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The summer has been good for America's Social Democrats .
On June 20, members of his Metro DC branch confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in a downtown Mexican restaurant, chasing her and doing national news.
Six days later, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became an instant political star, crisscrossing the country to stimulate other candidates and discussing "democratic socialism" on television late at night.
Three days after his victory, Los Angeles City Council approved a vote that would create a public bank to replace Wall Street banks and payday loan centers with something that is accountable to voters – a cause that both DSA sections of the city have helped to draw from the dark.
DSA, founded in 1982 and almost moribund before 2016 never had more members or more weight. This is not a political party, although members are often asked if this is the case. It does not run the Democratic Party's agenda, but is rather the most visible and organized force in politics for an ideology that the two major parties have already viewed with hostility.
Republicans jumped on socialist victories to attack all Democrats. Democrats in the centrist wing of the party have also been shaken, worried that the prominence of democratic socialists will define every party candidate as being on the far left in competitive districts that are not.
"We must abandon a marked anxiety policy," said Senator Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) At a conference organized by the centrist New Democrats in June. [19659012] To mitigate the rise of an organization that calls For the abolition of capitalism, the end of prisons and the boycott of Israel by consumers, opponents have invoked historical allusions or dismissed its adherents. Ocasio-Cortez, who will likely be the youngest member of Congress at 28 next year, drew mockery from Republicans trying to tie his ideology to the Socialists of the past.
Ron de Santis, candidate to the governorship of the GOP in Florida, lowered Ocasio-Cortez as "that girl. . . Ocasio-Cortez said, "I am a Puerto Rican woman. "
A few days after encouraging voters to join the Democrats in November, former FBI director James B. Comey said he was concerned about the adoption of the new law. a socialist program. Democrats, please, do not lose your mind and go quickly to the socialist left. "
These feelings did not stop the momentum that began with the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Who called himself a democratic socialist even though he did not It did not align with any particular group.
Candidates like Cynthia Nixon, an actress who is running for governor of New York, proudly identify as "democratic socialists." With a small "d Meaning that they want to replace modern capitalism with a worker-led economy, DSA activists have become the most aggressive infantrymen in politics, spending countless hours doing door-to-door work. door and to protest – and marking large-scale disruptions
In two years, strategies have merged.The DSA has grown from 6,745 self-declared contributing members to nearly 45,000 – thousands of them since the victory of Ocasio-Cortez. which had been a small network of chapters in university towns and major cities grew to 47 states and the District of Columbia, from Honolulu to Cape Cod, Mbad.
"DSA is unpretentious in saying that all of us as human beings are," said Elizabeth Fielder, a Philadelphia activist who won a primary in May for a safe legislative seat – the only one in the world. one of the three members of the DSA who won the Democratic nominations that day. "In my campaign, most of the people we talked to had not had any interaction with the Party Democrat. People did not come to ask their opinions. "
The organization has developed despite – or perhaps because of – a lack of centralization or self-policing. While the DSA meets both years to develop its constitution, members, individual chapters and some candidates supported by the DSA often diverge.The chapters remained strong and active, said many members, for the simple reason that the activists of the DSA were amused.More than a chapter of DSA held a "karaoke caucus."
"When you go to spoil [Mayor] the inauguration party of Eric Garcetti because & # 39; He refuses to designate LA as a shrine city, and you are preventing his car from leaving, so I'm going to want to hang out with the people who did that, "said Josh Androsky, a Westside Los Angeles DSA member. you are then ready to spend your Saturday – the precious hours that you have not misled by capitalism – Many leftist organizations are bigger; MoveOn, a liberal left-wing organizing force born out of opposition to Bill Clinton's dismissal, has 7 million members in the country.
