The Democratic Socialists of America pulled its endorsement of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York this week, accusing the progressive congresswoman of being insufficiently supportive of the Palestinian cause and efforts to end the war in Gaza…
Her approach has increasingly strained her relationship with some of the left’s most strident critics of Israel. When she rallied last month in the Bronx with Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Jamaal Bowman, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators angry over her endorsement of Mr. Biden chanted “You’re a fraud, A.O.C.”
Good. No compromise on genocide. Never again means never again.
This gives me some hope for the DSA.
And don’t come at me with “pragmatism”. The pragmatists supported the Nazis.
Never again means never again.
That’s a good way to describe how the DSA views political power.
Never again means never again.
Apparently, to purists like you, “Never again” means “If it happens anywhere, we should help it happen everywhere we can.” But hey, who cares about minorities in the US, and Ukrainians in Ukraine? Fuck 'em, right?
“Ugh, genocide is bad, but we have other things to worry about right now.”
— You, and most Germans during World War II.
genuine question, what alternative is there to voting for whatever candidate the democrats run with?
Join the DSA?
Green party and Cornel West.
Serious replies:
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Developing alternate forms of power to ‘vote once every four years’. Now, I realize it’s probably not the answer you’re looking for as obviously that won’t just happen in time for this election, but it’s necessary to understand the material power we hold as workers in society, unless you’re actually happy with whatever candidates the Democrats run with. There have been times where worker action hindered genocidal regimes and wars by cutting off supply and pressuring our governments into pulling support.
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Pressuring the Democrats away from running certain candidates
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Somehow making a third-party popular enough to threaten your local seat [probably not feasible for most seats?]
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Somehow abolishing the broken FPTP voting system [probably not feasible?]
right but couldn’t you vote for the democrats and also do those things? it’s not really a one or the other kind of situation
Definitely, and for most people (there are rare exceptions, like seats which aren’t just Dem vs. Rep as the only viable candidates) I’d assume it’s the pragmatic choice for now given the broken system.
Somehow abolishing the broken FPTP voting system [probably not feasible?]
Not feasible? Then why do Alaska and Maine use something other then First Past The Post voting?
How we vote is controlled at the state level, we can push through reform one state at a time!
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Ranked. Choice. Voting.
“Genocide is bad, but we have other things to worry about.” - Me, and the US offering vast amounts of Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union despite their vast campaigns of ethnic cleansing.
Apparently, by contrast, your position is “Genocide is bad, so we should do everything we can to lose to the Nazis, who will genocide far more people than the Soviet Union. That will really show the fascists! They’ll be SO mad when they herd us into the gas chambers lol!”
The DSA literally supports Putin’s narratives when it comes to the invasion of Ukraine. They already support genocide. They’re just picking and supporting which genocides to endorse and condemn. All they’re doing is sowing division amongst the left because they’re foreign assets who love to see fascists get into power.
Removed for misinformation and temp banned.
https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
Source that they’re foreign assets?
DSA is a membership-led and membership-funded organization, with the vast majority of our funding coming from membership dues. This guarantees that our resources come from our source of power: organized people. Our funding and our power are inextricably linked. Dues allow our organization to be accountable to our members and our members alone. source
You could say the same exact thing about AIPAC. It’s also a membership-led and membership-funded organization where the vast majority of it’s funding coming from private donations… yet somehow I don’t think you’ll have the same reaction to them being foreign assets. The reality is that both of these organizations advance the interests of foreign governments over America’s, only difference is that Israel is a US ally and the countries that the DSA chooses to align itself with are American adversaries.
AIPAC lobby’s for Israel. What foreign government does the DSA lobby for?
The Ukraine war is a big source of actual leftie infighting. But DSA did not withdraw their endorsement on that. This is a strawman.
Deme wanted lefties to compromise and they did. Then Dems want lefties to compromise some more.
The Genocide in Gaza is not up to debate for any leftie. And Bernie and AOC have even promoted the Genocide at the start of it by refusing to call it a Genocide, and refusing to call for a ceasefire.
The Ukraine war is a big source of actual leftie infighting. But DSA did not withdraw their endorsement on that. This is a strawman
No, no it is not. The following is copied from another comment that applies directly to what you’re saying:
This is taken directly from their official statement letter:
DSA reaffirms our call for the US to withdraw from NATO and to end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict.
https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
This is from official “condemnation” on Feb 26, 2022. Their condemnation just comes off as tone deaf when they say shit like this, especially right after the invasion. How tone deaf, but they double down on the Russian propaganda fueled stance:
The war in Ukraine is a disaster for working class people in Ukraine, the region, and a terrible threat to us all, including increasing the danger of nuclear war and exacerbating global economic crises. We oppose the Russian invasion and call for the withdrawal of Russian troops through a settled ceasefire agreement. We recognize that the expansion of NATO and the aggressive approach of Western nations have helped cause the crisis and we demand an end to NATO expansion. We also oppose US and NATO military interventionism and the tens of billions in military aid and weapons shipments which only further exacerbates the war and undermine a negotiated settlement, as well as sanctions that will harm ordinary Russians. We call on the US and other countries to welcome refugees fleeing the war and provide needed humanitarian aid.
https://international.dsausa.org/ukraine/
And again:
There seems to be a common theme going on. They “condemn” the invasion, but blame the US and NATO for it, push for negotiations that Putin wants, and try to justify Russia’s reasons for invading. Now, when Ukraine itself is against these narratives… who exactly is pushing them? Who is benefiting from this propaganda and misinformation? Oh that’s right, it’s Russia… which the DSA just happens to conveniently align with.
The Genocide in Gaza is not up to debate for any leftie
It is exactly as I said, they pick and chose which genocides to condemn and condone.
And Bernie and AOC have even promoted the Genocide at the start of it by refusing to call it a Genocide, and refusing to call for a ceasefire.
You know you’re a full blown wackaloon when you start calling Bernie and AOC genocide supporters.
Removed, misinformation.
https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
“This extreme and asymmetrical escalation is an illegal act under the United Nations Charter and severely threatens the livelihoods and well-being of working-class peoples in Ukraine, Russia, and across the region. We urge an immediate ceasefire and the total withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.”
