by Statement by Reform & Revolution
Elect a Left-Wing Majority to the NPC
The explosive growth of DSA from 2016 to 2020, was one of the most important steps forward for the socialist movement in the US in decades. However, since the election of Joe Biden, DSA has entered into a slow-motion crisis. Delegates to the upcoming DSA National Convention – from August 4 to 6 in Chicago – should seize the opportunity to elect a new left-wing national leadership.
Over the past period, the National Political Committee (NPC) has been led by forces representing the moderate wing of DSA. The Socialist Majority Caucus (SMC) and their allies, such as the Green New Deal slate (GND) and DSA’s National Director Maria Svart, have exerted significant influence over the direction of the organization.
Under their leadership, we have seen the following:
- DSA Congressmembers becoming less and less representative of DSA and more and more incorporated into the Democratic Party. The NPC has failed to develop regular communication and coordination with these DSA Congressmembers.
- The vote of DSA Congressmembers to ban a railroad strike and fund the Israeli military, and the refusal by the NPC to seriously challenge these violations of core socialist principles.
- There has been plenty of talk about building independence from the Democratic Party, but in practice an acceptance of being perpetually tied to the Democratic Party.
- The NPC undermined democracy within DSA: Rather than seriously challenging Congressmember Bowman the NPC instead dechartered the BDS working group when they were the loudest voices criticizing Bowman. There have also been numerous reports of senior staff blocking the ability of the elected NPC to lead the organization.
- All of this has led to decline in chapter activity and a decrease in membership. DSA membership has fallen from a peak of 95,000 to 76,000 (June 2023).
Reform & Revolution encourages national convention delegates to elect a new NPC that replaces the previous SMC-GND (and now Groundwork) moderate leadership with a left-wing majority.
The left-wing of DSA is quite diverse, and we have political disagreements with other left-wing DSA caucuses. However, there is the basis to elect a left-wing majority to the NPC that is broadly united around seriously changing DSA’s direction towards:
- Political independence from the Democratic Party.
- A campaigning and impactful DSA rooted in the multiracial working class.
- A democratic member-controlled organization, not a staff-driven NGO.
To elect a left-wing NPC majority we recommend convention delegates vote for the following NPC candidates:
1) Philip Locker (Reform & Revolution)
2) Jesse Dreyer (Reform & Revolution)
3) Amy Wilhelm (Marxist Unity Group)
4) Rashad X (Marxist Unity Group)
5) Laura Wadlin (Bread & Roses)
6) Kristin Schall (Bread & Roses)
7) Alex Pellitteri (Bread & Roses)
8) Sam Heft-Luthy (Red Star)
9) Megan Romer (Red Star)
10) John Lewis (Red Star)
In addition to the three points above, Reform & Revolution NPC candidates also stand for:
1. Consistently Defending DSA’s Anti-imperialist Platform: DSA has a duty to fight imperialist parties and politicians here at home while supporting the interests of workers internationally. As NPC members, they will be uncompromising voices for anti-imperialism.
- It is unacceptable for DSA electeds to vote for US military aid to Israel.
- We must end DSA’s current policy of de facto silence on the Ukraine war, including ignoring the fact that all our endorsed Congressmembers are voting to expand NATO and fund the US intervention in the war.
- DSA should be actively helping to build a peace movement which clearly opposes the destructive role of US imperialism while also opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
2. Linking our work to a clear socialist horizon: DSA should be the leading voice in US society that explains what socialism is, producing popular agitation and responding in the mass media to right-wing denunciations of socialism. While the Biden administration is organizing bank bailouts, DSA should be unapologetically promoting the nationalization of Wall Street and other major industries to be run under democratic working-class control.
Our vision of socialism includes Medicare for All, free education and childcare, climate justice, guaranteed jobs with living wages, social housing, and ending racism, misogyny, and heterosexism. However, as revolutionary socialists, we believe that securing these gains in a sustainable way will require overthrowing the system of capitalism. This means replacing private ownership of the means of production with democratic social ownership; and the domination of the private market with democratic planning; the competition between nation-states with international socialist cooperation; and the hierarchy, oppression, and alienation of class society with a social order based on democracy, equality, and solidarity.
What About Other Good Candidates?
The NPC has proven to be a challenging environment for comrades, with many resigning before the end of their terms. The pressures stemming from a variety of places – DSA’s political influence, the role of our elected officials, the variety of political perspectives within our big tent – all converge on the DSA national leadership. In the past, political disagreements have often manifested as personal conflicts.
To address these issues, we propose electing a stable left-wing majority that will deliver real change while also leaving space for the valuable contributions of others. DSA is, and should remain, a big tent organization that encourages good faith collaboration with all sides. We respect and value the contribution of our comrades in SMC and Groundwork and have no doubt that they will be well represented on the new NPC.
We are calling for a vote for candidates of the main left-wing caucuses that have a track record and clear commitment to political independence from the Democrats, for an effective and campaigning DSA that is rooted in the multiracial working class, and defending DSA’s character as a democratic membership-controlled organization.
Caucuses can play a crucial role in providing support for comrades confronted with the serious pressures and challenges of being on the NPC, as well as a framework to hold them accountable to the political program they pledged to represent.
The ten candidates we recommend for the NPC, along with the caucuses they represent, do not agree on every issue. It will be their responsibility to ensure that DSA organizes constructive debates involving all the major political trends and protects the rights of minorities to voice their opposition to the decisions made by the NPC majority.
