DSA is proud to endorse Willie Burnley Jr. for Somerville Mayor. Willie currently serves At-Large on the Somerville City Council. On council he has fought to expanding tenant rights, provide non-discrimination protections for trans and polyamorous folks, has made roads safer and sidewalks more accessible through the Safe Streets Ordinance, and advocated to abolish medical debt.

As mayor he’ll champion housing for all, a Green New Deal for Somerville Public Schools, expanding worker’s rights, and more!

Willie is part of a slate of candidates in the Socialist Cash Takes Out Capitalist Trash fundraising project!

by J. Noble

Whether you’re a parent wanting a safer protest experience for your children or someone who gets overwhelmed in a crowd, the outer circle of a protest can be a perfect spot for those who want to show their support

This weekend, I white-knuckled the steering wheel as I travelled down the winding road of I-5, past the Nisqually River and the lush evergreens, and into Olympia. Despite being a Washington native, I had visited here for the very first time only a couple of weeks ago for Zine Fest. After enjoying the bustling (and very queer) energy of this event, and visiting the pier and the Olympia Farmers Market, I felt confident that I could return again. I just wasn’t expecting to return so soon.

Alongside my coworker, who lives in Olympia, and their child, we attended June 14th’s No Kings protest in Olympia, “a nationwide day of defiance,” against the Trump administration’s acts of authoritarianism, says the official No Kings webpage. This was the third, and biggest, protest that I attended, and after learning about the importance of having a buddy from a protest safety webinar, I thought it best that if I was going to attend, I should go with someone I knew.

My coworker’s spouse drove us near the state capital, and, with our handwritten signs, we made our way towards the heart of the protest. My coworker held their child’s hand as we weaved our way through the growing crowd, staying on the periphery to scope out the scene.

Having a child present with us, my coworker and I had a mutual understanding that we wanted to keep our action at the protest as safe as possible. We ended up on the side of a major street where protestors held signs and waved at drivers. With an open spot, we joined in, and spent most of our time there. During this action, I thought about how accessible and beginner-friendly this portion of a protest is.

The side of the road is a perfect spot for those who want to be physically present at a protest but have circumstances that may prevent them from being in the thick of a sea of people. For families with young children, especially, it is a prime spot for safety while still making your voice heard. Children can have fun making their own signs and waving at drivers, most of whom will wave back or honk their horns in solidarity, all while parents can rest assured that there is a more accessible escape route should anything arise.

If resistance from police or counterprotestors takes place, those on the margins will usually be the first to know. On one hand, this can be risky, but being in this area puts more eyes on the perimeter of the protest, creating an atmosphere of those who can quickly spread the word to those on the inside.

This is also an optimal spot for those with disabilities. Wheelchair users, for example, may have an easier time moving around on the sidewalk if the main protest area is on a bumpy or grassy surface. Alongside those who get overwhelmed by crowds, the sidewalk can also provide an easier exit if you need to take a break.

And who knows? Maybe you’ll get to laugh at a Cybertruck or two passing by.

Another, often overlooked, part of any protest is the organizer tables. No Kings Olympia had multiple booths of different organizations spreading awareness of the work that they do, handing out pamphlets and stickers, and collecting donations. This can get people familiar with the resources available in their area, and potentially inspire them to get involved in something more than just a single protest.

While being on the margins of a protest includes some notable features, that does not mean that caution and discernment should be thrown out the window. No matter where you are in a protest, remember to get to know the area you are in and to be aware of exit routes. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times by keeping your head on a swivel, and, if possible, bring a friend (or two! Or three!). Get clear on what each of you are able or willing to do at the protest, and create a plan of action if your team gets separated, such as having a meetup spot to regroup.

Towards the end of our time at the protest, the three of us decided to take a quick walk-through. We passed by people of all ages, some wearing big cat costumes, some wearing black bloc, or just in their regular street clothes. Many people flooded the state capitol steps and yelled out chants, but many were also perusing booths, mingling with other protestors, or sitting in the grass.

We are more powerful in numbers, and we all protest differently. If we understand that and make an active effort to create a space that is more accessible to everyone, then we would be unstoppable.

by Audrey Bracken

On Tuesday, June 24, the nation watched in awe as Zohran Mamdani soared to victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary election on the wings of radical, unheard of ideas like… making big business pay fair taxes and granting workers a living wage. 

Jokes aside–with people all over the country struggling to find housing, pay their rent, and avoid landlord exploitation, it’s no wonder that Mamdani’s bold platform for housing resonated with New Yorkers.

That same night, on the opposite coast in our very own Grit City, renters and working class Tacomans also won a major victory in the fight for housing. Tacoma may not have a fashion week or more than one place in town to get a decent bagel, but we agree with New York on something more important: the fact that everyone deserves a stable and safe place to live. 

Thanks to the incredible organizing work of Tacoma for All and a coalition of more than a dozen labor and community partners, Tacoma City Council couldn’t ignore the voices of our community. Our collective power led to the council adopting bold amendments to the One Tacoma: Comprehensive Plan, which guides the city’s policies and direction for the next 25 years. These two amendments further commit the city to tenant protections passed by voters in 2023, as well as open the door for an innovative housing model to meet the needs of our current and future neighbors. 

This victory wouldn’t have been possible without the support of everyday community members showing up and taking part in the democratic process. At a city council meeting earlier this month, several dozen Tacomans of all ages and walks of life – from high school students to union leaders, lifelong residents to recent newcomers – showed up with the same goal in mind: to protect and build upon community-led efforts to make stable, safe, and permanently affordable housing a reality for everyone in our beloved city. 

Harlan, a local high school student, spoke in support of an amendment to include expanding tenant protections and enshrining the provisions of the Landlord Fairness Code as official policy in the comprehensive plan. He stood before the city council as the youngest person in the room and passionately advocated on behalf of community members like himself and his mother, who were able to avoid losing their apartment thanks to the Landlord Fairness Code. 