Remember, guys, “left” wing in the US is further right than far right in Europe.
I don’t understand the DSA’s purpose if it is just to funnel people into the Dem party. Their views will never line up with the corporate party.
They’re there to undermine progressives by pretending to be them. It’s a way of taking over and deflecting the movement.
An example would be when Shontel Brown beat Nina Turner in Ohio. Brown took money from Republican donors and corporations, yet she got endorsed by “progressive” groups to help her against Turner, who is an actual grass-roots funded progressive.
Same with Mondaire Jones backstabbing Jamaal Bowman (who had defended Jones in the past when he was under attack by the establishment).
This is how Democrats try to co-opt what they can’t control, and why it’s critically important that voters make it a habit to monitor their candidates funding. The money will always tell the true story.
(Opensecrets.org is a great resource for tracking what groups politicians get their money from)
This is the contradiction of capitalist reformation. While we organize, it’s purpose is to assert socialist interests into mainstream politics, while gauging support for socialist ideas.
If you’re getting angry at Bernie and AOC, you’re probably on the wrong side of an issue
Politics shouldnt be a matter of picking a team/ idol and supporting them blindly.
If a politician you formerly supported does something stupid, like how both Bernie and AOC have done recently, you aren’t obligated to support them. You can and should rescind your support if they do something you disagree with. Both Bernie and AOC could be much much stronger on Gaza, and frankly, especially AOC has basically backstabbed/ abandoned the movement that got her into power. She’s got “star power” at this point, where “cheer leaders” are just going to support her regardless of her policies or effectiveness. Its sad, but its how modern politics works. You start on the outside, work your way in, and then abandon those who put you into power initially.
There is no way the squad gets elected without Our Revolution/ Justice Democrats/ DSA, then venn diagram of which is pretty fucking overlapping. All of the squad minus Omar and Ro Khanna basically stopped taking any calls from progressives once we put Biden in office in 2020.
Both Bernie and AOC could be much much stronger on Gaza, and frankly, especially AOC has basically backstabbed/ abandoned the movement that got her into power
…
Cannot upvote these three dots enough.
AOC and Bernie basically stopped going on progressive media post 2020.
Ro Khanna and Ilhan Omar still do. There is a wide chasm growing among progressives: Those who still need the grass roots and those who dont. Once AOC started playing ball (under Pelosi), she no longer had to be worried about getting primaried by the DCCC, which is the sword the DNC uses to kill grass-roots campaigns.
There has been a literal war against progressives within the DNC. AOC was neutered and is no longer a threat.
Yawn
A boring dystopia
What you’re saying doesn’t reflect reality.
Sanders and AOC are incredibly active progressive politicians.
AOC just introduced articles of impeachment against supreme Court Justices.
You can and should rescind your support if they do something you disagree with
that is childish.
how many important questions are there to define your worldview?
- do you support israel in the war? - yes/no
- do you support abortion? - yes/no
- …
there is about 8 billion people in the world right now.
log2(8billion) is roughly 32.9.
2 to the power of 33 is roughly 8.6 billion. that is 8.6 billion different combinations formed by these 33 binary questions.
that is for whole world; for usa with population of 350m the magic number is 29 questions (behold the power of exponential function 😆)
in other words - if there is more than 33 binary questions to define your approach to world - there is statistically not a single other person in the world that would share your worldview completely (that is as long as the various worldviews are distributed evenly, which is probably not the case, but lets simplify here).
that is why, if you want to find a common ground with someone, you sometimes have to compromise (as every person who has ever been married tells you).
otherwise you will just end up alone and that is not strong negotiating position to change the world.
which is why losing the endorsement was the compromise within the DSA.
deleted by creator
If you find yourself on the “right” side of the DCCC, you are my opponent.
If you find yourself on the “right” side of the DCCC, you are my opponent.
Oh cool, we’re just going mask-off now, huh?
You n e v e r know what you are talking about @PugJesus@lemmy.world.
deleted by creator
Did they ever wear a mask? They’ve been on a short list of generally down vote on sight for the better part of a year here lol.
deleted by creator
I’m very “first-hand” aware.
Well, then AOC should be elected as dictator and then she can eliminate the enemies of socialism then right?
/S
The marxista are insane
The DSA are actually fucking brain dead. They have been on the wrong side of everything for at least a decade. They simped for all the dictators, tyrannical regimes, and terrorist groups. They’ve gone out of their way to hurt the Democrats in elections, while stimulations helping the Republicans. They’ve always adopted brain dead stances for domestic issues and endorsed disgusting ideologies that makes them repulsive to most people. They’re a tumor to the left that needs to be removed.
Fuck that, AOC voted to protect the rail corporations from the unions striking.
I’m just surprised that wasn’t the reason she has lost the support of the DSA.
I may be dumb, but I actually trust those two, unlike every other politician, I feel like if they are making strange decisions they must know something we don’t…
From what I know, it seems Bernie has had the the stance on most thing since he was fighting against the vietnam war.
They know how to play the long game and pick their battles.
They’ve certainly built up the benefit of the doubt, especially Bernie.
Their conduct behooves anyone to look into and fully understand what they’re doing before decrying them for a single act they instinctually might disagree with.
Especially a criticism like “haven’t done enough”.
I can’t imagine any “haven’t done enough” that overturns all of the very important work either of them have done or are doing.
Common DSA L.
Fucking idiots. Pulling your endorsement of one of the top fucking 5% of most Pro-Palestinian Congresscritters for being INSUFFICIENTLY pro-Palestine.
Yeah they chose quite the time to make the perfect the enemy of the good
AOC doesn’t get elected without DSA in 2018.
If you can’t pull back your endorsement as a political organization, you have no power.
The progressive revolution that genuinely found its footing in 2015 is over. The figureheads have been captured and its going to be a ‘rebuilding’/ ‘consolidation’ cycle while we weather the facist takeover.
Who the fuck is the DSA, I’ve never heard of them.
