Mediaboss Marketing

While many had hoped that Election Day would result in asweeping rebuke of Trump and Trumpism, neither apandemic nor an economic recession were enough to deliver an overwhelming rejection. And although its looking likely that Biden will eke out avictory, the 2020 election was in many ways abust for the Democratic Party, which lost seats in the House and most likely did not win amajority in theSenate.

But democratic socialism, popularized by near-presidential nominee Bernie Sanders (IVt.), had amuch better night. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organization that boasts nearly 80,000 members nationwide, endorsed 29 candidates and 11 ballot initiatives, winning 20 and 8respectively. There are now democratic socialist caucuses in 15 statehouses, including Montana. (Disclosure: Iam anationally elected leader of the organization; Isit on the Democratic Socialist LaborCommission.)

DSAs victories, both in the primaries and the general election, have rolled in as pundits and pollsters decry socialism as polarizing and raise fears that socialist candidates will end up backfiring and getting Republicans elected. Sanders supposed lack of electability was one of the most commonly used arguments against him in the primary. His primary opponents and prominent writers like Jonathan Chait claimed that the vast majority of Americans wouldnt vote for asocialist, and that there was no way he could defeatTrump.

While theres no real way to know for certain if thats true, it is clear that centrist Democrats arent necessarily shoo-ins themselves. Democrat Jon Ossoff, who lost acongressional special election in 2017, looks like he will also lose this cycles Senate race in Georgia. Democrat Sara Gideon, who raised $70 million to run against Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine, has conceded, and it looks like Democrat Cal Cunningham will also lose his run for Senate in North Carolina. Amy McGrath, who ran as apro-Trump Democrat, raised nearly $90 million and still lost to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. The list goes on and on. Even Joe Biden, who seems set to be our next president, often spoke more about beating Trump than any policies he would enact once inoffice.

Plenty of progressive candidates also lost, but most candidates nationally endorsed by DSA sailed through. And while its true that many of them had tough primary battles and less difficult elections on Tuesday, they still won as DSA members. All four members of The Squada progressive bloc in Congress that includes Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.)were reelected to the House. (Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez are DSA members and endorsed by the organization.) Progressives also added two more DSA-endorsed members to their squad: Democratic Rep.-elect Jamaal Bowman in New York, and Democratic Rep.-elect Cori Bush, the first ever Black Congresswoman inMissouri.

Although the current iteration of DSA has been around since the early 1980s, the organization only became politically relevant during Sanders first presidential campaign in 2015, and exploded when Trump was elected. Five years is avery short period of time to have helped elect City Council members, state senators and representatives, and members of Congress all across the country. According to a2018 Reuters survey, 70% of Americans support anational health care plandue to Sanders popularization of the universal healthcare program and to the organizing and canvassing DSA chapters, along with other organizations like National Nurses United, have done around thelegislation.

DSA-backed candidates succeed for afew main reasons: They campaign on actual policies, have avision of how to govern, and dont just depend on the fact that theyre not Republicans. These policies include Medicare for All, aGreen New Deal and aJobs Guaranteeprograms that would improve the quality of life for working people all over this country. And because policies they support are so popular and inspiring, DSA-backed candidates attract dedicated canvassers and organizers, willing to spend nights and weekends knocking doors and making calls to get themelected.

Now, thanks to DSA members across the country, there is asocialist in Austin City Council and in both the Rhode Island and Montana State Houses. In Pennsylvania, there are three socialists who are almost certainly headed to the legislature in Harrisburg. Socialists in Boulder, Colorado worked alongside the ACLU to win aballot measure that guarantees no eviction without representation, and DSA members partnered with the labor unions AFSCME and SEIU to pass Preschool for All in Multnomah County, Oregon. And in both Florida and Portland, Maine, ballot initiatives for a $15 minimum wagepassed.

While its clear that most DSA victories have been in big cities or more liberal states thus far, its important that we dont discount the incredible organizing happening in the South and in rural areas. (Marquita Bradshaw ran aDSA-backed campaign for Senate in Tennessee but lost; Kim Roney, endorsed by her DSA chapter, won aseat on the Asheville CityCouncil.)

And while the Democratic party is loath to give DSA any encouragement, DSA member Tlaib may have helped to secure Bidens victory in Michigan by helping to massively increase voter turnout from 2016. DSAs ideology, focused on asociety that works for all of us instead of the wealthy few, is far more inspiring to young and working people than someone who is running for office just because theyre not Trump. It might take the Democratic Party time to realize that (or perhaps it never will), but to the average person, political conditions are changing fastand DSA is playing acritical role in thattransformation.

As a5013 nonprofit publication, In These Times does not oppose or endorse candidates for politicaloffice.