“For the last six years of my life, my mom and I have lived in a cozy apartment in Tacoma near my school and her work, near public transportation and parks, with a vibrant community that has supported me, and that I’ve become a part of. It’s my home and it holds immense value to me. But to some people, this isn’t a home, it’s just an apartment–an apartment with “value”, but not the same value it holds for me,” said Harlan. 

A year ago, while his mother was already working 2-3 jobs just to be able to pay their rent, an unexpected increase threatened to displace the family, which would have forced them to uproot their lives right before Harlan’s senior year of high school. 

“Thanks to the renters’ protections passed just prior to this, we were able to fight to keep our home and stay a part of our community. These renters’ protections keep communities together and give hardworking families the stability they deserve,” he said. 

While the Landlord Fairness Code has had a life-changing impact for many families like Harlan and his mother, other Tacoma tenants continue to struggle as landlords ignore, and even retaliate against, the law. Several tenants and organizers spoke at the meeting about the continued appalling conditions and mistreatment residents face at apartment complexes in Tacoma. 

April, a tenant at Bryn Mar Village, has been working with her neighbors to fight against the injustices its owners continue to get away with. She shared her personal experiences with basic maintenance requests going unanswered and safety violations being ignored. She went without heat in her apartment for two years. Despite this, the owners of Bryn Mar keep trying to raise rents. As a disabled cancer survivor, April feels responsible to speak up on behalf of other people with disabilities who are suffering from the effects of landlord greed. 

Since the passage of the Landlord Fairness Code, volunteers with Tacoma for All have been supporting tenants at apartment buildings across the city to know their rights and take collective action against violations. The Landlord Fairness Code is an important tool empowering working class Tacomans to protect their homes and their families, which is also, unsurprisingly, why landlords are trying to destroy it. 

Corporate landlords are already suing the city in an attempt to overturn the Landlord Fairness Code and go back to business as usual, bleeding working families dry without consequence. They are also not above using their money and influence to pressure city council to roll back tenant protections. But the power of the people is stronger. Our success at getting a commitment to tenant protections included in the One Tacoma Plan demonstrates that when working class Tacomans show up and fight together, our demands cannot be ignored. 

We also know that simply protecting our current housing isn’t enough. Our city’s population continues to grow, with no signs of slowing down. Thousands of our neighbors live unsheltered on the streets. On top of all this, Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to federal affordable housing programs threaten to create what state officials have warned would be a “tsunami of homelessness” in Washington. 

Community members let city council know we have a different vision for the future of housing in Tacoma–one that doesn’t rely on granting tax subsidies to private market developers in exchange for insufficient solutions, or waiting on the support of a federal government currently more concerned with kidnapping workers than housing its people. 

Tenants, organizers, and affordable housing experts spoke in support of a plan for social housing in Tacoma, a model for mixed-income public housing that has seen success in other American cities and internationally. The amendment to the One Tacoma Plan commits the city to exploring a potential social housing developer for Tacoma that meets the needs of low-income residents and serves historically-marginalized communities. 

“The city’s own data shows that private market is only producing affordable housing at one-fifth of the necessary rate,” said Jacqui, an affordable housing designer and tenant, “We cannot rely on the private market to provide what our community desperately needs: safe housing that allows them to live within their means.”

Earlier this year, Seattleites voted overwhelmingly in favor of a plan to fund social housing. Tacoma faces many of the same housing issues as our northern neighbors, so why not pursue a similar solution? For far too long, city leaders have relied on the same approaches, faced the same setbacks, and landed back in the same place they started with little to show for it. Now, with an innovative approach showing tested success and popular support, it’s time to try something different. 

Rowan, a renter who volunteers with Tacoma for All, shared why he supports social housing in Tacoma.

“By housing a broad range of incomes, social housing generates revenue that’s invested into new, affordable homes – homes that are desperately needed, as right now, Tacoma is set to lose over 150 shelter beds by the end of July. Personally, I’d be much happier if part of my rent went towards that, rather than being siphoned out of the community and into corporate profits.”

The benefits of social housing align with the values of everyday Tacomans: looking out for each other, supporting our neighborhoods, and creating a positive future for the city we love. 

Both housing amendments to the comprehensive plan were passed unanimously by city council on June 24. Successfully amending a municipal plan may not sound as exciting as electing a socialist mayor of the biggest city in the country, but it’s a victory worth celebrating. Housing policies can have a life or death impact for our community members, as well as the potential to create better ways of living for us all. That’s why organizers worked so tirelessly to achieve this win. Tacoma for All advocated the necessity of these amendments to the Tacoma Planning Commission, which brought them before city council. Organized tenants and labor built a coalition, gained support from local leaders, and made their voices heard at council meetings. Over 350 community members fought for themselves, their families, and their neighbors by sending letters of support. 

Because of this, our elected leaders had to pay attention to the demands of working class people in Tacoma, and the future of housing in our city looks brighter than before.

But the fight is far from over. Tenants across Tacoma continue to face threats to their health, safety, and human right to a place to live. The landlord lobby is not going to give up easily, and will continue to fight against the public good by all means necessary. And while the possibility of a social housing solution is one step closer to reality, thousands of our neighbors are currently facing evictions or already living on the street. 

We flexed our collective muscle to make these recent wins possible, and we will do it again and again. Because that is what it will take to achieve housing for all in Tacoma, our home.

by Zev Rose Cook

Zohran Mamdani’s election victory in the NYC mayoral race has attracted national excitement. It’s clear that conservative forces, both inside and outside the Democratic Party, are worried about what it means to have a Muslim, pro-Palestine democratic socialist achieve such a level of success. With establishment and big business support rallying behind disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo—who lost handily to Zohran in the primary—and current Mayor Eric Adams, who has collaborated with the Trump administration on ICE deportations, many will recall how these same forces moved swiftly to prevent Bernie Sanders from winning the presidential nomination in 2016.

