Socialists and Democrats

"All politics is local"

I continue to hold out hopes for Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Though it is overly influenced by some leaders with radical delusions, there is also the serious component that has taken the name the “Groundwork Caucus” (GC). Lately the GC has been speaking of DSA as if it might be a political party.

There are a handful of states that permit “fusion voting,” in which more than one party can support the same candidate. This allows a left party to have its own ballot line and register the depth of support for its own progressive platform, without assisting a Republican campaign. The best example is the Working Families Party (WFP) in New York state. For states without fusion voting, the function of a separate party is less clear.

I want to propose my own notions of what DSA might do, as far as elections are concerned. The tactics do not apply uniformly to every setting. I will use my own local situation to illustrate. I hasten to add that there is more to organizing than elections. I would love to see mass civil disobedience, labor strikes, boycotts and the like. But during elections is when the most people pay any attention to politics.

The lack of fusion voting changes the conceivable options. I don’t want to say voting rules are immutable. After all, the right to vote did not use to be universal, if it existed at all. But then the reform of voting schemes must be weighed against other progressive campaigns. Resources are limited.

Virginia is a barely-blue state. For most any public office, there is not much better to be done than support a Democrat against our increasingly hysterical Republican Party. If you think I exaggerate, this is our lieutenant governor, and the likely gubernatorial candidate for this year’s election.

Her name is Winsome Earle-Sears. This was one of her campaign graphics. To run against her, the Democrats are standing up Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA intelligence officer. Hey, it’s Virginia! It ain’t Brooklyn.

What is a socialist to do? My bias is to maintain an independent organization and social setting that encourages the study of socialism and Marxism, in all their varieties. As far as agitation goes, socialist agitation in Virginia is pointless. I volunteer for Democratic electoral efforts.

As far as policy goes, there is room for limited victories in state policy. Virginia does not have an especially ample public sector, so there is room for more progressive taxation (we basically have a flat 5% state income tax) and public service expansion. I’ve suggested more interest in the expansion of Medicaid and reduction of public college tuition. Housing is a big problem for the average person in the most rapidly growing, now gentrified, locales.

As in other states, left-of-center voters and POC tend to be concentrated in just a few, densely-populated local jurisdictions. Those are also the places where the social-democratic gospel can be popularized, and even where a socialist can win a local election (as one already did, not too long ago).

Virginia also has a multitude of small, lightly-populated counties that voted overwhelmingly for Trump. For places like that, as for very Red states, there is little downside in standing up an explicitly socialist candidate. Democrats do not even bother to compete in many such places.

In contrast to Virginia, there are the inner counties of Maryland — Montgomery and Prince George’s. In those places an explicitly socialist candidate could certainly win a primary and possibly a general election. Coalitions are the likely vehicle, which means DSA needs to abandon its silly vetting procedures that entail candidates filling out a detailed questionnaire and submitting themselves to interviews.

The prospects for a socialist candidacy are even better in the District of Columbia. The former, very popular mayor was a fairly radical dude in his day, though he didn’t age well.

Most of this logic collapses when it comes to elections for Congress and the presidency. There the election rules weigh inexorably against third party campaigns. The likelihood for any strong progressive candidate running 3rd party is to sabotage the Democrat and elect a Republican. This was an easier risk to take when Bernie Sanders was coming up, since the margins in Congress were not as close and the Republicans were not as crazy.

Going hard left in a deep red area, if you can accept the risks of violence, could reveal ways to crack the Republicans’ monopoly over predominantly white, rural areas. Where it is most tempting, in the bluest electoral settings, a 3rd party project is also at greatest risk of sabotage.

What seems to be working everywhere is the rising tide of protest against Trump and MAGA. The most fruitful local predicates of such agitation depend on the local political context. In some places it could entail support for centrist causes such as the right of immigrants to due process, or “the rule of law.” Bring your American flag. The “Hands-Off” stances in defense of Social Security seems pretty universal. In others it could focus on issues with more edge, such as expanding Medicare.

Groundwork is a work-in-progress, so I would still encourage membership (with dues payment) in DSA. Your mileage in their local activities will vary.