It stands for Democratic Socialists of America. They’re a member run left wing political group which grew rapidly after Bernie’s 2016 run. AOC is a member and up until recently she had maintained the endorsement of the national organization. After her surprise win in the 2018 primary, she has not been actively involved with DSA. As such, this outcome isn’t all that surprising.
If you can’t pull back your endorsement as a political organization, you have no power.
Cool. If you pull back your endorsement of someone who is already one of the most aligned representatives of the fucking country with your agenda because you want her to go even further, why the everloving fuck do you think anyone will ever choose to align with you? You’re an unreliable ally who punishes your supposed allies for getting nearer your position, and empowering people who are MUCH further away from your (very much non-majority and non-plurality) position. Do you really not see how fucking counterproductive that is?
But hey, since when have little concerns like “This is actually putting a corporate stooge in power” or even “This will lead to fascism winning” ever bothered Left purists? They aren’t the ones who suffer.
The progressive revolution that genuinely found its footing in 2015 is over. The figureheads have been captured and its going to be a ‘rebuilding’/ ‘consolidation’ cycle while we weather the facist takeover.
Jesus fucking Christ.
who is already one of the most aligned representatives of the fucking country with your agenda
Is she? Show me. Show me how she is working for and supporting the policies that DSA is working for.
Jesus fucking Christ.
You realize your opinions are just a long series of mistaken views that don’t predict future states of the world right? Like, you have this hyperbolic reaction to things that you’re views don’t align with, but your views don’t predict the future. We’ve covered this. You should consider that your political calculus is just bad and maybe you should open up your view.
No one agrees with you. And you are working against your own goals and interests.
You have fun doing your best to welcome fascism with open arms and assist corporate cronies into power. I forgot that your opposition to Biden wasn’t because you didn’t think he could win, it was because you’d oppose any Democrat actually on the ticket for being insufficiently pure.
You just can’t help yourself can you? A year of having a wildly mistaken understanding of the political calculus around Joe Biden and what it takes for Democrats to win, putting out a view point and a particular rhetoric that was objectively helping Trump to victory; then the most minor of admonitions on your part that you were wildly in the wrong. But obviously zero introspection on your part as to why you were in the wrong. Have you considered why you were so wildly in the wrong as long as you were, to the point of basically costing the Democrats the ability to win any house of power in 2024?
We’re talking about AOC and the DSA, and I’m making some specific points about how to wield political power and what it takes to stay “in” power when the “team” you are on would rather not have you. You, like some one who has no fucking clue what they are talking about, decide to make it personal and just go on the attack. Brother. You have the political calculus of a naked mole rat. Like, the beliefs you have around politics aren’t useful for predicting what will happen.
You and many others here seem have attached your identity to a specific political team. And when that team gets criticized, you imagine yourself to be personally under attack. You (and many others here) can’t separate your identities. Maybe its because you are older, and haven’t spent the time to self-actualize and have that independent identity; maybe you are younger and haven’t had the opportunity. Maybe you have no real experience in politics or campaigning or institution building. Maybe you’ve never read on or studied power, how it manifests, and how it is wielded to great or little effect. Regardless, you obviously have significant work to do to train your understanding of the world to the point where the beliefs and things you think predict future states of the world, which, in my personal belief system, is the entire point.
I put probably close to 3000 volunteer hours into squad/ squad adjacent campaigns. I’ve run political organizations, for years. I’ve worked directly with politicians as an outside organization. If you, as a political organization, can’t withhold your endorsement/ power: you have none. And when you are charged with managing/ growing/ building a movement; building power is your entire job. If AOC isn’t going to be on the right side of DSA, and they endorse her anyways, the DSA loses all power in the relationship and suffers (likely falls apart) as an organization.
The perfect example of talking a lot and saying nothing.
Fucking hilarious. You have fun pumping up your favorite fascists to victory.
This is literally the identical rhetoric you used for almost a year to argue that we shouldn’t question Biden’s fitness for office.
Preach.
God, it’s just… it’s a game to these people, where they win or lose. While the rest of us are trying to fucking survive and ensure as many others survive as possible. To them, any imperfection is a loss; fuck the totality of the results. I mean, fucking AOC and Bernie? For Christ’s sake. It’s not enough that these self-professed leftists vote for blowing our fucking brains out, they have to backstab some of the only vaguely left members of this fucking country’s legislature for being “Pro-Palestine, but not Pro-Palestine ENOUGH”.
And they wonder why no one in power wants to fucking work with them.
If Trump does win, they’ll be VERY surprised when they end up rounded up
And if you don’t know how to build a coalition, you’ll never have power.
Step one to building a coalition is to find someone you don’t agree with 100%.
This is a good example of why I left DSA. They are averse to pragmatism. They see the world in purely theoretical terms. They form their policies according to some hypothetical ideal, instead of reality.
There are plenty of political organizations for whom pragmatism* is their core political philosophy. Its not at all part of the philosophy of DSA. There is plenty of space for both. If you want an organization that is focused on pragmatism, there are plenty to align with. Specifically, organizations like DSA are explicitly idealistic, and the principals of socialism are also explicitly idealistic, which is effectively in opposition to pragmatism. If you are a pragmatist or one that espouses pragmatism in political philosophy, the fuck were you doing with the DSA? Its an intentionally and explicitly idealistic organization.
*I assume you know that pragmatism is a political philosophy and identity of its own.
Pragmatism isn’t only an ideology, it’s also a methodology or an approach to problem solving. In that regard, a pragmatic approach can be taken in furtherance of an ideological goal that is not necessarily capital ‘P’ Pragmatism.
I agree that DSA is an idealistic and not a pragmatic or practical organization, which is part of why I left. I didn’t feel that they really wanted to transform America into Democratic Socialist society, and instead they were content to virtue signal and bicker between themselves about theory.
Maybe you just don’t get the relationships or understand how philosophy maps to effectiveness, but to be clear, idealistic organizations can and have been highly effective at making political changes. The DSA/ Our revolution/ JD are great examples of this. I know you think you are making a distinction here, but like, you are not fully correct in this. The idea of taking idealistic stance is an effective way to get things done, I mean, its how the DSA got AOC elected in the first place. She used the uncompromising idealism as an argument that helped get her elected. It really works.