Although it remains to be seen whether Zohran will emerge victorious in the general election, what is certain is that his campaign has sparked a firestorm of discussion about what his victory means for the Democratic Party and the left. Some have chalked it up to a privileged upbringing and excellent communication skills. I recently watched one commentator explain that the policies Zohran is running on—including investment in accessible transit and childcare—are the same things Democrats often support, and that if only we could learn to use social media like Zohran, Democrats could start winning again. For the record number of young people who turned out to support his campaign—and those across the nation who have been excited observers—this analysis clearly misses the mark.

Many have argued that Zohran won only in spite of his pro-Palestine and socialist politics, but if you look at the social movement and base of over 50,000 people who were inspired to turn out and volunteer, it’s clearly quite the opposite. One thing that separates Zohran from any other progressive candidate in the race is the support of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America—a mass organization of over 10,000 members and scores of experienced campaign organizers standing ready to support his election. In addition to ready-made campaign infrastructure, effective messaging was also key.

For years, Democratic Party leadership and the Israel lobby have hammered the public with the idea that any criticism of Israel is antisemitism and politically unacceptable. In the face of this, Zohran won as a pro-Palestine Muslim in one of the most Jewish cities on the planet. On top of that, he also won as an open socialist among an electorate that has been inundated with red scare propaganda for generations. Following Kamala Harris’s loss last year, many party insiders argued that the party needs to move further to the right to attract more voters. If Zohran’s campaign has taught us anything, it’s that voters don’t want leaders who are more right-wing or more supportive of Israel—they want leaders who speak meaningfully to the everyday struggles faced by working-class Americans across this country.

On the opposite side of the country, I’ve experienced many of the same dynamics—albeit at a smaller scale—as a democratic socialist running for the Tacoma City Council. With the support of the Tacoma DSA, our campaign has turned out a base of over 70 volunteers, recently helping us cross the threshold of having knocked on every one of the over 10,000 doors of registered voters in Tacoma’s 5th District. One thing I’ve learned is that although interpretations of what it means to be a socialist can vary greatly among voters, what it does clearly communicate is a departure from everyday politics.

In blue cities like NYC and Tacoma, it can be difficult for voters to easily distinguish between progressive and establishment candidates. This is especially true as progressives often do a poor job of differentiating themselves, while establishment picks have learned to muddy the waters by adopting progressive language—while leaving policy on the cutting room floor.

In the last few years alone, the cost of living has risen enormously. From the NYC election results to my conversations with voters across Tacoma, one thing is clear: Americans are ready for a different path. Running as a democratic socialist demonstrates a clear willingness to buck the status quo and fight for a program that puts the interests of working people first. If you ask me—and over half a million NYC voters—that’s the kind of clarity we need to defeat Trump and the corporate oligarchy.

At Maine DSA’s Summer Semi-Annual Meeting (held each July), a 2/3 majority of chapter members present voted to pass the following statement regarding the DSA National Convention Mask Policy, and to mandate its release via Pine and Roses.

Maine DSA calls upon all elected and/or appointed delegates to vote for a motion by Richard S of Greater Baltimore DSA to require masking at convention.

Upon their election, some Maine DSA delegates were taken aback by the abdication of previously held standards of masking at our National Convention. As a chapter, we have formally required masking since January 2023 and reaffirmed it in May of 2023 and November of 2023. While we allow for socials and other “riskier” activities, we understand the importance of making chapter business accessible for all as a democratic organization. This is even more crucial at the national level, where political decisions are made which impact all of DSA’s tens of thousands of members.

Masking should be required at our National Convention, as it is at this year’s Socialism Conference. Airborne viral particles don’t care whether or not we are 6ft apart from each other. Vaccine requirements are certainly helpful for personal protection, but we are quickly losing access under the RFK Jr, Jay Bhattacharya, and Marty Makary public health administration, and current US vaccines have limited efficacy against transmission and development of long COVID. Masks are safe and ridiculously effective.

Furthermore, the requirement of a single Rapid Antigen Test for each delegate ignores the instructions supplied with these tests which are only authorized for asymptomatic use when tested at least three times over five days with at least 48 hours between tests. In fact, even when symptomatic, the pre-Trump FDA recommended repeat testing following a negative result. Advising people to misuse medical tests is neither comradely nor wise and provides false confidence that our convention policies adequately protect our comrades.

The National Political Committee Steering Committee’s decision along caucus lines to make masking optional, despite years of advocacy from DSA’s Disability Working Group, directly endangers DSA members and caused one of our chapter’s elected delegates to drop out upon hearing of the new policy. It has given pause to multiple other delegates who were similarly shocked by this news.

By not standing by practical public health measures now, we are failing our future selves. Why are we taking unnecessary risks in our organizing that are likely to lead to the disablement of many of us, especially trans and bisexual people and people of color? DSA needs to meet the moment; America’s fascist government is ramping up their restrictions on vaccine access. Mask bans continue to pop up across the country, giving police ever more rein to harass disabled people as they try to more safely go about their days.

We are hopeful that other chapters will make similar statements; if you are a DSA Member, you can motion to make a statement like this in your chapter. We hope our comrades across this country will hold disability justice and accessibility as a top priority. At a minimum, we ask that all DSA delegates be prepared to support a floor vote to restore the masking policy at our 2025 National Convention for the safety of all of our comrades.

Mask up! We need you,
Maine Democratic Socialists of America

Reading

Podcast and Transcript: Covid Year Five (12/23/24) – Death Panel

Zine: MASK UP, WE NEED YOU: Palestinian Solidarity, Covid-19, and the Struggle for Liberation – Sheyam Ghieth and Rimona Eskayo

Blog: COVID-19 Weather Reports – People’s CDC

Website: We Have the Tools

Maine Delegation Statement: Maine DSA’s Delegation to the 2025 DSA National Convention Opposes the Rollback of Public Health in the US and Within our National Organization

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More New Mainers live in Cumberland County than any other county in the state. It’s not even close. So to play on an old saying: As Cumberland County goes for immigrant rights, so goes Maine. In Portland, some 34 percent of students are multilingual learners, speaking some 60 languages. Cumberland County will either look the other way as Trump terrorizes our immigrant neighbors, or it will build on the legacy of the Personal Liberty Laws during the days of the Fugitive Slave Act, when the state legislature made it illegal for local police and prosecutors to cooperate in any manner with federal slave catchers. That’s how the Underground Railroad worked in Maine. 

