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The Branford Democratic Town Committee just posted a graphic declaring: “Nobody is advocating for communism. Not one person, not one candidate, nobody. Communism is just a term that MAGA throws around, to scare uneducated people.”

The claim is demonstrably uninformed, especially coming from a Democratic Town Committee in a state where communist and socialist organizations are actively recruiting, endorsing candidates, and electing members to local office, and where the Communist Party USA maintains a visible presence that Connecticut Democrats have repeatedly honored.

Let's start with Connecticut’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (CT DSA). It is the state affiliate of the largest socialist organization in the United States. On its own site, CT DSA states that it is “building a multiracial working class movement for democratic socialism” and demands “a radical redistribution of wealth, resources, and power.” It has grown to more than 1,000 dues-paying members and has endorsed and helped elect local officials while backing state legislative candidates.

CT DSA has backed Justin Farmer, a founding member of the chapter and former Hamden Legislative Council member, in his primary challenge for a New Haven state House seat. It has endorsed or supported State Rep. Maryam Khan, State Rep. Nick Gauthier, and State Rep. Laurie Sweet. Locally, DSA members hold seats including Hamden Legislative Council member Abdul Osmanu, New Britain Alderperson Nate Simpson, and New London city councilman Jeff Hart. These are not secret caucuses. They run as Democrats because DSA does not have its own ballot line, and they openly identify with the organization.

Then there's the Communist Party USA which Joelle Fishman has chaired for decades. She previously ran for Congress in the 3rd District on the Communist Party ticket, heads the CPUSA PAC, serves as a Commissioner on the City of New Haven Peace Commission (listed as a Democrat on the city’s website), and sits on the executive board of the Alliance of Retired Americans in Connecticut.

In an appearance on “Good Morning Revolution,” Fishman described how the Connecticut Communist Party supports labor and teachers unions during contract negotiations, participates in the statewide “Connecticut For All” economic and racial justice coalition, and helped organize a postcard campaign at No Kings protests in Hartford urging Gov. Ned Lamont to “take down the fiscal guard rails” and spend surplus money. She has called for more “actual organizing” beyond protests to defeat what she labels the “fascist” in office, and has boasted about electing more communists—including ones already on the ballot. Fishman has also received special recognition at the Amistad Awards for 50 years of leadership on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party USA, including the key to the city from then-Mayor Toni Harp and a citation from the New Haven Board of Alders. Her late husband was Art Perlo, son of Victor Perlo (accused of being a Soviet spy by Elizabeth Bentley).

And let's not forget that time when Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro described New Haven communist Alfred L. Marder as a "successful" community leader when she paid tribute to him in the U.S. Congressional Record on his 90th birthday. Marder was on a crusade to promote communism pretty much his entire life, starting as an organizer for the Young Communist League at age 16, according to the communist newspaper, People's World.

The Connecticut People’s World Committee, aligned with CPUSA, holds annual Amistad Awards that explicitly mark the anniversary of the Communist Party USA’s founding. Connecticut Democrat officials have participated in these events. In 2023, state Sen. Gary Winfield (D-New Haven) received an Amistad Award at a ceremony marking the 104th anniversary of CPUSA’s founding. Official General Assembly citations congratulating the recipients were initiated by Winfield and other Democrat legislators and signed by Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney and House Speaker Matt Ritter. Even U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has received an Amistad Award. Sen. Winfield has been reported as speaking positively about the Communist Party during his acceptance remarks. Fishman herself has noted the close alignment in messaging between Communist Party talking points and those of the Democrat Party more broadly.

Branford sits on the shoreline near New Haven, where much of the CPUSA and DSA organizing has been centered. The same Democrat Party apparatus that controls Branford’s Town Committee is the one whose state legislators and U.S. senator have accepted awards and citations from CPUSA-aligned groups, and whose coalitions overlap with open Communist Party activity on issues ranging from fiscal policy to labor organizing.

Democratic socialists and open communists are not “nobody.” They are organizing, running for office under the Democrat label, participating in statewide coalitions, and receiving public recognition from Democrat officials. The Branford DTC’s assertion that the word “communism” is nothing more than a MAGA scare tactic ignores a documented record of socialist organizing and Communist Party activity inside Connecticut’s Democrat orbit.

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