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The main defeat on Tuesday of Rep. Joe Crowley, DN.Y., who was both a high-ranking House Democrat and the leader of one of New York's latest political machines, is an upheaval that still sends shock waves across the democrats. Party
Crowley was shot dead by a 28-year-old political recruit named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won in part by denouncing Crowley's trademark of old-school machine politics. But she had her own campaign machine, an outside group known as the Democratic Socialists of America. In the avalanche coverage of the Ocasio-Cortez victory, the logistical support and the manpower that she received from the DSA have attracted relatively little attention . But the group is ready to make its presence felt midway through.
More than 100 DSA volunteers flooded the streets of the 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and the Bronx, for months.
Ocasio -Cortez will be the first member of the DSA in Congress since Rep. Ron Dellums left office in 1998, but she's not the first candidate to mark a dramatic upheaval with help from the left organization. And if they succeed, she will not be the last.
"Our recent electoral successes demonstrate that people are tired of being ignored and ready to retaliate, and this includes in the political arena," DSA National Director Maria Svart wrote in an email to Yahoo News
"Democratic socialist ideas will win and we are doing the hard work of knocking on doors to get there," Svart added.
but traditional Democrats look at the group with suspicion. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House leader, has dismissed the Ocasio-Cortez upheaval as "a choice made in a district" that should not lead anyone to be too "carried away". For some Republicans, the rise of the DSA is a dream come true, giving them new ammunition for their assertion that the left has been radicalized.
In the Ocasio-Cortez race, the organizers of the DSA say that their group of volunteers hit more than 13,000 doors to spark enthusiasm. This level of support is important in primaries who traditionally see a low participation rate. Ocasio-Cortez beat Crowley with just over 15,000 votes in a district with a total population of more than 700,000. The district is largely democratic, and it will almost certainly get the seat in the general election in November, except for unforeseen circumstances.
Vigie Ramos Rios, director of the Ocasio-Cortez campaign, was careful to report to Yahoo News that other organizations supported his candidacy, including Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats. Still, Ramos Rios said that the impact of the DSA's work on the ground was clear.
"They were strong supporters," she said about the DSA. "There were areas that they solicited for us."
Ocasio-Cortez certainly needed all she could to defeat Crowley, who had spent just under two decades in Congress and had not faced a major challenge. in 14 years. In addition to his local power, he was a senior member of the Democratic caucus, and many sources confirmed to Yahoo News that he was maneuvering to succeed Nancy Pelosi, the party's long-standing minority leader.
At the national level, his political influence was immense. With his seat in Congress, Crowley presided over the Queens Democratic Party for more than a decade and presided over a system that chose the borough judges – including those in coveted positions who gave them the control over the funds of the dead without heirs. Crowley, whose campaign manager did not respond to numerous requests for comment on this story, was instrumental in helping select the speakers who lead the city council, and the candidates regularly visited him personally. At the end of last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Crowley had literally six dancers for him on stage while he was playing the guitar at an event. And in Washington DC, Crowley led the House's Democratic Caucus, and many sources confirmed to Yahoo News that he was maneuvering to succeed longtime party leader Nancy Pelosi.
This type of power behind the scenes is half of what makes a traditional party pattern. The other element of the old school's political machinery is a robust campaign operation with funds to hold events, mount displays and win influential allies such as unions, political clubs and local officials who Ensure that voters come en masse. DSA support allowed Ocasio-Cortez to have its own field device
And the volunteer teams on the street were not the only way DSA marked the campaign. 39; Ocasio-Cortez. Ramos Rios is a DSA leader who was recommended to Ocasio-Cortez by another member of the group who previously ran a race with his support. The campaign's treasurer was former DSA National Director, Frank Llewellyn, who came on board after Ramos Rios asked the organization if she knew anyone who could help the campaign. with his finances. In addition, two members of the AVD were behind Means of Production, the company that made a video for Ocasio-Cortez last month and, in the words of Business Insider, became "completely viral", gaining more 300,000 views in one day. help lead national attention to the campaign. According to Naomi Burton, one of the co-founders of the company, they were attracted to Ocasio-Cortez by the approval of the organization and because of "his socialist platform and articulating the needs of the workers who caught our attention. "
Vigie Ramos Rios, left, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, center. (Photo: Scott Heins / Getty Images)
In many ways, Ocasio-Cortez was the perfect example of a model that the DSA is trying to replicate throughout the country with Socialists brazen of diverse and unconventional origins. figures with the logistical support of a robust organization.