What’s happening now? ICE and Border Patrol are racially profiling, especially, Latino and African workers and disappearing them into concentration camps in Maine and across the country. Only a few of the stories have made the press because so many immigrant families are afraid to speak out. But the stories that have gone public are enough to demonstrate that ICE and Border Patrol are operating outside the Constitution. Nevermind Los Angeles, it’s happening right here in Cumberland County and throughout Maine. 

What is ICE? If it ever had anything to do with something called legality, it’s clear now that Trump’s ICE is the training grounds for an openly–if cowardly, mask-wearing, wannabe–fascist militia. The Big Beautiful Bill will make ICE larger than the FBI, DEA, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined.

Why Cumberland County? The Cumberland County Jail is the largest ICE detention facility in Maine. At a meeting with representatives of the No ICE for ME campaign, Sheriff Kevin Joyce reported ICE detentions surging by more than 100% since Trump’s election. He claims he’s powerless to do anything other than follow orders from the Feds. But the contract signed between ICE and the Cumberland County Jail states on the first line that either party can cancel it with thirty days notice. 

This is where the Board of Cumberland County Commissioners (CCC) comes into play. These five elected officials have the power to vote by a simple majority to cancel the contract. Public protests at the last three CCC meetings have grown from 45 in May to 80 in June to more than 125 on July 21. So many people responded to No ICE for ME’s call to give public comment that the board tried to cut it short, refusing to hear from everyone in the meeting room who wanted to speak. That did not go well for the board. 

Board members are in a tough spot. They didn’t run for office in order to draw a line in the sand against a fascist ethnic cleansing campaign. It’s not what they signed up for. But this disaster isn’t what any of us signed up for. Despite tempers flaring at the last board meeting, I believe there is a majority that wants to vote to do the right thing and end the contract. To do so, they will have to follow their better angels by putting aside proceduralism and the public speaking to them in ways they are not accustomed to.

If they do so, a large majority of Cumberland County residents will have their backs. As State Representative Grayson Lookner pointed out at a meeting with members of the board and the sheriff, a large majority of Cumberland County elected officials in the legislature voted for LD 1971, which prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE. Putting that into practice in Cumberland County means canceling the contract at the jail. 

If the board drags its feet–they have suggested holding a hearing in late September with a potential vote in October… or later–they will face mounting public protest. But more to the point, every day they delay only extends the county’s collaboration with ICE and the attack on our friends, family members, students, neighbors and fellow workers. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail explained why, under extreme circumstances, well-meaning advice to “wait” just a little longer for justice is no virtue at all. 

No one believes cutting the contract will send ICE running. They have $45 billion for concentration camps. We have to prepare to stop them from building one in northern New England in the coming months. And the best way to do that is to take a stand today in Cumberland County. Not later, not somewhere else, not someone else. Now, here, us. The Board of Cumberland County Commissioners can either be part of that movement, or they can stand in the way. 

For more information about No ICE for ME and how you help, sign up here.

The post As Cumberland County goes, so go immigrant rights in Maine appeared first on Pine & Roses.

Every year, the Maine chapter of Democratic Socialists of America holds two conventions; a Winter Semi-Annual held in January, and a Summer Semi-Annual held in July. Both events are where larger proposals are discussed, not typically brought up during regular general meetings. These include potential bylaw amendments, endorsements, and committee charters. They also include workshops and panels, so they last a while, usually four to five hours. Oh, and don’t forget the snacks, raffle, and socializing!

This year, Maine DSA’s Summer Semi-Annual is a hybrid event, taking place both in-person in Portland and on Zoom, Saturday, July 26th, with plenty on the agenda to get through. For those who might be curious about how Maine DSA operates and deliberates, or for those who are interested in our workshops, it’s a great chance for members to help steer the chapter into the next six months, and for non-members to meet like-minded folks, listen, chat, and learn a little bit about what Maine DSA is up to.

After the usual introductions and community agreements, attendees will hear reports from current committees and working groups. What they’ve been up to since January, including achievements and challenges, as well as their plans for the remainder of 2025. This is a great way to find out if there’s work being done that you might be interested in getting involved with. Groups like the Portland Committee, Midcoast Committee, Bodily Autonomy, Mutual Aid, Labor Rising and more!

After reports and re-charters, the chapter will launch into business. This is the juicy stuff. With DSA’s National Convention around the corner, there are a number of national resolutions for chapter members to decide if they want the chapter to endorse or not. If endorsed, delegates to the convention from Maine would be expected to vote in favor of those items. After that, it gets into proposals that focus on the actual Maine chapter, with one looking to amend the chapter’s anti-zionist policy, a vote on whether a new office space is needed, and more. 

During the business portion above, only chapter members will be allowed to vote. However, non-members are welcomed as observers. And the two events held directly after business are open to everyone. What are those events, you ask?

After business and a brief break for snacks and chatter, the chapter will hold one panel and one art build. Starting at 4:00, there will be a Socialists in Office Panel featuring Maine DSA members who have experience either running as a candidate or managing an electoral campaign. They’ll be making themselves available to talk through what they’ve learned, how to get started if you’re interested in running, and answer questions.

If that panel doesn’t sound up your alley, the chapter will also be holding an art build at the same time, where they will be focusing on creating new merchandise like shirts, bags, prints, using screen and lino cut printing! While the panel will be a hybrid event, the art build is in-person only.

After all the business is finished, folks who wish will be congregating at a local brewery to hold a social hour and unwind. A lot goes into planning and facilitating these long semi-annual chapter conventions, so the chance to kick back and socialize afterward is well earned by members and allies alike. If you would like to learn more about Maine DSA’s Summer Semi-Annual coming up on July 26th, please click here! 

The post Maine DSA to Hold Summer Semi-Annual appeared first on Pine & Roses.