Many organizations have more money. Membership in the DSA is $ 45 for the first year and $ 60 for regular membership, accounting for just under $ 2.5 million a year. By way of comparison, Turning Point USA – a conservative group that organizes university campuses and distributes "socialist" goods – raised $ 8.2 million in the last fiscal year
. this budget pays for a website, a small national staff and a lot of documentation for the two main political efforts of the DSA. In January, the National Political Committee – elected at last year's congress – decided that 2018 would be devoted to campaigns for "Medicare for All" and to facilitate the formation of unions and their participation in unions [19659024] "DSA does not wait, having focus groups with donors, or making viral videos with the cast of 'The Big Bang Theory' and calling this activism," said Rob Delaney, an actor and comedian who advocated for the Medicare for All campaign. "They meet in person, face to face, solicit and explain, among other things, that Americans inherently deserve single payer health care, paid for by their taxes, and that it is convenient and cheaper than the mishmash that we have now "
DSA is also working to win elections, evaluate and endorse candidates – 42 this year – and then throw a lot of volunteer time behind them.Most of the elected candidates won in the democratic elections
Lee Carter, a DSA member elected last year to the Virginia House of Delegates, said the understanding of "socialism" was outdated and did not reflect the democratic aspects.
The "democratic" part of the movement's name was important, Carter said, the economic model he wanted to follow was not communism in the Soviet, but the the corporate structures that exist in some European countries, where workers have a voting role in the management of their companies.
"When [bosses] Must Run for Elections"
In recent weeks, the DSA's "direct actions" have provoked more controversy than any of their economic positions. In the fight against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, DSA sections have often staged demonstrations and sit-ins of Republicans who would not oppose the repeal. The separation of families provoked even stronger protests – from Nielsen, White House Counsel Stephen Miller and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
While he was pushing Towards a sports-utility vehicle waiting, McConnell denounced them and asked them if they were running the Democratic Party program
"The self-described socialists who proudly confronted me that they do not are not concerned with persuasion or d & # 39; have a discussion on public policy, "McConnell wrote in a column for the Louisville Courier Journal. "They are only interested in intimidation."
According to the organizers of the DSA, such demonstrations are a necessary complement to the elections. Jacquelyn Smith, a DSA member who helped Carter's election and some Washington demonstrations, said the two were in solidarity with other leftist movements
"It's important for a socialist organization to both". "If you take direct action against a crappy politician, replacing them is a natural next step."
It's the inner game – trying to elect politicians – that has distinguished DSA from other socialist entities. In every city with a DSA chapter, canvbaders knocked on doors to get support for a possible Medicare for All bill – something that would not be possible before and unless a Democrat takes over the White House.
AVD members want to fulfill this role. In 2015, the organization officially approved Sanders for the president, a decision that triggered its surge of relevance. Since the beginning of the year, the largest Sanders organization has hired some of the best known DSA activists, starting with David Duhalde, a DC organizer who left the group to become the organizer of Our Revolution, Sanders political operation. In the short term, members of the DSA strive to make the "socialist" etiquette marketable to as many people as possible. Laughing, Carter remembers how the Republicans in his race sent the voters over 10,000 pieces of mail that put his face next to those of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
"If you're at Barry Goldwater's left, they're going to call you Joseph Stalin," Carter said. "Republicans thought it was a win-win for them, they embarked on a bait-red frenzy." Hopefully they'll continue until 2019. Calling everyone in the world a commie does not work for them. "
Earlier this month, at a rally in Pittsburgh hosted by Sanders, the two local DSA candidates who had won the Democratic primaries took the stage to share their lessons . Sara Innamorato informed the crowd that Republicans were compiling a "list" – shades of the McCarthy era – to hang the socialist label around the other Democrats.
"Instead of fighting for problems that affect people's lives, they want to waste their money. We fear and divide even more, "said Innamorato. "I'm going to make it easy for the Republicans who are compiling this list, I call Sara Innamorato – I-NNAMORATO, I fit it on a garden sign, put my name at the top of this list because I will vote for your anti-choice, anti-equality agenda, for the elimination of health care. "
Read more at PowerPost
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