NS- What Is To be done ? continuing the dialogue

Dear North Star Comrades – 
 
Duane Campbell and Leo Casey have launched North Star on an excellent journey with their "What is to be done" statement. On October 14, I sent in an edited version of Leo’s paper and people found my comments a welcome addition. Since the best place to process this is the NS Blog, I am submitting my suggestions again in a stand-alone format.  They are meant to answer Duane’s questions and supplement Leo’s original. 

Addition to “What defines the current political moment in the U.S.?”

Confronting the rise of the neo-fascist, anti-democratic forces is a new mobilization of an increasingly self-aware progressive movement resisting the right.  Key elements of this progressive force are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (advocating for voting rights, police accountability, educational and health equity) women (advancing both anti-harassment and reproductive rights agendas), youth (activated around climate and anti-gun issues), LGBTQI+ people, care workers, tech workers, immigrant rights organizers, and media activists to name only a few.
 
If the anti-democratic forces win, these progressive forces will be weakened and threatened past recognition.  We cannot easily imagine the horror and devastation that could ensue.  DSA itself could be lost and the openly socialist left would be certain to face repression and increased violence.
 
Addition to “Given this political moment, what are the tasks of the Left and DSA?

The immediate task of the Left is to mobilize all possible forces to prevent the Republican Party from retaking congress at the 2022 mid-term elections and to prepare to elect a Democratic candidate to the presidency in 2024.  Such a mobilization must include state and local elections and engage new activists no matter what the outcome of voting rights legislation may be in congress. A key aspect of this effort will be to focus on "swing state" and winnable races while advocating for the issues and races that resonate most everywhere we are active.  
 
While this is the immediate task, such a united front should be structured with an eye to the longer range as well.  It should continue to focus advocacy for progressive issues if Democrats hold power, or if necessary unify resistance to withstand onslaught of repression we can expect in a Republican takeover. 
 
DSA members must not be constrained by the dictum to only work to elect openly socialist candidates.  If purists insist that DSA not formally “endorse” anyone who does not identify as a socialist, we should still work in coalition with viable progressive candidates who are opposing Republicans wherever possible.  Community-based coalitions of folks committed to issues such as universal health care, immigrant rights, gun control, reproductive freedom, living wages, climate justice, and workers’ rights are where DSA members should be active.
 
Addition to “What political strategies and approaches are best aligned with meeting these tasks?”
As openly identified socialists, DSA members must enter a united front dedicated to saving democracy with an attitude of receptive humility.  With our 90,000 plus dues-paying members and significant organizing staff, DSA could catalyze a "Mississippi Summer" style mobilization during 2022 while actively promoting and accepting co-leadership from BIPOC, labor, climate, immigration, and other proven leaders on the left.
 
Two approaches to organizing in the current crisis are key to success.  

• The first is the "race/class alliance" approach advocated by Ian Haney Lopez in Swing Left, and Heather McGhee in The Sum of Us.  Lopez and McGhee have proved that undecided and even right leaning voters will respond to a message framed around the concept that the ruling financial class is dividing to conquer opposition.  The concept is that "we are all better off when we are ALL better off."  McGhee calls this the "solidarity dividend."
• The second key approach is the method of "deep canvassing."  This approach is based on eliminating any attitudes of patronizing or judgement toward those who do not -yet- agree with us.  It emphasizes shared humanity, with the canvasser curious about the other person's life and reasons for their political views.  Thousands of activists are being trained in this method and it has been used in labor, issue-based, and electoral campaigns.

 
The youth, energy, technical and organizing capabilities of the insurgent DSA members are impressive.  So are the confidence and optimism of the members who have joined in the past five years.  A key internal organizing strategy for North Star is to facilitate dialog and cross fertilization between these two groups.
 
Addition to “What are the strengths and weaknesses of DSA in terms of its understanding of the political moment and the tasks it poses…?”

Among the issues that are holding DSA back from taking an appropriate role in organizing progressive forces in this country are:

• A lack of awareness of the key role white supremacy is playing in DSA's attitude toward this political moment, and minimal membership of African American, Latino/a, and other non-white groups.  DSA is plagued by an arrogant assumption that because we espouse socialism, our members are not subject to White privilege and bias.  This results in economist reductionism: the theory that racist, sexist, and homophobic oppression will disappear when we achieve socialism.  In addition to ignoring the influence of White bias among our own members, this attitude downplays the devastating impact of racist ideology among the working class and less educated workers.  Consequently, DSA does not offer an organizational home to the thousands of BIPOC activists and organizations who might otherwise affiliate with us.  Given this shortcoming, DSA must ally with organizations led by people of color.

 

• Another weakness DSA faces is a lack of understanding of how patriarchal attitudes contribute to toxic internal organizational life through arrogant disregard for the “big tent” qualities of compassion, tolerance, and dialog.   By uncritically manifesting such arrogance, there are unnecessary rifts between our most politically dominant DSA leaders and many veteran members, members in rural and less progressive areas, and women.  Ultimately such attitudes disparage the actual opinions of our base by insisting that we know best.

 
Addition to “How should we act and intervene within DSA…?

North Star has a number of strengths we can bring to bear on the challenges DSA and the Left face right now.   We should adopt both internal and external organizing strategies to promote and implement our programmatic priorities.
 
North Star counts with many veteran organizers spread across the country who in turn have contacts throughout the progressive, civil rights, labor, feminist, and environmental movements.  These veteran organizers could serve as resources in a number of ways.  It is an important organizing task to ask them to step up and participate in whatever way they can.:

• When a concise formulation of our position is agreed upon, we should canvass our own email list to see if members are interested in becoming active in the project of North Star promoting a united front to defend democracy.
• In addition to our current loose form emails, those who are working on the united front project or any North Star campaign will need to get in touch apart from the rest of the conversations carried on through the list serve.
• DSA's resolution from the last convention on voting rights provides an entry point for us to volunteer and participate with the united front concept in various locales around the country.
• Some of us can campaign for the North Star united front position by participating more actively in chapters, DSA publications, and other bodies such as commissions and build a list of like-minded members.
• While we are building support in DSA, members of North Star who want to work on this project should reach out to others on the Left to see if the united front concept is gathering adherents in other organizations and constituencies and if so, let other DSA members know what is happening in other settings.
• North Star members could initiate an assessment of progressive, labor, issue, and pro-democracy groups around the country and in other countries to determine which groups would be amenable and key to a successful united front and mass mobilization to defend democracy.
• North Star members could be trained in the Deep Canvassing method, compile resources for pro-democracy organizing, and disseminate this information to DSA chapters through contacts developed in our internal organizing.

 
For a more detailed discussion of my views on DSA and the need for a united front strategy, see the article I wrote in last winter's Socialist Forum:
https://socialistforum.dsausa.org/issues/winter-2021/a-new-vision-for-dsa-the-socialist-voice-in-a-progressive-united-front/

Susan Chacin