My socialists vs, your socialists

[HassleCat]

It may surprise many people to learn there are different kinds of socialists, just as there are different kinds of Democrats and Republicans. No... I take that back. There is only one kind of Republican, the crazy kind. The Socialist Workers Party came out with some criticism of Bernie Sanders, implying he's not a "real" socialist and saying he can't possibly win the presidency, etc. I imagine they want us to vote for their candidate, since they almost always run one, because his or her chances of winning are so much better than Sanders' chances. Anyway, I'm a democratic socialist, same as Sanders, so I hopped on over to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to see if they felt differently about Sanders. Whaddya know? They certainly do.

This is from the DSA web page:

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has announced that he is officially running as a candidate for President in 2016 to further a desperately needed political revolution in the USA.

Senator Sanders is a lifelong champion of the public programs and democratic rights that empower working class people. His candidacy could help expand both the progressive movement and the democratic socialist voice within that movement.

Bernie.PNG

By running in the Democratic primaries, Independent Senator Sanders will challenge the dominant discourse of neoliberal Democrats that privilege corporate business interests over those of all working people. He will contribute to building a strong movement to halt the vicious attacks of Tea Party Republicans at all governmental levels on workers' rights, voting rights, and people of color in general.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) strongly supports Senator Sanders as the strongest candidate for President of the United States. We encourage him to meet with grassroots activists throughout the country to discuss how his candidacy might effectively promote their varied struggles for social and economic justice, human rights, world peace and a healthy environment.

Those who wish to promote the goals of democratic socialism should consider taking concrete and specific actions at the grassroots level that would support Sanders' candidacy. Volunteer with DSA and join us in saying: #WeNeedBernie!

[cascadiance]

1. And Stalinist socialists for the rich (the Koch family) continue to stop these socialists...

... like Stalin's communists did when he squashed Trotsky and his followers in the Soviet Union. They want socialism from the top down and not the bottom up like Democratic Socialists want! The Koch descendants want all of the socialist welfare going to themselves too instead of the rest of us.

[OutNow]

2. Bernie is a socialist - really

Don't bother wondering what the american Socialist Workers Party (SWP) thinks about Bernie Sanders. While it was a significant organization in the 1960s and 70s, and did some very important organizing against the war in Vietnam and in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment, the 2015 version of the SWP is about 100 mostly older people who are following their cult leader, Jack Barnes, into a well deserved oblivion. They no longer do any real political work.

There is a healthy debate among the actual (mostly small in number) political groups who claim to be socialist about Sander's decision to run in the Democratic Party. They all accept that Bernie is what he says he is, a democratic socialist, and that he's a great candidate, but some worry that he will draw young activists into the Democratic Party machine and misuse them long after the Sander's campaign has ended.

I worry about that too, but I've supported Bernie Sanders since he was mayor of Burlington, VT and will strongly support his presidential campaign.

Why do socialists worry about working within the Democratic Party? Here's one current example. Kshama Sawant is a socialist member of the Seattle City Council. She won a upset victory a couple of years ago and is now running for reelection. She has been endorsed by over 20 local unions, the King County Labor Council and the Sierra Club. Several leading Democrats including a former mayor have endorsed her. Since Seattle doesn't have any Republicans with any chance to win a local election you might think Sawant has an easy path to victory. Unfortunately, the "machine" Democrats don't like having a real socialist on city council and have recruited the head of the local Urban League to run as a democrat against Sawant. When the local Democratic Party district organizations were scheduled to endorse Sawant, the "machine" disqualified her and forbid the attempt of the district organizations to endorse her. They ended up endorsed no one, a clear rebuke of the "machine" Democrats.

I support Bernie Sanders and I support Kshama Sawant. You should too.

http://www.kshamasawant.org/

[daleanime]

3. +1

Should be an OP.