AOC could never have won her 2018 election as a pragmatist. Time will tell if this ends up being an effective strategy.
You are making the assumption that pragmatism is inherently better or more effective at capturing political power, which I’m disagreeing with. All of the major power shifts in the previous decade (say, 2015 forward) have resulted as a direct extension of embracing idealism. Specifically, we did see a shake up within the DNC with progressives in 2016, 18, and 20: progressives expressing a clear and distinct idealistic vision of something very differently than what we have/ had.
Likewise, you saw it on the right with Trump, and the rise of the alt-right, where voters flocked to candidates who were “uncompromising” in their views. They’ve built a huge political movement around that idealism, misplaced, distorted, scary, white nationalist idealism. But an idealism none-the-lessor.
For both parties, you can go even further back to the Tea party, and Obama’s 2008 campaign for more examples of how a commitment to idealism gets you into power: this is a great example, because where the tea party stayed committed to their idealism, they continued to grow in terms of power and getting their agenda done (see project 2025); Obama abandoned the idealism of his campaign for what I would call the best modern example of political pragmatism, Obama’s governing style for his first and second terms.
For Obamas pragmatism, he barely got heath-care done. For the Tea Parties idealism, they were effectively able to shift the entire political hegemony of the entire right-wing political apparatus of the country.
The data suggest to me that in an age of populism, idealism as both campaigning and governing political philosophy is far more effective. And if AOC is retreating from her former identity as idealist, this will cost her. She doesn’t get power from being a moderate/ pragmatist. She gets power through idealism.
I’m not really arguing for or against DSA, but they were important for AOC’s first run. Critical even. I am making an argument in favor of idealism; that pragmatism is not effective at gathering or wielding power in the currently political hegemony we find ourselves in.
You are making the assumption that pragmatism is inherently better or more effective at capturing political power
That’s not exactly what I said, I said pragmatism is a methodology that can be used to achieve a goal. There’s no reason why you couldn’t take a pragmatic approach to achieving an idealistic goal. It’s simply a matter of finding strategies that get you nearer to your goal and disregarding strategies that get you further from your goal. Several years ago, DSA was able to have a lot of success by putting forward an idealistic vision. Yes, I agree with that. However, since then the success of that strategy has waned significantly. Perhaps selling a kind of idealistic vision for America is still an effective strategy on the far right, but I think its effectiveness has declined dramatically among centrists and moderates, as well as progressives. Maybe it’s still an effective strategy in AOC’s district specifically (although, it seems she has become less idealistic and yet remains popular in her district, as far as I know), but that doesn’t mean idealism is an effective strategy in America, generally.
Yes, I agree with that. However, since then the success of that strategy has waned significantly.
I just don’t agree with this. The DNC has been waging a war against idealism and against progressives since it began in earnest in 2015. Idealism is the only thing that can save the Democrats right now, but core DNC, pro-business, neo-liberal Democrats don’t get their power from it, so they opposed it with more energy than they’ve ever been able to muster against the actual “right” in this country. This is them having “flipped” AOC from that which got her into power to that which gets them into power.
Bernie was polling at +15 to Trump in 2016. That was the power of idealism. Take this clip of Adam Smith from his recent CNN interview (timestamp 3:00). Adam Smith, one of the most corporate of the corporate Democrats making the point that they basically had to rat-fuck the primary to stop Bernie Sanders from winning. This is the quiet part outloud. Idealism works on the left. It takes the entire institution of the DNC working against an idealistic candidate to stop them.
Idealsim works and I see little to no evidence that middle path, pragmatic approaches to electoral-ism are effective on the left or the right ( for the period starting very early at 2008, getting its footing strongly in 2016, at least before 2024). Pragmatism is a weak political strategy in this political climate and I see no evidence to the contrary.
What you see from AOC is her capitulating to the party structure and internal party politics. This started in 2021 when she capitulated on internal party reform with Pelosi post DJT. AOC’s power has shifted from being primarily based in grass-roots organizing to being primarily based on the structure of the party. Any one who’s power extends from party structure is always going to tilt towards strategies that keep that structure in place. If you have data showing that moderation is winning elections (left or right), happy to discuss.
If you have data showing that moderation is winning elections (left or right), happy to discuss.
Well, there’s the fact that Clinton won the primaries in 2016, and that Biden won the primaries (over Bernie), and the general, in 2020. If Congress or state legislatures have become more progressive, I’m not aware of it.
Did you even click the link?
Adam Smith. On record basically stating that party insiders rigged the nomination against Bernie because he was clearly running away with it in 2020. 2016, we have a literal supreme court decision telling us that the DNC rigged the 2016 primary against Bernie, and that its ok for parties to rig their nominations. He was polling at +15 against DJT and the DNC chose “middle path” pragmatism to their loss. You put idealistic candidates out there and you win elections.
The burden of evidence is on you at this point.
The epitome of a black and white outlook of the universe. Reality is messy.
But a Blue and Red outlook is a-okay?
Well that’s the spectrum for American politics so I guess so? You’re not saying anything profound lil man.
For some Genocide and Apartheid is a red line.
If you believe that is a radical statement for the left it might be time to reconsider the definition of left.
You aren’t allowed to have morals/ red-lines according to the political “wisdom” of lemmy.world.
You must compromise with them, but they don’t have to compromise with you.
This entire discussion is about how compromise is necessary you fucking moron.
Try compromising with the emotion called anger.
Look I truly hate that this is the situation we are in, but, If you want to have an absolutist point of view about Israel then your carbon footprint better be negative. Like home steader, grow your own food, no kids, no car, hunt for meat, no online shopping, etc.
Because if not, youre indirectly but actively contributing to the suffering of millions of innocent and exploited people in underdeveloped nations. Not to mention millions of animals and plants.
Innocent people will suffer famine, drought, and natural disasters. They will die by the hundreds of thousands in the coming decades. These victims will be people who did not participate in the modern consumerist economy by buying products from companies who actively deceive the public, practice regulatory capture, as well as bribing and corruption scandals all in the name of short term shareholder gains.