The DSA, founded in 1982, has long operated at political borders. But the organization has seen an increase in the number of members around the last presidential election. A national DSA official told Yahoo News that they had just touched 40,000 members. The most visible manifestation of this growth in the eyes of outside observers may be the real garden that has sprouted on Twitter, where many members of the DSA identify with a pink emoji, a reference to a movement rallying movement worker of the early twentieth century. spoke to more than a dozen DSA leaders and candidates for this story and they attributed the group's growth to the combination of widespread indignation among the Liberals after the election of Donald Trump and the excitement generated by the Vermont Sen presidential campaign. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist self described who had the approval of the organization. The group is not a political party and does not have its own place on the ballot – like the Libertarians or the Greens. Instead, the AVD usually runs candidates like Democrats or Independents.
Many new members of the AVD, like Ocasio-Cortez herself, have been polite while working for the Sanders campaign. As they joined them, they encouraged the organization to get more involved in the campaigns. In January 2018, the group launched a "National Electoral Strategy" formally committing "to develop and lead openly viable socialist candidates (whether in Democratic primaries or as independents.)". the national campaign for a Medicare for All health care program and for supporting labor movements.
The strategy document clearly stated the full scope of the ultimate ambitions of the DSA
"This work will be essential to the development of a genuine alternative to the neoliberal liberal policy of the business establishment. within the Democratic Party, "reads the document.
And all this is happening in a group where some members are so far to the left that they do not even agree with idea of Electoral Politics
Proponents of Democratic Socialists in America protest in front of the New York County Republican Office in New York City on July 5, 2017. (Photo: Erik McGregor / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images)
Federal applicants seeking approval from the organization must go through a comprehensive process that includes several meetings with DSA leaders and a questionnaire to clarify their needs. positions on the key components of the group platform. raising the minimum wage, protecting "immigrants and their families from deportation", promulgating tax increases for the rich, "making public colleges and universities exempt from tuition fees" and legalizing marijuana. Support for a candidate comes only at the end of this process and requires votes at multiple levels of the organization.
Aaron Taube, who coordinated the field operations of Ocasio-Cortez, said the group volunteers were working for her. day after she received her approval in April.
"A DSA endorsement is not just a rubber stamp.We are not just saying that you should vote for these people," Taube told Yahoo News. "When DSA will swallow you, it's like we're going to hit 13,000 gates." […] We'll mobilize. "
Taube is representative of supporters who join once a candidate has Group approval. He is 29 years old and, like Ocasio-Cortez, who was a bartender before running for office, he was a political novice, a journalist turned freelancer (he had already worked with one of the authors of this story in 2014). ). He's also a wrestling fan who discovered that he had discovered the DSA in the most liberal neighborhoods of the Twitter community after being "radicalized" by Trump
Khader El-Yateem (Photo: Squishcap via Wikimedia)
"This was the only way at the time that I had appeared to build power," says Taube. "It was like, well, you can have a revolution or an election and I'm not ready to learn how to shoot again."
Taube officially joined the party the day after Trump's victory and eventually volunteered AVD-backed city council candidate in Brooklyn, Khader El-Yateem. During this campaign he was trained at the political organization.