As the current socialist movement, we need to ask questions about what our goals for electoralism should be. The “default” goal, putting one person in office, is not as important as being shamelessly socialist. The power the electoral system has is extremely limited. It’s time for us to stop compromising our messaging in order to put people in office.

In 2016, Bernie Sanders ran for president as a Democrat. Almost every candidate for at large DSA members running for this year’s slate  listed more electoral involvement, either on the local or national level, as a goal the DSA should strive for in the future. The potential for socialists in government is real as the rotting Democratic party finally begins its decomposition. Take Bernie Sanders. He didn’t even win the primaries. But there are people reading this article right now who owe their interest in socialism to Bernie Sanders’s run.

Many in the Democratic Party insisted that Sanders was “too extreme” to run for president, and they used numerous dirty tricks to derail his movement. Those efforts to smear him have largely failed.Sanders was not elected president, but electoral success is not the only important consideration. Sanders’s run pushed the issues that voters cared about leftwards and even forced the Democratic Party itself in a more socialist direction. If he had chosen a more moderate line, the Democratic establishment would have been friendlier, but he would not have the ideological effect that he did. Ever since 2016, we have seen how one person can move the Overton Window of acceptable discourse. As Donald Trump’s rise shows, people are attracted to ideas that don’t fit into the mainstream. We at the DSA have an ability to offer people what other parties and candidates are simply not able to.

Like Trump and Sanders, Zohran Mamdani—the candidate who recently won the Democratic primary in New York as a self-proclaimed democratic socialist—is unignorable in current discourse. Candidates for state and federal office have a unique chance to spread their message and advance anti-capitalist ideas seen as dangerous.American democracy is in critical danger, but independent, left-wing candidates are still able to run and win despite the numerous impediments placed in their way. Electoral campaigns, with all their associated canvassing, publicity, and news coverage, must be acknowledged as perhaps our most effective mass media method of spreading ideology.

This also means that any electoral campaign isn’t just a local campaign. Once it gains enough publicity, it is national. Not everyone who engages with the candidate or the campaign can vote in the election, but they are certainly hearing and forming their own opinion on anyone who calls themselves a socialist candidate—and by extension opinions on the DSA, socialists, and socialism.

The mayor of New York City is a powerful office, but its power is not unlimited. As socialists, we know that we cannot rely on establishment Democratic candidates to back socialist reforms, and Mamdani is likely to be hemmed in by hostile Democratic forces all around. The New York City Council, which has ultimate authority on budgetary concerns and land use permissions, could seriously cut back on his power. How much he is able to accomplish depends on who wins the New York State Governor race, which could be won by Cuomo’s former running mate, Kathy Hochul. The New York State Legislature has a large Democratic majority, but there are no guarantees that Cuomo’s remaining supporters and the mainstream Democratic Party will work with him on any significant reforms.

Socialists will by default be the minority in any government in the U.S. This means that any meaningful reforms will have to be enacted in cooperation with capitalist political parties. In this case, Mamdani’s most ambitious policies will depend on a slate of Democrats who may not be willing to back even the most basic of reforms and have huge conflicts of interest across the board. 

Mamdani’s campaign also raises the question of how likely his rent freeze plan is to be implemented. The landlord lobby can throw millions at an independent Cuomo run for mayor, and it plans to spend heavily in the New York City council primaries. If disgraced New York City Mayor Eric Adams is smart, he might be able to throw a wrench in Mamdani’s plans by stacking the Rent Guidelines Board with term-length candidates before Mamdani is able to take over. Despite all the choices by Mamdani’s campaign to water down his ideological communication from the beliefs of the wider DSA, his victory or defeat will still end up being most effective as an advertisement for socialist ideology.This is the way the political system right now operates.

IT’S TIME FOR RADICAL MESSAGING

As we contend with the possibility that Mamdani could be the next mayor of New York City, we must ask ourselves a critical question:  Is it truly possible, in a system dominated by capital and elite interests, to accomplish socialist goals just by passing bills? No. Capital won’t allow it. The entire system is created and run by capital and those who benefit from it. 

The fact that the current administration is tearing down the very rules of our democracy itself proves it. Democracy is less and less able to hold power as the contradictions of capital deepen.  These systems of power exist at the will of the ruling class, and they cannot be relied on to carry our cause to victory. In the wake of a new, dangerous Supreme Court ruling sharply limiting the ability of the judiciary to enforce federal laws, can we be sure that the federal government won’t end Mamdani’s candidacy by illegally deporting him?

Socialist parties seeking to abolish capitalism are not the same as other political organizations. Our movement represents the working class, and that means that our power does not come  from the act of holding office or exercising executive or legislative authority within a capitalist state. Instead, our power comes from the people themselves, in the sense that socialism must (if it is to succeed) command a power that goes beyond peoples’ willingness to vote for us. Our base does not exist to win elections.Electoralism is only one arm of the socialist movement, which works in social justice, labor movements, and in anti-establishment movements. 

Running an election-first campaign might mean watering down the message to make it more mainstream, working to appeal to donors who don’t share our beliefs, or changing the tactics of an entire chapter to appeal to different demographics of people. These might sometimes help win elections, but as a practice hurts the wider DSA. We should not forget where our real power comes from and what our ultimate goals are. In Mamdani’s case, his campaign sacrifices radical socialist rhetoric in order to merely be elected.

Mamdani isn’t officially endorsed by the national DSA, but he’s still the face of socialist politics at the moment. Mamdani enthusiastically chooses to associate himself with the Democratic Party—a party which openly serves the interests of capital above all else and currently  supports the genocide in Gaza and control at the border. Practically speaking, the Democratic Party is a hostile force and any wise socialist would treat them as such.

Mamdani was also criticized for not taking a stand against the police. He explicitly assures people he’s not going to defund them in a way that plays to his critics. When asked if he would use the NYPD to clear the streets for ICE, he equivocated about “ensuring we keep order across the city.” To him, the NYPD is no longer an enemy.

Mamdani’s line is a clear concession to the needs of the campaign rather than the message of the movement. Nobody, not even those who defend these statements, disagrees. It’s only a question of strategy. This strategy is harmful. Fighting against the Democrat-backed Gaza genocide and defunding the police are popular keystones of the modern radical movement. Elected candidates should fully represent the DSA. If they don’t, why are we running them in the first place?

