socialism takes away freedoms to accomplish its goals. It will further divide the U.S. into two social classes; the givers and the takers.” True, but we’re still thankful for some givers, like you John.

Another John (“T”) spots us a nice C-note and a dead-on take of the days of not-so-yore: “The 20th century is evidence enough that socialism, regardless of its form, the adjectives attached to it, or the supposed integrity of is advocates, is a recipe for failure.”

Paul plunks fifty bucks into the account and gets aptly epidemiological with his thoughts: “The best medical analogy for Socialism is syphilis: It is contracted due to sin (greed and envy rather than lust), starts as a relatively benign chancre, goes away, comes back as a body wide infection (causing all manner of problems), and ultimately proceeds to neurosyphilis (causing delusional thinking) and death.” Beats my analogy to irritable bowel syndrome! Thanks so much Paul.

And one last one: Len drops one thousand smackers in the collection basket and makes a pitch-perfect case: “ National Review is a unique and powerful civilizational resource. Intellectual integrity matters, and over the years this venue has stood up tall and strong against the corrosion and corruption of the false flag left. Keep up the good work”

Oh yeah Len: Gotta love what you say, gotta love the level of your generosity. And gotta admit: There is no way to keep up good work minus the kindness of our donors. We know few can give at that level, but we encourage those who can to do just that. And to those who can only see fit towards a sawbuck or $25 or $50 or $100, be assured: We have no less a deep appreciation for such selflessness. Every cent is used with consequence.

Will you help NR reach our $25,000 goal? Please do, knowing that when you donate to the Battle Bernie Webathon we’re enabled and empowered to sock socialism in the puss. So use that link or, if you prefer to donate in the old-fashioned/just-as-good mode, you can mail your deeply appreciated contribution (made payable to “National Review”) to National Review, ATTN: Defeat Socialism, 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY 10036. God bless!