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.”
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.
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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
…
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.
If you find yourself on the “right” side of the DCCC, you are my opponent.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Removed for misinformation.
https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
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.
The epitome of a black and white outlook of the universe. Reality is messy.
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.
No, no, THIS time handing over power to fascists will DEFINITELY make the left in this country strong.
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.
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.
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.
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.
