Conservative broadcaster Mark Levin is sounding one of his loudest alarms yet ahead of the November elections. "All of it is at stake right now," he warns, arguing that the growing influence of socialism and what he calls "cultural communism" inside the Democratic Party goes far beyond everyday economic concerns. In his telling, this is a fight over the basic design of the country. Levin stresses that America's constitutional system was deliberately built to disperse power, so that no single faction, mob, or leader could ever take control. He says the principles behind that system, shaped by generations of American history, are now on the line.

The message fits a long-running theme of Levin's show, where he has recently labeled the Democratic Socialists of America as communists and described today's Democratic Party as drifting toward Marxism. It is worth noting that "cultural communism" is Levin's own term, not an official label used by any party. Critics, including many Democrats and democratic socialists, push back that the party's agenda centers on expanding social programs within the constitutional order, not dismantling it, and they argue that Levin applies the Marxism label to a wide range of mainstream liberal positions. Democrats, for their part, have made their own warnings about threats to democratic norms as the midterms approach. As with much of the rhetoric in this election cycle, the debate reflects sharply different views of what is truly at stake for the country.