Read the original here:
What Democrats Should Learn From the Spate of Socialist Wins on Election Day - In These Times

Albania, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Greece these are only a few counties where the United States has supported fascist authoritarian governments in order to combat communism. Anti-communist sentiments continue to reverberate in American politics. Today, the political theory of socialism is under siege as some fear a larger central government and loss of economic freedoms. Under democratic socialism, citizens collectively own and distribute resources through a democratically elected government. In America, democratic socialism is popularized as simply socialism.

While Republicans politicians may claim that this idea is very popular amongst American liberals, this theory is not actually widely supported across America. Contrastingly, fascism and its many characteristics, including high militarization and hypernationalism, pose a greater threat to American democracy than socialism. Although we are not likely to see the emergence of a socialist or fascist government in the present age, we have already witnessed the seeds of fascism in American politics.

We must be aware of how fascism arose in the past to understand why fascism is more relevant than ever. In the 1930s in Western Europe, fascism arose from the ashes of economic collapse and imminent war. These are pre-conditions for government dependency as a solution, or disillusion with the current government. America is currently experiencing these conditions following a pandemic and economic collapse. Whether Americans will simply demand a government solution or a new government structure and what the structure would look like remains in contention.

Despite defeating fascist powers during World War II, there is a disturbing resurgence of fascist rhetoric in America ignited by President Donald Trump. To preface, many experts agree Trump is not a fascist. Rather, some political scientists prefer the terms populist or kleptocrat. Regardless, the need to even clarify his ideological alignment is concerning. The danger lies in how the Trump administration has embraced the semblance of fascism in speech and policy. For example, Trump exudes ultranationalism in speeches and has dismissed political dissidents. Some Democrats even claim Trump attempted to suppress political opposition by withholding funds from the U.S. Postal Service during an election cycle heavily reliant on mail-in voting.

These examples are distressing, however perhaps not as distressing as the infamous Executive Order 13769 or Trumps Muslim Ban. Within fascist ideology, there is often a disdain for human rights, and this order was specifically condemned by the United Nations as a human rights violation. The disregard and outright violation of human rights should concern all Americans and place the limits of democracy into question. We must consider whether weve reached the boundaries of representative democracy or if America has become desensitized to fascism. Especially, if the NO BAN act the bill created in opposition and as a response to the executive order dies in the Senate.

Conversely, socialism is not nearly as prevalent in current American politics. Historically, the Great Depression led many Americans to become disenchanted with capitalism, and under New Deal legislation, President Franklin Roosevelt passed several socialist-like policies such as social security. But in recent decades, weve seen the increasing resistance against socialist reforms from both moderate Democrats and Republicans. This trend, along with an anti-communist past, suggests that Americans may not accept socialism as a solution.

America has a complicated and often violent political history of militarism, imperialism, colonialism and nationalism. However, America has repeatedly demonized communism on American soil with the First Red Scare of 1919 and the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. Globally, America enacted military interventions and staged coup d'tats throughout and after the Cold War. Simultaneoulsy, America supported anti-communist militant dictators and regimes that perpetuated human rights abuses. If history is any indicator of the future, the American populace remains vehemently opposed or at least resistant to socialism. With the selection of former Vice President Joe Biden as the democratic nominee as opposed to Senator Bernie Sanders, it has become clear that even Democrats are not ready for a socialist leader. Despite the current trend of a rising population of young voters supporting socialism being a valid concern, there is subsequently a trend of electing older and older presidents, and opposition to socialism often increases with age.

In addition to the resistance of socialism among Democractic voters, there is even less support among politicians in Congress. Implementation of American socialism would require the unification of progressives and moderates, as well as the agreement of many Republicans. This is not likely to occur, at the very least, within the next four years. Additionally, progressive Democrats comprise a small fraction of Congress. Most are moderate Democrats who do not advocate for socialism, only agreeing with certain policies. The progressive agenda, including universal healthcare and the Green New Deal, continue to face resistance from moderate Democrats. Therefore, it is unlikely Congress would fully support truly socialist policies such as worker control.

Whether Trump wins the election or not, he has pushed the boundaries of democracy for himself while retracting it for many citizens. Trumps maneuvering of political roadblocks and what little power the opposition was able to exercise is disturbing and sets a precedent for future presidents. We, as the American people, must eliminate signs of fascism in its stead. We must protect the rights of minority groups, of women and of political opposition. As evidenced by history, fascism will not go away quietly. What has impeded the rise of fascist principles have been social movements led by the people. As citizens, as voters and as the American people, we have a moral obligation to squash fascism. We must extend the boundaries of our representative democracy, pushing against the roadblocks imposed by bureaucracy and partisan divide. We must be unafraid of change, unafraid of justice and unafraid of reform for the prosperity of current and future generations.

Yssis Cano-Santiago is a Viewpoint Writer for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com

The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.