Our cause needs propaganda,  in the sense of ferociously spreading ideas and beliefs. What we give  up rhetorically for one election for fleeting power might lose us more people in the long run.Candidates have great potential if we take the opportunity to use them as members of the DSA socialist project instead of as individual campaigns which exist to serve only their own ends. The DSA runs candidates—candidates shouldn’t  run the DSA.

A ‘left-wing Trump’, capable of having a similar meteoric effect on national political discourse, won’t expect to win the presidential election. They won’t shrink from saying things that are wildly unacceptable in the Overton window. In doing so, they will be able to have ten times more of an effect than a candidate hedging their bets and focusing on being elected within the lines that are set out for us by the Democratic establishment. 

Getting people elected is just a means to an end, not our ultimate goal. The battle we are fighting on the international stage is, and has been for a long time, one of ideology as much as law.Our goals as socialists cannot be focused on merely the next four years and the legislation in our county. Instead they must be for the century and for the entire working class.

The post There Are More Important Things Than Getting Elected appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

One hundred and fourteen years ago a democratic socialist was poised to become Mayor of Los Angeles. Not yet the sprawling megalopolis of today, the city nonetheless ranked second largest in California, and was growing fast. A socialist in the top municipal office? The idea sent the L.A. ruling class into a freakout of redbaiting, lies, half-truths and an occasional accurate depiction of Job Harriman’s progressive positions.

The Socialist Party candidate—a labor attorney, and former vice-presidential running mate of Eugene Debs—had come out on top of an open primary, just short of the majority he needed to win outright. Now he faced off against the incumbent, a champion of the interests that had earned Los Angeles the moniker of “scabbiest town on earth” within the city’s unions. Adding spice to the mix, this would be the first major election in the Golden State in which women could vote, Proposition 4 having just squeaked by in a state referendum the same day Harriman won the mayoral primary.

The business elites threw everything they could muster into their effort to stave off the Apocalypse. The Los Angeles Times—a virulently anti-union publication owned by Harrison Gray Otis, leader of the Merchants and Manufacturers’ Association, a close friend and business associate of corrupt Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz—warned every day with a creative variety of arguments that if Harriman were elected, the sky, along with the economy, would crash onto Angelenos’ heads. He editorialized that this election represented “the forces of law and order against Socialism; peace and prosperity against misery and chaos; the Stars and Stripes against the red flag.” What program so enraged and frightened the capitalist class of southern California? Harriman promised to:

• Reverse an anti-picketing ordinance that had filled Los Angeles jails with peaceful union members for the crime of walking on sidewalks with signs, singing labor songs, while on strike;

• Investigate the real estate deals that had brought giant payoffs to Otis and his friends when the Owens Valley aqueduct terminated on land they had purchased via insider information (the real life backdrop to events depicted in the film Chinatown);

• Municipalize city services to save the taxpayers money and improve efficiency;

• Invest in building community centers, public pools and baths, and increase support for public schools;

• Oh, and modestly raise taxes on the rich and large businesses to pay for these reforms.

Pretty radical stuff.

Ultimately none of these political ideas or the opposition’s counters to them defeated Harriman. What did was an early historical appearance of the “October Surprise”. A year before the election, a bomb ripped through the Los Angeles Times building, killing twenty workers. When brothers James and John McNamara (a national leader of the Ironworkers union) were arrested and put on trial, Harriman, the top labor attorney in southern California, defended them, believing in their innocence. When he decided to run for mayor, he turned the defense over to crusading lawyer for the damned Clarence Darrow. Darrow had previously proven that labor leaders in Colorado accused of a bombing had been framed, and like Harriman, thought the McNamara brothers trial was a rerun.

But the McNamaras were guilty, as Darrow ultimately found out. After secret negotiations with Otis and other Los Angeles business leaders, Darrow—a fervent opponent of the death penalty— unexpectedly changed his clients’ plea to “guilty” just days before the election. The timing was key to the agreement. In exchange the prosecution agreed to ask for prison instead of death sentences.

Although left out of the loop, Harriman suffered the consequences. Heavily favored to win a week before the election, but firmly tied in the public’s mind to the McNamara’s defense, he and the entire Socialist slate went down to defeat.

Today democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is in good position to win the New York City Mayor’s race. With a ferocious ground game, smart media, charisma to spare and a set of goals clustered under the umbrella of “affordability” popular with the working class and youth, his coalition will be a formidable force between now and November. He’ll likely confront a Republican rival, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and the disgraced former governor Cuomo, whom he just defeated in the Democratic primary. If both run the latter two will split the anti-Mamdani vote sufficiently to get him elected. In the interests of ruling class solidarity, Cuomo has suggested the lesser not-Mamdanis drop out in favor of the one best positioned to beat him by September.

The climb will be slippery. The mud is already being flung by the usual suspects. One shouldn’t be surprised by Trump’s characterization of Mamdani as “a one hundred percent Communist lunatic.” That won’t be the deciding factor, as the unpopular former New Yorker POTUS will probably add more votes to Mamdani’s column than he removes.

The two biggest problems will come from the right wing of the Democratic Party—intransigent Zionists and the city’s Wall Street and real estate sectors. Alongside mountains of cash from billionaire bank accounts, the leading edge of the anti-Mamdani campaigns will comprise redbaiting and spurious charges of antisemitism.

What does card-carrying DSA member Mamdani actually stand for?

1. A freeze in rents for stabilized apartments

2. Free city busing

3. Raising the city’s minimum wage to something close to liveable: $30/hour by 2030

4. A community safety department separate from police to deal with mental health related issues

5. City-run grocery stores to bring down food prices

6. Free childcare for children six weeks to five years old

7. Oh, and modestly increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay for the above.

Like Harriman’s wish list, not exactly the Bolshevik revolution here, but you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from what the other side is already saying and what they will flood the airwaves with for the next few months. It’s the last item, of course—raising taxes on the rich and corporations—that, as in L.A. in 1911, especially infuriates the city’s plutocrats.