It’s Absolutely hypocritical to condemn people who want to prevent a second trump term and thus recognize a need to vote for an imperfect Biden when there’s no way you meet the threshold required to have clean hands in regards to the climate crisis.
The gut instinct is to say “well what can I possibly do about climate change” and that’s exactly my point. All you can do is limit the impact.
You can’t reconcile excusing yourself from your part in climate change, however minor it may be, if you’re trying to uphold such a strict standard against Biden and Biden voters. why? because you already know the consequences if Biden fails to retain the presidency. You know what trump victory means for minorities, lgbtq, the climate, etc. and with project 2025 it likely will be way worse this time.
You don’t get to look back and say you weren’t at fault if Trump wins because your ballot didn’t say trump. You know a vote for 3rd party or a no vote is a vote for Trump in the current system. That makes you complicit if he wins. Believe me, I went through that in 2016. I regret it.
This is an extreme metaphor to help you see that sometimes you have to acknowledge that terrible things are happening but limiting the damage might be all you can do.
You can vote for Biden in November and still criticize him and Democrats the entire time. That’s not being a hypocrite.
Letting trump win and pretending you didn’t contribute to all the additional damage that follows is.
Literally, yes.
The problem is people are too fucking stupid to understand that they are flirting with forever losing the ability to improve society in the United States because they want to be obtuse and claim some moral high ground over Israel.
All while allowing violence against women, minorities, and lgbtq domestically by helping trump win. It’s so hypocritical.
Well said
Almost as if there is a cunning and self-serving reason why genocide in Gaza is an absolutist red line, but the existential threat of climate change, genocide in Ukraine or China, mass deportations in the US, political violence and the collapse of democracy in the US, or Trump’s vocal and full throated support for genocide in Gaza among many other places, are not “red lines” for a decision about what would be best to do in this election.
It’s insane.
I truly regret voting 3rd party in 2016. I thought I was really doing something by “punishing” the DNC for conspiring against Bernie.
I have some empathy in that sense, but the difference is that I truly didn’t think it would be as bad as it was. That’s the only defense I have for my vote then. That ignorance is gone. We all know exactly what will happen because w have 4 years of data and that’s the BEST case. Selling state secrets, gutting crucial organizations like the EPA, tax cuts for wealthy corporate friends, extorting Ukraine for dirt on Biden, packing the supreme Court with justices literally unfit to sit on the bench…and on and on.
That’s the BEST CASE.
then read project 2025 and find out just how serious and insane the people who are trying to run the show for him this time actually are…Jesus.
For some, it’s a red line letting full-strength Hitler style genocidal authoritarian fascism take over the most powerful country in the world, and resisting it is a better idea than pointless gestures of token resistance to somewhat more minor world power misbehavior, which ultimately benefit literally nobody at all
But everybody’s different
And for others Biden is already that Hitler style Genocidal authoritarian.
Demanding to not support Genocide is not a big ask. If Democrats are not even willing to abide by that they don’t believe in that 2025 talk as much as they claim.
Your definition of Hitler is clearly very different from my definition of Hitler
When I think of the bad things Hitler did it was the Genocide that bothered me more than his dictatorship.
I will say, the instant Biden puts 6 million civilians to death and starts a war that kills 70 million people I’m definitely planning not to vote for him.
Or!
I know, when people write books about fascism they write about all the weapons Hitler sold to other countries and how that was the real problem and what those other countries did with the weapons. Everyone knows such a thing was un heard of before Hitler, and now under Biden, it’s coming again. There are whole museums devoted to Hitler’s weapons sales.
Or!
I know… some of the holocaust survivors who were alive in 2016 had these sort of chilling interviews where they talked about the eerie similarities between Biden and Hitler and how they really hoped people would realize how important it was not to vote for Biden. They didn’t really put a lot of attention into who his opponent was, because they said that’s not the point.
Take your pick, this one is a choose your own adventure
Wheres your red line between directly causing 6 million deaths and heavily funding and even sending airplanes to people who have killed 20k women and children. Because if one thinks its only genocide if you’re directly ordering the death of 6 million, you’re going to miss a lot of genocides that are clearly happening.
How about Russia and Ukraine? By the tone of your comment Id asusme that wouldn’t qualify to you either. So how far is to far? Or it is literally anything less than 6 million isn’t it?
I don’t think an organization as small and relatively insignificant as DSA has the luxury of being so idealistic. What strategic benefit comes from alienating your minimally influential organization from one of its most high profile political supporters? By all means, draw a red line, but you might find that you’re pretty lonely behind it.
Seeing as the elections are coming down to having to scrape every small party to get over the line the DSA suddenly becomes quite significant. As is the uncommitted movement in Michigan which Biden has ignored.
The DSA can get fucked. They literally support Putin’s narratives on the invasion of Ukraine and they outright want the total destruction of Israel. They don’t care about apartheid or genocide, they support both. They’re just picking and choosing which ones to condemn and endorse. They have no principles and other handing fascists power.
Removed for misinformation.
https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
Not true at all:
The Democratic Socialists of Americacondemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demands immediate diplomacy and de-escalation to resolve this crisis. We stand in solidarity with the working classes of Ukraine and Russia who will undoubtedly bear the brunt of this war, and with antiwar protestors in both countries and around the world who are calling for a diplomatic resolution.
That person you replied to has been straight up lying in every post his thread. They come off as extremely America exceptionalism propagandized to me lol.
Not straight up lying directly. The DSA does have some of those positions. They are misrepresenting their goals as if they want to allow fascism. The DSA is entirely anti-fascist. To claim that these positions somehow allow the space for fascism is an equivocation fallacy.
You can go read my comment to guy you’re replying to see that you are indeed wrong.
