He Saw Life After the Berlin Wall Fell. Here’s What He Learned About Socialism.

Rep. Warren Davidson witnessed life in East Germany just weeks after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. In the next Congress, he could find himself serving alongside even more Democrats who embrace an ideology millions of Eastern Europeans rejected when they tore the wall down.

Ideas once associated with the Left’s fringe are increasingly entering the American political landscape. Several members of Congress already proudly identify as democratic socialists, and a new crop of candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America could soon join them.

For Davidson, an Ohio Republican and constitutional conservative, that’s a difficult reality to accept.

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After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Davidson enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman. While stationed in Germany in 1989, he made the trek to see how East Germans were reacting to the collapse of communism.

“The people in East Germany found it out the truth. They tore their own wall down,” Davidson told the Daily Signal. “You go from that experience where I’m seeing firsthand how failed these ideas are, to I’m serving in Congress with people that describe themselves as socialists.”

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Voters Focused on Affordability, Immigration

Davidson has spent recent weeks back home in Ohio’s 8th District meeting with constituents ahead of Election Day. While national political debates often dominate Washington, he said voters remain focused on issues much closer to home.

“Affordability still is a big issue,” Davidson said on the Daily Signal’s “Midterm Report” podcast. “People are talking a lot about affordability. Gas prices is one of the big things.”

He said concerns about government corruption and border security also frequently arise in conversations with constituents.

Davidson is among a group of House Republicans who have pledged not to advance Senate legislation until the upper chamber votes on the SAVE America Act, legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and mandate voter identification for federal elections.

“I think it’s vital to saving our country, honestly,” Davidson said. “If you can’t have an honest election, what are we doing here in election season?”

The congressman argued that federal standards are necessary because voter-registration systems vary significantly among states.

“This polls at 80% with the public,” Davidson said. “I at least want the people that are opposed to it to be on record for opposing it.”

Immigration enforcement and border security remain major concerns for many voters, Davidson added. He cited cases in Ohio involving illegal immigrants who obtained commercial driver’s licenses and were involved in fatal crashes.

“Border security is a big deal,” Davidson said.

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Other kitchen-table concerns continue to dominate voter priorities. Davidson credited Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for pushing Ohio lawmakers to temporarily suspend the state’s gas tax for 90 days to help families struggling with rising costs.

“It’ll save people about 40 cents at the pump,” Davidson said. “It’s already showing up. Prices at the pump are down.”

Manufacturing, China, and the Surveillance State

Before his election to Congress in 2016, Davidson worked in manufacturing for about 15 years. He argues that decades of trade policy weakened America’s industrial base and harmed working-class communities.

“Ross Perot said that if you do these trade deals with China and Mexico, you’re going to hear a giant sucking sound of our jobs leaving America,” Davidson said. “With the benefit of hindsight, he was right.”

Davidson contends that China’s government has gained an unfair advantage through subsidies and market manipulation.

“Their government will fund things so it’s below even cost that it’s hitting the market,” he said. “Western governments haven’t responded.”

The congressman has also been vocal about privacy and government surveillance. As a co-sponsor of legislation aimed at limiting Chinese access to vehicle data, he said Americans should have greater control over their personal information.

“I don’t really want anybody to be able to spy on my vehicle,” Davidson said. “Certainly not a government like China’s. I don’t want them to have my data.”

He also expressed concern about domestic surveillance powers.

“The government has too much surveillance power,” Davidson said. “Human beings will abuse power when they have access to it.”

A Lesson From East Germany

Davidson’s concerns about socialism are rooted in personal experience.

While serving in the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Germany during the final years of the Cold War. Just weeks after Germans demolished the Berlin Wall, Davidson saw firsthand what life under socialism and communism had produced.

“They were like, ‘Is it like this everywhere?’” Davidson recalled. “There was fresh milk and everyone could go buy things.”

Many East Germans had been taught that life in the West was worse than life behind the Iron Curtain.

“They were told that we were more poor than them,” Davidson said. “I’m like, ‘Well, buddy, obviously you’ve been lied to.’”

The experience left an enduring impression on the future congressman.

Socialism’s Return

Today, many younger Americans don’t think the same way as Davidson. Socialism is growing in popularity—43% have a positive view, according to Gallup’s polling in September.

Among those between the ages of 18 and 34, socialism’s popularity is 57%, Gallup reported. By comparison, 43% of that age group views capitalism positively.

“A lot of young people weren’t around for the Cold War,” Davidson surmised.

Davidson worries that many Americans lack an understanding of socialism’s historical failures. He pointed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a socialist leader who has inspired followers.

“People are copying his platform and getting support from the political Left in the United States,” Davidson said.

Quoting President Ronald Reagan, Davidson added, “Freedom’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”

As more candidates openly embrace socialism, Davidson hopes Americans will look to history before embracing ideas that millions of people once rejected at great personal cost.