Although El-Yateem did not win, he surprised the observers with a close end. Taube's political mentor, Tascha Van Auken, said the race and another unsuccessful attempt by the Brooklyn City Council mounted by Jabari Brisport helped the DSA develop a bench of trained political agents in New York [19659034]. I do not want to suggest that we do not care about winning, our goal is to win these races 100% – but what they also served last year were amazing labs for the construction of 39, independent field operations … communication operations and data operations. … We had to form a PAC, "said Van Auken.
With Ocasio-Cortez, the DSA of New York supports a Senate candidate, Julia Salazar, unlike Ocasio-Cortez, who is not After becoming a member of the paid DSA, Salazar was part of the organization before asking for the approval of the group before launching the bid, and Van Auken manages the Salazar campaign, which she says , includes many members of the DSA and counts "hundreds" of volunteers, a number that rose after the scandalous victory of Ocasio-Cortez
The advertising campaign of Democrat Socialists of America supporting the state Senate candidate Julia Salazar. (Photo: Julia Salazar for the Senate of the State via Facebook)
The phenomenon far exceeds New York: Overall, the DSA reported an explosive growth in numbers following Mr Ocasio – C 's anger. Crowley The organization currently supports dozens of applicants across the country and many of them have operations that support the group and its campaign-building experience in the same way during the past year. These efforts began to yield results before the Ocasio-Cortez race was announced nationwide.
Last year, Navy veteran Lee Carter overthrew the Republican majority whip in the House of Delegates of Virginia. Carter had been injured in his work by installing lighting controls and exposure to workers' compensation failures and his medical bills inspired him to run. He joined the DSA during his campaign, got their approval, and eventually hired Jacquelyn Smith, a recent graduate of the American University and a member of the DSA chapter in Washington, DC, to lead his campaign.
Carter's success was followed by more victories for the Metro DC DSA chapter this year. Two of its members won the Democratic primaries for Maryland's state house, another is leading a tight number of votes for the Montgomery County Executive, and three others lost in a crowded county council race. This is a particularly surprising achievement for a local organization that did not even have a process to issue endorsements before Carter. According to Smith, the chapter of Metro DC DSA was largely moribund and was more reminiscent of a book club than a powerful political organization before the 2016 elections.
Lee Carter , a socialist who won a seat in this year's elections to the Virginia House of Delegates for the 50th district. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images)
DSA's Metro D.C chapter is not the only one with the pulse to endorse and support the winners. The DSA in Pittsburgh was also anemic until a November 2016 meeting that drew 100 participants, according to Dave Greve, a member of the steering committee of the group that joined at that time. The group found electoral success in their first year, going two for two on their 2017 approvals and winning district judge and county council seats. Their views were set higher in this year's Democratic primary with three campaigns for seats in the state house.
One of the Pittsburgh DSA candidates lost their primary, but two DSA members, Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato, won comfortably with the approval of the organization and the field operation. These victories were all the more remarkable as they won two seats in the legislature, owned by one of the most powerful political dynasties in the Democratic political scene of Pittsburgh. Now, Lee is poised to become the first black woman to represent southwestern Pennsylvania in the state house.
Throughout the state, the Philadelphia chapter was also successful, as the first candidate Elizabeth Fiedler. Fiedler and his campaign manager are both members of the DSA, which was one of the many progressive groups to support his candidacy. In the Fiedler race, DSA helped with its strike operation that reached 55,000 homes.
"I think health care and education and clean water and clean air, these things are obvious, they are the rights of man and things which we should all have access to, no matter how much we have or where we live or the color of our skin or our sex, "said Fiedler." I do not apply to myself or my policy, but I share with them a large part of my vision of the world. I knew a lot of people who were very active in the DSA and I was really lucky to have their support. They have been a piece of the puzzle for me, with other groups such as teacher unions and nurses.
from left to right: Sara Innamorato, Elizabeth Fiedler and Summer Lee. (Photos: SaraForPA via Facebook, Fiedler4Philly via Facebook, SummerForPA via Facebook)
With the DSA Ground Game and campaign staff members, several of these races showed another feature of the campaign. electoral approach of the organization. raise the minority voices. In New York alone, DSA candidates included two Latinas, Ocasio-Cortez and Salazar, El-Yateem, who is Palestinian, and Brisport, an African-American. This is part of a deliberate effort with the national election strategy of the DSA noting that "only truly multiracial electoral coalitions can build workers' political power."