This is taken directly from their official statement letter:
DSA reaffirms our call for the US to withdraw from NATO and to end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict.
https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
This is from official “condemnation” on Feb 26, 2022. Their condemnation just comes off as tone deaf when they say shit like this, especially right after the invasion. How tone deaf, but they double down on the Russian propaganda fueled stance:
The war in Ukraine is a disaster for working class people in Ukraine, the region, and a terrible threat to us all, including increasing the danger of nuclear war and exacerbating global economic crises. We oppose the Russian invasion and call for the withdrawal of Russian troops through a settled ceasefire agreement. We recognize that the expansion of NATO and the aggressive approach of Western nations have helped cause the crisis and we demand an end to NATO expansion. We also oppose US and NATO military interventionism and the tens of billions in military aid and weapons shipments which only further exacerbates the war and undermine a negotiated settlement, as well as sanctions that will harm ordinary Russians. We call on the US and other countries to welcome refugees fleeing the war and provide needed humanitarian aid.
https://international.dsausa.org/ukraine/
And again:
There seems to be a common theme going on. They “condemn” the invasion, but blame the US and NATO for it, push for negotiations that Putin wants, and try to justify Russia’s reasons for invading. Now, when Ukraine itself is against these narratives… who exactly is pushing them? Who is benefiting from this propaganda and misinformation? Oh that’s right, it’s Russia… which the DSA just happens to conveniently align with.
You don’t think NATO is imperialist?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Democratic Socialists of America pulled its endorsement of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York this week, accusing the progressive congresswoman of being insufficiently supportive of the Palestinian cause and efforts to end the war in Gaza.
When she rallied last month in the Bronx with Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Jamaal Bowman, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators angry over her endorsement of Mr. Biden chanted “You’re a fraud, A.O.C.”
The congresswoman retains the support of the socialist group’s chapter in New York City, where she is expected to easily win a fourth term this fall in a heavily Democratic district.
In its statement, the committee wrote that the congresswoman had taken “many courageous positions on Palestine.” But it said it had voted in June to renew its endorsement only on the condition that she “demonstrate a higher level of commitment to Palestinian liberation, self-determination and the immediate end to the heinous genocide in Gaza.”
That, Democratic Socialists said, “conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and condemned boycotting Zionist institutions.” The group also objected to her appearing alongside Amy Spitalnick, the leader of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
“This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past,” the socialists’ leaders wrote.
The original article contains 785 words, the summary contains 221 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
So she loses endorsement by some insignificant group, am I reading this right?
Depends on what you call insignificant. Losing tens of thousands of voters doesn’t seem to matter to Democrats so sure.
Democrats are projected to beat Trump by a landslide right?
Total votes don’t count, if they did Trump would’ve never been president. Losing tens of thousands of voters literally might not matter if they’re all in blue states.
AOC is running for president? Wow, I had no idea!
Sadly she can’t, she misses the minimum requirements by like a few months to a year.
What does this mean?
Typical leftist purity test infighting that makes the rights job easier.
Not at all. There are at least 10 caucuses in the DSA. This decision is the compromise, ya know, democracy. The NY chapter still endorses her.
It means AOC is an establishment liberal not a leftie.
You have that 180° backwards. The establishment is sucking Bibi’s genocidal dick. AOC stands with Bernie in opposition to the genocide.
She advocates for keeping Genocide Joe instead of swapping him out. Her actions have disproven her words.
There is a spectrum of political discussion that is more nuanced than that.
I too oppose the sale of arms to and have always opposed the apartheid state that Israel has built. If there’s any chance of replacing Biden and not ending up with Trump that is what I want.
I am however 100% certain that Trump will encourage an escalation and wholesale destruction of the Palestinian state and advocate for the rounding up of the Palestinian diaspora. Trump would empower Bibi to escalate to taking over Libya and Trump has openly advocated for war with Iran. Iran, one of the few countries rendering aid to Hamas right now.
Biden is misguided and naive that he thinks Bibi will not exterminate the Palestinians. Trump wants nothing more than to pave Palestine into an Amusement park. Don’t get this shit twisted.
At this point there is no reason to even keep Biden except literally wanting to lose to Trump and/or having the Genocide supporter in charge after the election.
I have consistently opposed Biden but even for liberals that want to play the system, endorsing Biden as the candidate when they can swap him out is contradictory to everything they stand for.
Foreign policy of USA and Israel is aligned so much that it’s irrelevant who comes becomes president of USA.
These are bold claims, I’ve edited my comment above with supporting articles. Do you have any supporting evidence for your claims?
Do you have any supporting evidence for your claims?
Linkerbaan? Seriously? LOL!
The establishment is sucking Bibi’s genocidal dick. AOC stands with Bernie in opposition to the genocide.
Sanders has been a staunch supporter of Israel since his mayoral days. Its one of the issues where he diverges most heavily from his “lefty” base.
No, he’s not. He’s one of if not the only Jewish lawmaker that is critical of Israel’s genocide.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/where-does-bernie-sanders-stand-on-israel-2/
In a lengthy interview with Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2014, Sanders said that if elected president, he would “support the security of Israel, help Israel fight terrorist attacks against that country and maintain its independence,” while also vowing to maintain “an evenhanded approach to that area.”
“Has Israel overreacted? Have they bombed UN facilities? The answer is yes, and that is terribly, terribly wrong,” Sanders said. “On the other hand – and there is another hand – you have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel – a fact – and you know where some of those missiles are coming from. They’re coming from populated areas; that’s a fact. Hamas is using money that came into Gaza for construction purposes – and God knows they need roads and all the things that they need – and used some of that money to build these very sophisticated tunnels into Israel for military purposes.”
This has been the Sanders response to Israel for decades. He’s a reliable vote on more US funding for military support. He routinely endorses resolutions favoring the continued “existence of Israel” in the form of occupied Palestinian lands. He talks about a “Two State Solution” while defending the right of Israel soldiers to respond with brutality and barbarity whenever they are challenged.
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib this guy ain’t. He votes as staunchly in favor of Israel as Ted Cruz or JD Vance.
Yeah, and what would you prefer he say?
“From the River to the Sea / Palestine will be free” would be a great place to start.
Lol. Lmao.
The system will always co-opt individuals seeking to dismantle it. This is why reform is nearly impossible.
Edit: Thought experiment; think about what your price would be.
I don’t even know if there is necessarily a price. I think on some level, people just start to realize certain issues take priority over others, especially when you’re fighting the opposing party. You have to compromise on some things. If she were out there cutting down Biden every day over Israel, it’s going to make it hard for her to get other things done. It’s also going to make it more likely that Trump wins. You have to pick your battles, rather than spending all of your political capital on a single issue that she won’t be able to have enough impact on to actually change it.