Read the rest here:
CANO-SANTIAGO: Fascism is a more legitimate threat to American democracy than socialism - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

Editor:

Theres so much confusion of economics with political systems. Can there be authoritarianism with a more or less socialist economic system? Sure. Its called state capitalism, although we tend to call it communism. Like Eden since the Fall, Marxist paradise has never been tried out. Its lost.

Can there be authoritarianism with a more or less capitalist economic system? Sure. Its called fascism. Ditto in the other direction, a more or less socialist economic system with a democratic form of government, confusingly called socialism, and a more or less capitalist economic system with a democratic form of government, confusingly called democracy.

So because Cuba, whence I come, is mired in the tyranny of communism does not mean that socialist countries in which democracy is the form of government cannot exist. The U.S. has had socialist elements for a long time, from public schools to public highways, from Social Security to Medicare and Medicaid. Some countries, notably European ones but also elsewhere, have more substantial socialist underpinnings.

Socialism does not mean tyranny. Tyranny means tyranny.

Alberto Cacicedo

Reading

See more here:
Letter: Let's clear up confusion over nature of socialism - Reading Eagle

Image by James Yang / The Chronicle

Socialism is when the state controls the means of production. That is, owns the factories and such where people work.

America is nothing like a socialist state at all. We are a democratic republic of states with a capitalist economy. No one wants to change that. Not even Bernie Sanders, who Ill admit made a grave marketing error in deciding to call himself a Democratic Socialist, opening the door for all uneducated alarmists to align him and anyone with the term social in their make-up, as communists which is, again, totally different from socialism.

Equating taxes that would allow everyone in the country to have health care, higher education, and housing to socialism is bunk. We pay taxes for schools, libraries, police departments, fire departments, roads, airports ports and the military. If taxes are socialist, then the U.S. military is the largest and most expensive socialist organization in the world. And everyone seems to have been fine with that since the middle of the last century.

Get a clue people. Look up the definitions of words once in a while. Stop buying into the propaganda.

Read this article:
Letter: What socialism really is | Opinion | thechronicleonline.com - St. Helens Chronicle

President Donald Trumps unrelenting effort this election cycle to cast Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as a socialist appears to have paid off in the crucial swing state of Florida. Though polling suggested Biden was slightly favored to win Floridas 29 electoral votes, Trump endured on Tuesday night, carrying the state with more than 51% of the vote.

Pivotal to Trumps victory in the Sunshine State was strong support from the Latino voting bloc in South Floridas Miami-Dade County, which includes a sizable population of Cuban-Americans who are sensitive to accusations of socialism because of their historical antagonism to Fidel Castros communist regime.

While former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton carried Miami-Dade by a margin of 30 points last cycle, Trumps messaging including a recent tweet characterizing Biden as a proven Castro puppet seems to have been effective in convincing some voters to tilt Republican.

I believe the steady messaging around socialism is one of the primary reasons why Democrats did so poorly in Miami-Dade, Justin Day, a Democratic strategist in Florida, told Jewish Insider in an email. It led to Biden losing the state and the loss of two congressional seats.

Reps. Donna Shalala (D-FL) and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), first-term incumbents who assumed office last year and represented districts in Miami-Dade County, also fell on Tuesday night and had faced harsh criticism from Republican opponents who sought to portray them as socialists. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Cuban-American former TV journalist who defeated Shalala, was persistent throughout her campaign in accusing the Democratic congresswoman of harboring socialist sympathies.

Shalala, a former longtime president of the University of Miami, did herself no favors when she described herself as a pragmatic socialist in a recent interview with a local NBC station. She later claimed that she meant to say pragmatic capitalist and simply misspoke, but Salazar seized on the blunder.

We had the opportunity to expose who my opponent really is, Salazar told JI in an interview last week in which she confidently predicted that she would win her election with the support of Hispanic Democrats in the district.

Ron Klein, a former Florida congressman who chairs the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said that Spanish-language advertisements in Florida tying Biden to socialism seem to have had a negative impact on the Democratic candidates prospects in Miami-Dade County.

The Biden campaign dismissed such rhetoric and even released its own ads to dispel the accusations, while Biden, a moderate Democrat, claimed outright that he was not a socialist. But such efforts appear to have fallen short in Florida.

It seems like the Biden campaign didnt push back hard enough, Klein told JI.

That wasnt the only problem Biden had in Florida on election night, according to Klein, who added his belief that Democratic turnout in South Florida could have been stronger to offset Republican support in the rest of the state. Its math in Florida, Klein said. Its a complicated formula.

But Day, the Democratic strategist, said that Democrats would have to find a more effective way to counter accusations of socialism if they want to win future elections.

If Democrats dont figure out a message to push back on the socialist narrative, he said, we are going to have a hard time finding success in Florida.

Read more here:
Fear of socialism believed to have hindered Biden's shot at taking Florida - Jewish Insider