Tweet
10-term Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley, generally viewed as the #4 Dem in congress and widely touted as a likely replacement for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, lost his primary today in NY.
The winner was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28 yr old latina who had been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, and who is a member of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), and Our Revolution (a Bernie-founded group supporting progressive candidates), Justice Democrats (a progressive group whose candidates refuse corporate PAC money). It is an extremely safe Dem seat, so she will become a congresswoman in November.
Here was her platform:
Both DSA and Our Revolution have been having spectacular successes so far this year in the Democratic primaries, getting a large number of their candidates elected.
In an interview she talked about what the 'democratic socialist' label means to her:
The winner was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28 yr old latina who had been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, and who is a member of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), and Our Revolution (a Bernie-founded group supporting progressive candidates), Justice Democrats (a progressive group whose candidates refuse corporate PAC money). It is an extremely safe Dem seat, so she will become a congresswoman in November.
Here was her platform:
Both DSA and Our Revolution have been having spectacular successes so far this year in the Democratic primaries, getting a large number of their candidates elected.
In an interview she talked about what the 'democratic socialist' label means to her:
Q. What drew you to Democratic Socialists of America? What about socialism appeals to you?
A. It was a lot more about action than about words or descriptions or -isms, because for me, it wasn’t just like I read a book one day and said, “Oh, okay, I’m a Democratic Socialist now.”
I’m an organizer, I’m an educator, I’m an activist, and what I found was that every time I saw myself showing up for something that was important to my community, when I was one of the many people who showed up in Union Square for the 100-day vigil after Hurricane Maria, DSA was there. Every time I was joining my brothers and sisters in the Movement for Black Lives, DSA was there. When I saw these actions, it was like, Okay, this is clearly an extension of our own community.
And the thing about DSA is that it’s a very large tent organization. When we talk about the word socialism, I think what it really means is just democratic participation in our economic dignity, and our economic, social, and racial dignity. It is about direct representation and people actually having power and stake over their economic and social wellness, at the end of the day. To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. It’s asserting the value of saying that the America we want and the America that we are proud of is one in which all children can access a dignified education. It’s one in which no person is too poor to have the medicines they need to live. It’s to say that no individual’s civil rights are to be violated. And it’s also to say that we need to really examine the historical inequities that have created much of the inequalities—both in terms of economics and social and racial justice—because they are intertwined. This idea of, like, race or class is a false choice. Even if you wanted to separate those two things, you can’t separate the two, they are intrinsically and inextricably tied. There is no other force, there is no other party, there is no other real ideology out there right now that is asserting the minimum elements necessary to lead a dignified American life.
A. It was a lot more about action than about words or descriptions or -isms, because for me, it wasn’t just like I read a book one day and said, “Oh, okay, I’m a Democratic Socialist now.”
I’m an organizer, I’m an educator, I’m an activist, and what I found was that every time I saw myself showing up for something that was important to my community, when I was one of the many people who showed up in Union Square for the 100-day vigil after Hurricane Maria, DSA was there. Every time I was joining my brothers and sisters in the Movement for Black Lives, DSA was there. When I saw these actions, it was like, Okay, this is clearly an extension of our own community.
And the thing about DSA is that it’s a very large tent organization. When we talk about the word socialism, I think what it really means is just democratic participation in our economic dignity, and our economic, social, and racial dignity. It is about direct representation and people actually having power and stake over their economic and social wellness, at the end of the day. To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. It’s asserting the value of saying that the America we want and the America that we are proud of is one in which all children can access a dignified education. It’s one in which no person is too poor to have the medicines they need to live. It’s to say that no individual’s civil rights are to be violated. And it’s also to say that we need to really examine the historical inequities that have created much of the inequalities—both in terms of economics and social and racial justice—because they are intertwined. This idea of, like, race or class is a false choice. Even if you wanted to separate those two things, you can’t separate the two, they are intrinsically and inextricably tied. There is no other force, there is no other party, there is no other real ideology out there right now that is asserting the minimum elements necessary to lead a dignified American life.
Comment