To a large extent, this problem is systemic. We have a two party system that doesn’t allow a ton of nuance. Also, politicians are involved, and politicians are always thinking about elections. I wish we could just voted on the issues themselves in our democracy.
left wing is so busy ripping itself apart while right has fully consolidated, good luck winning elections. This is practically handing POTUS45 his POTUS47 title. US left wing always picks wrong timing to settle internal scores which is why it’s always flatfooted and toothless.
It’s because they always get angry and start pointing fingers when things get tough.
while right has fully consolidated
Well, apart from the literal assassination attempt…
The right has so much infighting that it’s dirty to even call them ‘the right’ as if it’s a single group. If the US weren’t using a FPTP system with the threat of vote spoiling, it would be much clearer just how split all political factions really are. Neo-Nazis have been calling Trump “Zion Don” for the past ten years and crying about all his links to da jooz and blags, the Libertarians disagree so much that about 2 million of them voted their own party instead of Rep or Dem in 2020. There’s even PACs like the Lincoln Project.
The reason it’s important to recognize this is that it’s important to know their weaknesses. They’re not all one homogeneous group, and many of them literally want to kill each other.
fighting or not they have all lined up behind POTUS45 even if previously they criticized him etc. At the time when left is dilly-dallying and builds up “resistance centers”. Look, all the pro-Gazan declarations with conditional support for Biden is a waste of air as as soon as POTUS45 will grab his POTUS47 title it’s game over and they will have no recourse, and more likely than not public protests will get slowly outlawed. Look North of the border for examples of how it’s done (Alberta, Canada)… so no matter what they do nothing is going to change now the only differentiator is that Biden may listen whereas POTUS45 absolutely will not.
That’s why we should have Ranked Choice voting. people could give their preference a chance, while still counting their vote against those they don’t want in office.
No, no, THIS time handing over power to fascists will DEFINITELY make the left in this country strong.
/s since that’s literally what’s being said by these fucking people who go on about how the
national rebirth‘reconstruction’ of the political environment under a Trump regime is how we get progressive victories.The communist leader in Germany before Hitler took over said that failure of the nazi government would help convince people to vote for communism in the next election; he was subsequently killed in a concentration camp.
I mean he was basically right. The social democrats took 30% and the Nazis got 0% in the next election
In 1949 after Germany’s defeat in WWII.
Gottem
Just reading about it:
Critics believed that the KPD’s sectarianism scuttled any possibility of a united front with the SPD against the rising power of the Nazis.
Not sure if it is analogous to America, since the KPD in Weimar Germany was more prominent politically than the DSA is in America. It was definitely a bad position in hindsight.
Wasn’t it the SPD that appointed Hitler Chancellor? Sounds like I’m hindsight, they were right.
Hindenburg did.
If only they’d joined the SPD in voting for Hindenburg, the guy who won the election and appointed Hitler chancellor, then Hindenburg would’ve… won the election and appointed Hitler chancellor.
It’s good to know that on top of Marxism being a failure from the very start, it also has a long history of paving the way for fascists to get into power. Some things never change.
Is that why Trump and fascism are about to be re-elected, because of the failure of Marxism?
No Marxism is a failure for a lot more than that, it’s one of the most evil failed ideology in human history. It’s just ironic how the people who helped get the Nazis in power are the same people doing the same now. The far left has always been the greatest indirect ally of the of the far right, and they say the horseshoe theory is not real.
the people who helped get the Nazis in power are the same people doing the same now.
So, the Marxists, who have no participating party in American elections, with no elected representatives in the federal government, are the real reason fascism is happening in America?
That’s certainly an opinion.
It’s very clear you’re a brain dead Marxist, and yes, for the record, Marxists are indeed the ones helping sow division among the left as evidenced by this very post… Just like they did in every single election cycle since 2016. Fuck Marxism, fuck Marxists, and fuck the DSA in particular
It’s much more difficult to build something than it is to tear it down.
In reality I have never encountered people who strictly define themselves as “leftist”, “liberal”, “progressive”, “socialist”, “democratic socialist”, “communist”, “center-left”, “moderate left”, etc.
seems like an attempt to drive wedges. Remember: We are all for a viable candidate that advances those issues even partially, versus the polar opposite.
Remember: We are all for a viable candidate that advances those issues even partially, versus the polar opposite.
Not all of us, unfortunately.
Oh no the literal tankies are against her what will she do? These people are not Democratic socialists, they’re not even leftists. These people suck the dick of totalitarianism.
They’re not all “tankies:”
In 1956, a “Tankie” was someone who endorsed the Stalin’s tanks driving through Hungary to suppress a counter-revolution.
In 1989, a “Tankie” was someone who endorsed the Deng Xiaoping’s tanks driving through Tienanmen Square to suppress a student riot.
In 2024, a “Tankie” is someone who thinks Netanyahu’s tanks driving through Gaza to suppress the Al Aqsa Flood has gone too far.
The DSA aren’t all tankies, the socialist majority caucus within the DSA, a majority caucus, is very lenient on their position concerning Israel:
Conditioning aid to Israel
The NPC had a brief political discussion about the progress of the “No Money for Massacres” campaign. Renée framed the conversation by walking through potential scenarios of an Israel military aid package, including the possibility of amendments that set conditions for the aid. One example is a recent Senate proposal that would require foreign aid recipients to comply with international law.
In the middle of this discussion, Marxist Unity Group members put forward a motion that would have, among other things. established DSA’s position as not supportive of harm reduction measures such as conditioning Israeli aid. This motion failed by a large margin with several abstentions, and it’s not difficult to see why: The motion was out of touch with our current political moment.
Currently, a supermajority of Congress has not publicly supported a ceasefire and remains supportive of military aid to Israel. Barring a massive shift in public and congressional opinion—which DSA is working diligently to achieve—an Israel aid package likely has the necessary votes for passage.
If aid is going to pass anyway, the very least DSA and our endorsed congressmembers can do is use the vote to propagandize. For example, when the House voted on a Republican Israel aid package last month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced an amendment to bar the use of white phosphorus against civilians.
