They both suck
I guess I fundamentally disagree with the idea that it makes a difference whether this debate lands one way or the other. A bit of a congressional procedural song and dance doesn’t seem to advance the cause of socialism to me. Maybe I could be convinced by someone who was a principled and well read socialist and knew what they were talking about, but Dore isn’t that person 🤷♂️
A bit of a congressional procedural song and dance doesn’t seem to advance the cause of socialism to me
Do you think socialists have any business in electoralism, or do you think it should be completely abandoned?
Electoralism? Perhaps, when strategically useful. American two-party electoral politics specifically? Probably not. Because I don’t think it’s particularly strategically useful. Almost all gains by the American left have historically come outside the party system.
Okay, so I disagree with that take. If you want to build a socialist party, elected officials can play an important role in popularising your message, look for example at Kschama Sawant her role in implementing the amazon-tax and the $15 minimum wage in Seattle.
The problem is: the elected officials of DSA don’t take up such a role (anymore): they’ve been sucked in to the tit-for-that-game that politicians in Washington play, and #forcethevote shows that.
But if we fundamentally disagree about the role that elected officials need to have in building a socialist party, we won’t agree about #forcethevote either, because we’re analysing from a different framework.