Currently most New York City residents pay around 3% of their income in city taxes. The wealthiest income earners pay closer to 4%, with an absurdly flat cap for people making $500K and above. New York City at last count is home to 350,000 millionaires. The richest 1 percent of New Yorkers tripled its share of the city’s total income from 12 percent in 1980 to 36 percent in 2022.

These statistics represent a flashing red sign about the city’s lack of affordability—along with an “X marks the spot” for the buried treasure that can pay for decent public services for the 95 per cent of the city’s inhabitants who aren’t millionaires. The slight tax increase Mamdani is calling for—2% on individuals making a million dollars a year—will not crimp the lifestyle of the rich in the least.

When socialists run for public office, or when measures to reduce economic inequality are placed before the voters (e.g., taxing the rich, a raise in the minimum wage, help for renters), you can count on the most reactionary sectors of the ruling class to spend freely to convince everyone to see the world through the same warped lens they do. You can also bank on the same tired tropes at the core of their argument. Behold: these tax increases are going to hurt everyone; small business can’t afford it; the wealthiest New Yorkers (mislabeled “job creators”) will flee the city and go to a more welcoming business environment; and all the jobs will leave with them.

In the real world, these things never happen. Take the California example, 101 years after Harriman’s defeat. In 2012, over the dire predictions that the “job creators” and their jobs would flee California, voters passed a progressive tax bumping top income earners up a couple percentage points. The tax, Proposition 30, has brought in seven to nine billion dollars a year, and prevented public services from going over a fiscal cliff in the aftermath of the Great Recession. In the years following its passage, the state minted ten thousand new millionaires, and 1.4 million new jobs.

In New York, where much of the wealth is clustered in finance and real estate, the former creates relatively few working class jobs and the latter can’t move. The lies may be countered with clear messaging explaining the real problems, how to address them, and who should pay to fix them. Which is what Mamdani has been doing.

But there is another weapon in the anti-Mamdani arsenal: the charge of anti-semitism—which for AIPAC and its candidates of course means the duplicitous conflation of ‘anti-Zionist’ with ‘antisemitic’. A deluge of these talking points and ads in support of Cuomo failed to take Mamdani down in the primary, but that doesn’t mean that the stream of invective will stop during the next stage of the campaign. For a recent example we could turn our gaze across the Atlantic to England, where another democratic socialist, Jeremy Corbyn, who achieved a surprise momentary capture of leadership in the Labor Party, was brought low principally by a combination of the highly organized repetition of the lie (mostly by the right wing of his own party) and a fumbled response to it.

Two big things are different in this regard in New York 2025 compared with the England of a few years back: the war in Gaza and its impact on Jewish opinion about Israel, which means the deception in the equation of Jewish and Zionist is much clearer to many more people; and the charismatic Mamdani is not the curt Corbyn, despite similarities in their democratic socialist politics.

What would a Mamdani victory mean at this moment in our history? A democratic socialist mayor in the largest city in the United States would be a tremendous boost to anti-fascist morale as the mass movement to oppose Trump and MAGA is slowly gaining steam. It would arguably provide a programmatic roadmap to victory in the 2026 elections (presuming they are going to be held, and held fairly).

Yes, we are aware that New York City is not the rest of the country. But the largest urban centers are farther to the left than any other stash of votes, and they are where the resistance to Trump and MAGA has been and will likely continue to be strongest—an important indicator of possible electoral victory, if the coalitions emerging from organization of the mass demonstrations are able to develop the necessary synergy between street and ballot box forms of activism. A sclerotic neoliberal politics as usual will not mobilize this base.

Here in California municipal democratic socialist politics have gained ground over the last few election cycles. In all, there are more than three dozen DSA-affiliated officeholders in the state—the most since the heyday of the Socialist Party more than one hundred years ago—including four mayors, fifteen city councilmembers, a state assemblymember, a county supervisor, and occupants of various down ballot offices, all of whom push for progressive policies shunned or feared by most of their fellow officeholders.

If Mamdani loses, the leadership of the Democratic Party will redouble its push to field empty neoliberal suits in 2026. Harriman’s defeat in LA in 1911 set back the cause of working class politics for decades. A high-profile loss like that today would make it that much harder to remold the Democratic Party as a majoritarian progressive force. Alternatively a win will provide wind in the sails to the anti-MAGA movement, on the strength of which Democrats can reclaim power. That’s why it’s necessary to forcefully demonstrate the viability of Mamdani’s politics now.

California DSA members may be three thousand miles away from this historic battle but we can nonetheless help. Mamdani needs every penny he can raise to fight the onslaught of right wing lies propelled by billionaire funding. Send him your hard-earned dollars here.

The massive cuts to Medicaid in Trump’s budget package promise devastation, not only to the 13 million people who will be stripped of eligibility, but to hospitals and clinics in rural and other underserved communities that rely on Medicaid funds to remain solvent. Many will close or be taken over by private investors who specialize in buying public entities and "downsizing" them, maintaining only those services that turn a profit. Public hospitals everywhere will tighten their belts, laying off workers and stonewalling in contract talks with their unions. People who have been cut off Medicaid will have nowhere else to go for care but already overburdened emergency rooms.

Sooner or later, most seniors and people with disabilities requiring long-term care wind up relying on Medicaid to pay for it, because it can wipe out your savings in a hurry. As of July 2024, Medicaid is the primary payer for 63% of nursing home residents; the cuts will put them in an impossible situation. In the Black community, maternal mortality rates are already shockingly high; the cuts will push them even higher.

Congressional Republicans claim they are saving money by stripping away eligibility from illegal immigrants and the people who don't meet work requirements (what were known in Victorian England as "the undeserving poor"). But nearly two-thirds of those on Medicaid actually do hold jobs, and most of the rest are either ill, disabled, or serving as primary caregivers for someone else. As for the undocumented, federal spending on their health care is already against the law. In states where all residents are eligible, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, the state picks up the tab for their care.