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm "type =" text "content =" Nevertheless, the stereotype of the group is that it is largely filled with young white men. May New Yorker on Lee's campaign in Pennsylvania describes »A Crowley campaign source who spoke to Politico's Laura Nahmias described in somewhat ridiculous fashion the victory of Ocasio-Cortez in Following a hipster uprising. "" Data-reactid = "150"> Nevertheless, the stereotype of the group is that it is largely filled with young white men.An article from May New Yorker on the campaign of Lee in Pennsylvania described his volunteers at an event highlighting that "the most part of them were white bearded millennials. A Crowley campaign source who spoke to Politico's Laura Nahmias described Ocasio's victory as -Cortez in the wake of a "hipster uprising".
The DSA stated that she does not follow demographic information about her members. However, in August 2017, Jared Abbott, a member of the DSA's board of directors, told Vox that the group "is still a strongly white and strongly cis male organization, as were most socialist groups". in the history of the United States. He added that the organization was trying to improve diversity and had seen some progress
"The percentage of people of color has increased from a relatively low percentage to a slightly higher percentage", said Abbott. Salazar, a Senate candidate from the state of Latina in New York, said she knew that the DSA was "perceived as an overwhelming majority of young whites," but that the reality was different
local chapters of the DSA are very autonomous. policy. Some have instead chosen to work on local initiatives and political causes. The Cincinnati chapter, which was founded in December 2016 and has just under 200 members, has not approved a single candidate but has partnered with local activist groups. Over the past year, the AVD of Cincinnati has requested a needle exchange in Newport, Kentucky, and has organized a one-month campaign to prevent public servants from selling part of the public library from downtown Cincinnati. behind a wall of fortune in a protest camp on a property outside the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs in Portland, Oregon "class =" JsEnabled_Op (0) JsEnabled_Bg (n) Trsdu (. 42s) Bgr (nr) Bgz (cv) StretchedBox W (100%) H (100%) ie-7_H (a) "itemprop =" url "style =" background-image: url (https: //s.yimg. ### /g/images/spaceball.gif "data-reactid =" 159 "/>
Chapter of Austin, at Te xas, approved a single candidate (a county commissioner who lost in the primary) but worked with advocacy groups to obtain sick leave paid by the city council, a local detention center to terminate his contract with ICE and try to get an affordable affordable housing surety. Protesters from the Portland, Oregon, DSA Department forced the closure of a local ice office
"Most people see politics, hear politics and think exclusively about what will happen in November, after the race between the two parties. "said Simon Powell, co-chair of the Cincinnati AVD. "What we are saying to members is" No, politics is much more than that. "
And the DSA campaigns are not the only company in the organization that made the headlines nationally, it was DSA's Metro DC Chapter members who called in the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristjen Nielsen, at a Mexican restaurant in Washington on June 19, at the height of President Trump's controversy over the separation of children policy, helped to spark a debate about the "civility" that still dominates the political conversation and, according to local leaders of the DSA, has resulted in an upsurge in recruitment.
While the AVD is gaining ground, gaining seats and developing a In key states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, he could become a player in the 2020 presidential race. It's a position that comes with power and peril.
Several sources told Yahoo News that there is currently an internal debate on the role that the group should play in the 2020 race. Some members are eager to repeat Sanders' approval as he shows up again while others are wondering if their efforts would be wasted in this mission to instead of focusing on more direct action at the local level.
and prospective candidate Hillary Clinton highlighted a division between the progressives and the more centrist elements of the party. With its growing influence, the DSA could be ready to play a progressive leadership role and its endorsement issues will become a litmus test for the left. The victory of Ocasio-Cortez has already amplified the discussion around the abolition of ICE, which was an essential component of its platform.
