October 31, 2025
Into the valley of death rode the Democrats
By James Zumwalt
It was 176 years ago, in October of 1854, that a British light cavalry brigade exhibited tremendous courage, never to be forgotten, on a Crimean War battlefield. In what became known as the Charge of the Light Brigade, over 600 cavalrymen rode into the “valley of death.” It was a frontal assault against Russian artillery which, unfortunately for the Brits, was well prepared for them. The withering direct fire claimed tremendous casualties, eventually forcing the cavalry to retreat. While the brigade knew beforehand the wall of fire it would encounter that day, the assault was totally unnecessary—the tragic result of a misunderstood order.
As we face congressional elections this November, one senses it is the Democrat party that is riding into the valley of death. Unlike the light brigade that knew beforehand what it faced, it appears the Democrats are totally clueless. If its leaders had a clue, would they not have recognized the strategic error they have made in failing to reset the party’s ideological compass? Have they misunderstood what its members really need?
While the light brigade had both knowledge and courage, the Democrats’ leadership can claim neither. And to even suggest its failure to change the party’s ideological bearing is courageous simply confuses courage with stupidity. There is absolutely no way to view clinging to unpopular beliefs as anything other than a motivation for power at any price, rather than acting in the country’s best interests.
It was a misunderstood order that was the brigade’s undoing; it is misunderstood voters who may be the basis for the undoing of the Democrat party’s power play in the upcoming elections. Such an undoing must be weighing heavy on the minds of Democrats as NYC democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani recently learned his September 20-point lead has now been cut in half. And, in the race for governor in New Jersey—a state in which Democrats have held the office for all but eight years since 1990—it has come down to a one-point lead by their candidate.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/10/into_the_valley_of_death_rode_the_democrats.html