Far more people will be affected by the cuts than the GOP is letting on. Rep. David Valadao represents Bakersfield, California, and the surrounding area. Nearly two-thirds of his constituents are on MediCal, California's version of Medicaid. Valadao promised to oppose any cuts to Medicaid, but when it came time to vote on the House budget bill, he caved and voted yes. There are others in Congress like him. If only one of them had voted no, the bill would not have cleared the House.

But the Republicans are right about one thing: soaring health care costs are making both Medicaid and Medicare unsustainable. There is an enormous amount of waste built into both programs, and continuing down the current path is fiscally irresponsible.

Problems due to subsidies of private capital

This isn't because the wrong people are getting coverage. It's because, over the years, every move by the federal government to extend health care access has been accomplished with massive subsidies of private capital. Many people were helped by the Affordable Care Act, but the private insurance industry benefited from it to the tune of $10 billion of our federal tax dollars. A majority of people on Medicare now get it from private Medicare Advantage plans, paid for out of the Medicare trust fund. These are a gold mine for corporations like United Health, bilking the system even further by claiming patients are sicker than they actually are, while denying costly claims for those who are truly sick.

As for Medicaid, East Bay DSA member Michael Lighty, who chairs the statewide Healthy California Now coalition, points out that “90 to 95 percent of the benefits nationwide through Medicaid are administered by for-profit managed care organizations. That’s where the waste is, that’s where the fraud is.”

In some parts of the country, Republicans counter Democratic charges of throwing the poor under the bus by pointing out the Democratic Party’s ties with corporate hospital chains. And private for-profit hospitals do, in fact, make a killing off federal programs, often at the expense of patient care.

The threatened cuts to federal health care spending are symptoms of a crisis that neither party has shown a willingness to confront, despite efforts by a minority of Congressional Democrats to promote a single payer solution. Each party uses the health care system's failures to attack the other, but only independent political organizing can defend the millions of people whose lives and well-being are at stake.

This applies not only to electoral politics but to unions. Maintaining health benefits in the face of steadily rising costs has long been a millstone around the neck of organized labor. Union negotiators are forced to sacrifice much of their leverage at the bargaining table not to win better coverage, but just to keep what they have. When contract talks break down, health coverage is usually the cause.

Unions need to do more than pass convention resolutions

Organized labor is arguably the only institution with the resources and infrastructure to counter the influence of the health care industry. Union leaders who have had to bargain over health benefits know all too well the stiff price of a system of private, employer-based health coverage. Many will readily acknowledge that a universal, publicly funded health care system would be far better for workers. But union political behavior is notoriously risk-averse, and telling your members that they can no longer count on the union to win decent coverage is an admission of defeat that few union officials are willing to make. For them to do more than simply pass single payer resolutions at conventions, their members will have to demand it.

The appalling cruelty of the Medicaid cuts has emerged, quite properly, as a major talking point for Democratic politicians. But it falls to us to point out that real solutions require a willingness to attack the source of the problem: the looting of public health care dollars by private capital. Until that happens, every effort to extend access to care will be held hostage in the face of exploding costs and the states’ fiscal crisis.

Perhaps necessarily, health care reform has been a lower priority in recent years for many in labor and the left. But the federal budget has pushed it onto the front burner, whether we like it or not. In the wake of the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign, single payer was at the top of DSA’s agenda. It's time for us to take it up again in earnest.

No shortage of opportunities to engage

The impact of the cuts is so sweeping that there will be no shortage of opportunities to engage. Something like 70 percent of the money spent on health care in California ultimately comes from our tax dollars. Massive cuts at the federal level–which include premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act as well as Medicare and Medicaid–will be felt across the board:

• Insurance companies can be expected to try to make up for lost federal revenue by jacking their premiums, making it that much harder for unions to bargain over health benefits. We need to pay close attention to union contract struggles and not simply lend our support, but be prepared to talk about why it will take more than tough bargaining and militant picket lines to protect those benefits. We need to persuade our unions to not just pass resolutions, but to actually invest resources and political capital in the fight for single payer.

• Community hospitals and clinics that serve MediCal patients were already under growing pressure to economize by cutting back on care, struggling just to stay open. The federal cuts will drastically worsen the situation. Community members most directly affected will need organized support, and local officials will need to have their feet held to the flames to make sure everything possible is done to keep those facilities running and adequately funded.

• Two years ago, after years of struggle, California became the first state in the country to extend Medicaid eligibility to all qualified residents, regardless of age or immigration status. But even before the federal budget was passed, Gov. Newsom and the state legislature were walking back on the commitment—there will be no new enrollees among the undocumented starting next year, and those already enrolled will be required to pay a $30 monthly premium (thankfully, the legislature scaled back Gov. Newsom’s original proposal of $100). With the state facing a budget deficit, there will be enormous pressure to further undermine a victory that immigrant rights forces fought long and hard to achieve.

When you or a loved one is denied needed care, or can't get it without financial hardship or ruin, it's the most natural response in the world to think, "This is just wrong," and react with anger. It's highly personal, and all too real. But once the conversation turns to economics, how health care is to be financed and what its cost drivers are, you've moving beyond direct experience and into the realm of public policy. All too often, this involves a dive into the weeds that not everyone is prepared to make.

Here is where a socialist perspective becomes indispensable: everything about our health care system that involves the taking of profits drives costs upward, and those costs have soared beyond the point where the system can continue to absorb them. During the debate over the Affordable Care Act, one of Obama’s policy wonks remarked that health care reform was complicated because the system has so many moving parts. But all of the machine’s components have a single power source, and it’s on us to name it. There is a reason why the world’s most market-driven health care system is also far and away the most expensive.

Naming the system is not enough; you need an effective strategy to defeat it. Here again, DSA is equipped to bring something to the table that is badly needed: an analysis of the different forces that can be won over, an understanding of how and when their interests intersect and what it might take to “unite all who can be united” and get them working together. The catastrophic cuts to the federal health care budget are an opportunity as well as a crisis. Let’s not squander it.