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. (Photo: Carlos Osorio / AP)
However, if the organization takes on prominence or pushes potential Democratic candidates to the left, this could present opportunities for Republicans. In the days following the Ocasio-Cortez victory, conservative media, including Sean Hannity, called his platform an extremist and attempted to tie the National Democratic Party to it.
DSA candidates who spoke to Yahoo News
Jacquelyn Smith, DSA's Metro DC member who helped lead Lee Carter's insurgency campaign in Virginia, said they were focusing on issues which concerned voters in the region. She said that although they did not make "s-word" an important part of their campaign and focused on the issues, Carter did not hide his affiliation if it was done. Asked about it
"If you are to the left of Barry Goldwater, the Republicans will call you socialist anyway, then you may as well have the etiquette," Carter said shortly. time after his victory. "The issues that interest me and the issues that are working on the socialist democrats of America are those that occupy the base of the voters of the Democratic Party."
Salazar, the candidate of the state senate DSA in New York, was also indifferent to the attacks "In the end, I'm sure Sean Hannity will continue to panic as socialism, the word socialism , becomes more standardized, "said Salazar. "But I think it shows how some experts are probably disconnected from what the Americans really care about."
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mo (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "All DSA critics are not come from right: at its 2017 congress, the DSA voted to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, Ocasio-Cortez supported the Palestinians but was silent on BDS, which could potentially disagreeing with many of his caucus members data-reactid = "189"> All DSA critics did not come from the right At its 2017 convention, the DSA voted to support the Boycott movement , Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, a position that some pro-Israel American politicians have tried to criminalize. Ocasio-Cortez supported the Palestinians but was silent on BDS, which could potentially put it disagree with many members of his caucus
Then Democratic Congress candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, right, during a Bengali community outreach in New York, May 6, 2018. (Photo: Corey Torpie / Courtesy of the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Campaign via AP)
Given the energy around the DSA and the potential for friction with more traditional elements of the party, a Democratic agent who spoke to Yahoo News under cover of anonymity said they feared that the traditional elements of the party may not embrace the newly ascending socialists. 19659086] "I think we're looking at Napster again, and Dem's leadership is like the record industry, refusing to acknowledge what's going on clearly," said the agent.
Jon Reinish, veteran Traitegist, is much less worried and thinks the DSA could be good for the party.
"If it's candidates in certain constituencies in certain races that are aligned with DSA or any other organization that inspires voters, then that's great and it's valuable." said. "If that 's where the energy and enthusiasm are and if it' s there that new voters throw themselves, then it 's only a net positive. . "
While the 2016 primary saw Sanders and his followers regularly confront Clinton and eventually protest against the Democratic convention Reinish predicted that the DSA would be easier to work because their platform is "on a series of issues rather than dedication to a person. "
" Bernie's main problem was Bernie. "He also predicted that the left would avoid infighting because they're looking at Donald Trump's barrel of America. "
" Democrats and people whose positions are affiliated with the Democratic Party made that mistake once, "said Reinish." I do not see what's going on again. "
<p class =" web -atome canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm "type =" text "content =" Fix: This story has been updated to note that Ron Dellums était un membre de DSA qui a servi au Congrès de 1971 à 1998. " data-reactid = "209"> Correction: Cette histoire a été mise à jour pour noter que Ron Dellums était un membre de DSA qui a servi au Congrès de 1971 à 1998.
Arielle Cohen, coprésidente de la section des socialistes démocratiques d'Amérique de Pittsburgh, chante devant le bureau de Rep. Tim Murphy, en réponse au plan du président Trump de mettre fin au programme d'action différée pour les arrivées d'enfants, sept. 6, 2017. (Pho to: Andrew Rush / Post-gazette de Pittsburgh par AP)
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