Support Resolution #18: “Uniting Against the Ultra-Right”

The Steering Committee of DSA North Star Caucus calls on  our members and all convention delegates to support member-submitted resolution #18 enthusiastically. It expresses our highest political priority: placing DSA squarely in the ranks of the pro-democracy, anti-fascist coalition which is emerging to fight the ultra-Right. Here are the reasons this resolution is so important:

1. Right-wing victories are destroying democracy and fundamental human rights in the United States.
The ultra-Right has mobilized a racist, xenophobic, anti-worker coalition which is smashing voting rights, reproductive justice, climate and environmental progress, gun control, public health, LGBTQ rights, religious freedom, and labor rights. This coalition is well organized, funded, and media savvy. A large and militant sector of voters support it. However an effective opposition to this virulent movement is emerging as a network of people of color, unions, community organizers, educators, and like-minded patriots. DSA must step up and take its place in this anti-fascist resistance.
2. DSA can play a historic role as an openly socialist force in this emerging ,left- center movement.
As socialists, we know the ultra-right attacks on our hard-won rights are rooted in capitalists’ opposition to social benefits and reforms. Their efforts to destroy even the partial and deeply flawed political system we have in the United States exposes their hatred for democracy. Representative democracy is a precious tool for protecting these hard-won reforms. DSA must commit to defending and extending working people’s rights until a more equitable and universal socialist democracy can be achieved. Enemies of the working class describe even modest measures of social and economic justice as socialist. By standing up to their attacks with other progressives in electoral and community-based struggles, we can claim socialists’ part in these victories. DSA’s electoral and community action in unity with all political tendencies who are battling to protect and increase equity and justice is essential in this crisis.
3. If DSA refuses to stand in solidarity with all anti-authoritariananti- MAGA forces, we will isolate ourselves from the very base we aspire to lead.
While many DSA chapters and members are collaborating with the anti-authoritarian movement in their areas, disciplined forces in DSA have discouraged this vital solidarity. Hostility toward the Democratic Party, non-profit social justice organizations, and the liberal wing of the progressive movement have thrown up serious obstacles to DSA building relationships with our natural allies. Some DSA chapters have even refused to support the election of progressives endorsed by local or statewide progressive coalitions. This damages DSA’s reputation and feeds the narrative that the Left is the enemy of real-world victories.
Resolution #18 “Uniting Against the Ultra Right” calls for DSA to embrace a leadership role in the emerging anti-authoritarian movement. building relationships and collaborating with our allies in emerging progressive and center-left coalitions. In this endeavor, DSA should be guided by the following principles:
a. Class struggle is happening within the Democratic Party. DSA members and other candidates elected by left organizations are demonstrating that progressives elected to public office can make a concrete difference in working people’s lives. Working people look to Democrats to support candidates and measures that offer social justice in local, state, and national arenas. Of course there are corporate and reactionary forces in the Democratic Party too. Our job is to resist those elements and support the voices of Labor, BIPOC forces and all progressives who are turning the party’s agenda toward the left.
b.Disparaging DSA members or other progressives elected to public office damages DSA’s reputation. Charges that members of the “Squad” or other openly leftist representatives are not radical enough or make too many compromises feeds anti-leftist forces within the Democratic Party and the media. Once a DSA member or a progressive is elected, we owe them critical support in addition to demanding accountability. Elected representatives must act based on their constituencies and best political judgement without being threatened or attacked.
c. Workers, people of color, independent voters, women, community activists, and members of the LGBTQ family will not respect DSA if it stands apart from their struggles, demanding a higher standard of political purity than can be expected in the context of today’s political reality. DSA must embody what socialists offer the working class: effective strategies to win. We must meet our allies with humility and provide the practical solidarity we all need to defeat the ultra-Right. Participation in community or electoral struggles from a purist, ideological position is a recipe for irrelevance. For these reasons, North Star Caucus urges convention delegates to campaign and vote for Member-Submitted Resolution #18 “Uniting Against the Ultra-Right.”