AOC was almost certainly aware that there was no chance her amendment would pass; indeed, it wasn’t even brought to a vote. That’s because it wasn’t intended to pass. Rather it was a strategic move to highlight the war crimes Israel is committing against the Palestinian people. And if the amendment had been brought to a vote, it would have put pro-Israel Democrats on the defensive and forced them to vote down a clear rejection of war crimes.
MUG’s motion missed the point of why amendments like this are filed in the first place. The motion would have required DSA not to support amendments like AOC’s, blurring the message we are trying to send about Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
That’s why we’re pleased that the NPC recently voted to endorse Sen. Sanders’ 502B© resolution, which would require the U.S. State Department to issue a report on Israel’s human rights practices within thirty days and cut off all security assistance if they fail to do so. Legislation like this can expose both parties’ blatant disregard for human rights and put pro-Israel congressmembers on the defensive.
I’m posting this significant portion because many don’t have time to read the whole position. I would encourage you to expand your opinion of what the DSA represents and its capabilities.
If you disagree with them, fine, but don’t misrepresent their positions.
What does tankie mean to you in this context? Actually curious, because I don’t get it… it’s starting to become like “woke” in my mind.
ok, so people who pretend like the Russians and/or Chinese being communists and justifying their fascistic imperialist actions, while going on about American imperialism as the literal sole antagonist of the universe are by definition tankies.
and the DCA are tankies, you can find it in a lot of their publications if you read them, for example, the basis for supporting the free Palestine students movement isn’t to support the Palestinian people in the creation of their own state, as a principle right of any group of peoples, but rather because they believe it would hemm in American imperialist power in the Middle East
Not OP but I think the groupthink here is just using tankie as a catch all whereas their main gripe is accelerationism.
Accelerationism is the new Nihilism for the disenfranchised. It doesn’t take much to grasp and requires little to no input from its supporters in this phase.
Accelerationism is not the answer. I am old enough to see what the traditional tactics have bought us. That doesn’t mean I am willing to watch the world burn so the soil is enriched.
Which sucks because nihilism wasn’t a doomer outlook
Yes and no. As with most things, it’s more complicated than that. While it’s true that not many philosophers would claim to be “pure” nihilists, instead opting to qualify their position, there are nihilists who do have a very doomer outlook so to speak.
This is why in the article you linked, nihilism is qualified as “optimistic”. This kind of nihilism is often associated with Nietzsche and later as your article mentioned, Sartre. Though I’m not sure Sartre would say he was a nihilist; Sartre was a huge figure for the existentialists. However, the two movements have a lot in common and one could argue that optimistic nihilism and existentialism are close enough to be considered the same thing. I am aware of some scholars who consider, for example, Nietzsche to be an early existentialist. It must be noted, however, that the optimistic qualification is of utmost importance. Nihilism says flatly that there is no meaning, existentialism says that we are able to decide what is meaningful.
Anyway, this is all to say that Nihilism (with a capital N) is a pretty pessimistic and “doomer” idea to have. Nietzsche himself argued that the solution to nihilism was to destroy all interpretations of the world so that we can start from zero and hopefully realize some actual meaning. Perhaps my understanding of doomer is wrong, but from where I’m standing, nihilism and doomerism are pretty much the same thing. Different flavours of nihilism will produce different conclusions about this connection.
“Tankie” is absolutely the chronically online moderate Democrat’s version of woke.
I laughed reading all the responses below… you’re the most correct just based on that alone.
It’s like The People’s Front of Judeah sketch playing out in real time. Tribalism and the need for absolutism in uncertainty.
Typical neoliberal. Still using homophobic insults. But surely you’re not a bad person.
That’s not a homophobic insult. It’s a more vulgar way of saying they’re in bed with them, which also isn’t homophobic. It just means they’re very close.
Damn. I had no idea the opposite of endorsing genocide was totalitarianism. Seems obvious now that you’ve pointed that out, thank you.
Oh yes the Tankie retort. The one where they never acknowledge the fact that they’re perfectly okay with genocide as long as Putin and Pooh Bear are the ones pulling it off huh?
Strawman shit. Genocide is never OK and a leftist would never uphold Putin.
Agreed. We’re talking about Tankies though.
Are the Tankies in the room with you right now?
Is this your way of admitting your stalking me?
AOC doesnt endorse genocide though. Accepting Israels right to exist is not genocide support. Accepting Israels murder of civilians is. Biden is too pro Israel. Supporting him doesnt mean you share all his views. Trump obviously would be much worse to Palestinians than Biden is. I dont think there is a settlement named after Biden yet.
Accepting Israel’s right to exist is to support settler colonialism. Israel does not exist without the murder and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
I’ve decided I’m not re-joining the DSA.
Maybe you’d like the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The anti-Ukraine tankies?
Fuck you. Anyone who opposes resisting fascism shouldn’t call themselves either of those things.
Seems like the Socialist Alternative is what you’re looking for. 👀
I’m not voting 3rd party this election, and I can find my own to join when it’s advantageous to do so.
Being a socialist is not necessarily progressive. What a distraction
When did foreign policy become a core position for DSA?
I wonder if some of them maybe hang out on social media where certain very vocal people they’ve never met tend to create a general picture of an overall narrative and what priorities seem important and what politicians are disappointing when seen in the light of that narrative
Doesn’t all foreign policy start domestically?
But DSA has a mission and core positions that are domestic and focus on economics, democracy, and equality. If you have a prominent member that represents those things, why are you kicking her out for something not defined in your core position and objective on a flimsy basis?
Not since 2017:
Among other resolutions, in 2017 the organization voted to leave the Socialist International, to prioritize support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and to strengthen solidarity efforts around the decolonization of Puerto Rico.
It’s all religious Zealots behind the scenes in politics. They all think the issue is protecting cites mentioned in the bible. They think that’s the basis for Western Civilization rather than the French and American revolutions and the Dutch or Westminster system of law.
Why haven’t most Western nations had atheist leaders? Why don’t they ALWAYS have atheist leaders?
This preference for superstition over rationality holds us back as a species.
