First of all, regarding Charles's assertion that the left caucuses don't have much power in DSA: They basically run the International Committee as far as I can tell. Or at least that committee's policies are those of the lefty caucuses. And just as foreign policy is essential for any government, so it is for any political organization, DSA included. Also, I don't know the exact composition, but I do know that the caucuses have several members on DSA's national executive committee, which is called the Political Committee if I'm not mistaken. Nor do these caucuses operate in a vacuum. My experience is that the great majority of those who come to meetings, at least here in the East Bay, are in agreement as far as DSA's campism. As I wrote, I have to wonder if DSA's influence was taken into consideration when Ilhan Omar voted against aid to Ukraine. Her excuse was that the sanctions would hurt "ordinary Russians". That is an extremely weak excuse and I'm certain she would not vote against sanctions against Israel on the same grounds. We should also not forget Kat Abuzagaleh, who ran for congress in Illinois' 9th congressional district in the primaries there. Her positions lined up with those of DSA on just about all issues, except for on Ukraine. I don't know if she sought DSA's endorsement, but in any case they did not endorse her. She lost that election.
David Walters writes that DSA and Mamdani are quite distinct and he cites the example of AOC. Yes, Mamdani and DSA aren't exactly the same, but I think his roots in DSA are still very strong. We have, for example, his steering clear of the issue of Ukraine. One would think that as a smart politician, he would take a position on that since NYC is the home of the largest Ukrainian population outside of Ukraine itself. Mayor Adams, for example, showed up at some national Ukraine day there. But all of this is secondary. The real question is how this intersects with the upcoming election - falling oil prices and DSA's sectarianism. John Reimann -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42345): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42345 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120140354/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
