Uncommitted to Biden – Committed to a Democratic Socialist Party

DSA’s Support for the “Vote Uncommitted” Campaign Should Include a Strong Call for an Independent Working-Class Party

By Philip Locker and Stephan Kimmerle

On February 27 over 100,000 people in Michigan sent a strong message against President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s horrific massacre in Gaza. The “uncommitted” vote in the Democratic Party primaries is the latest expression of a search for a left alternative to mainstream Democrats and their pro-imperialist, pro-capitalist policies. 

It also highlighted the Democratic Party’s role in the atrocities in Gaza that have resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 people and created a humanitarian crisis with millions forced to leave their homes and lacking access to food, shelter, and healthcare. The 13% voting “uncommitted” was a signal that even the mainstream media could not ignore. A few days late even Vice President Kamala Harris had to deliver a speech providing some lip service for a “6-week ceasefire.” 

Since then the campaign has spread nationwide. In Hawai’i 29% voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary on March 6. A day earlier, almost 20% voted “uncommitted” in Minnesota. In Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, “uncommitted” received 26% of the votes, while Biden got 64%. The “uncommitted” vote in Colorado was 8%, and the “no preference” vote in North Carolina, a state where Biden narrowly lost in 2020, was close to 13%.

“We’re experiencing a revolution,” said Lexis Zeidan, a 31-year-old Palestinian American organizer who is a spokeswoman for the Listen to Michigan campaign, reported NPR. “You’re going to have your older generation that might still understand or believe in this two-party system,” Lexis said. “But you’re also having younger voters that are trying so many different strategies and ways … to upend the current electoral system and let elected officials know that we’re not settling for this anymore.” She added: “We’re no longer going for the lesser of two evils.”

The protest in Michigan was led by, among others, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. DSA has now taken on the campaign in chapters across the country. 

UFCW 3000, the largest union local in Washington state with 50,000 members, came out for an “uncommitted” vote in the Washington primaries and is actively building the campaign. This is an opportunity to bring the issue back to labor. Activists have an opening to agitate within their unions to endorse and build the “uncommitted” campaign. We have a new chance to build on the protests against this war and mobilize a strong solidarity movement.

And this is what DSA should also demand from its elected officials: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others should rescind their endorsement for Joe Biden and – like Rashida Tlaib – join the call to “vote uncommitted.” DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) needs to urgently send this message to all our elected representatives and organize mass town halls with them and DSA members to openly debate these issues.

Resisting Trump, Fighting for a New Workers Party

Some have expressed concerns about the risks of a Trump comeback if Biden is weakened by the “vote uncommitted” campaign. However, the reality is the opposite: Biden’s pro-capitalist policies are paving the way for a potential return of Trump. 

Undoubtedly, Trump represents the greater evil in this election. But Biden and the Democrats fail to provide an alternative that serves the interests of the working class and marginalized communities. Resisting Trump requires establishing an independent force that is not aligned with right-wing Republicans or Wall Street Democrats. The most effective approach right now is to join DSA and work towards transforming it into an independent Democratic Socialist Party. 

Our goal should be to build an organized and strong “vote uncommitted” campaign, not in order to bring those who selected that option closer to the Democrats, but to demonstrate resistance to Democratic Party policies which reflect the imperialist interests at the core of that party. This can happen on a large scale and can help pave the way towards a mass alternative.

Independent messaging of DSA is key. Our “vote uncommitted” agitation should be connected to the necessity of creating an alternative working-class political party and advocating for socialist policies. This includes bringing home all US troops stationed abroad, shutting down all US military bases overseas, and striving for a society that promotes economic, gender, and racial equality – a democratic socialist society on a worldwide level.

Seattle DSA set a good example that points in this direction, writing in an email to all members and supporters on March 5 : 

Seattle DSA stands for a new political party that represents the interests of working people — a party for the millions, not the millionaires and billionaires!  We are fighting right-wing Republicans and Wall Street Democrats. There is a real threat by Donald Trump and his anti-immigrant, racist, misogynist and anti-worker agenda. Trump is the greater evil. However, we are fed up with how the lesser evil – Joe Biden – with his imperialist, pro-capitalist policies is preparing the ground for a return of Trump to the White House. (emphasis in the original)

On March 6, at a press conference of the Washington Uncommitted campaign, speaking on behalf of Seattle DSA, R&R member Harris outlined: 

The two-party system isn’t working for us. What is happening in Gaza is unconscionable. But really, we have faced devastation after devastation at the hands of both the Democrats and the Republicans. People are desperate, and they are getting clearer and clearer that it’s time for something new.

Unfortunately, DSA nationally is so far trailing behind the message of the “vote uncommitted” campaign. It’s great to be fully part of that movement. However, it’s a serious mistake to opportunistically give up our own socialist messaging. 

The statement published by DSA nationally on x.com on March 3 leaves out any call for independent policies, and does not promote a new, mass working-class party. Instead it says: 

Until the Biden administration wakes up to today’s political realities, DSA encourages voters who want an end to this genocide to vote “Uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primaries. 

This would be a good statement from people who were supporters of Biden but are now moving towards breaking with him. But it’s not acceptable for a socialist organization. We in DSA should be clear that the Democratic Party is fundamentally a party of US capitalism and an enemy of working people internationally. 

Biden is not simply asleep and needing to “wake up to today’s political realities.” It would be a victory if popular pressure forced Biden to come out for a ceasefire, but it would not change the reality that he is a pro-imperialist and pro-capitalist politician that DSA should be opposing. 

This is a missed opportunity of DSA’s NPC, the elected national leadership, to engage with supporters of the uncommitted campaign and win them to socialist policies and the project of building a working class alternative to the Democratic Party. 

It is the latest example of the reformist politics that dominates DSA, including its new left-wing NPC majority. This is not a theoretical issue to be solved in the future – it is a practical obstacle today for fully utilizing the opportunities to build DSA. To overcome this barrier requires building a strong revolutionary Marxist wing of DSA. 

This is not about using more radical sounding, even “communist,” rhetoric. It means developing an educated Marxist cadre that fights to lead DSA and labor in the direction of building working-class power and a new mass party. This requires being fully embedded in the real battles taking place in the working class (avoiding sectarianism) while remaining unbending in the fight for principled socialist politics (avoiding opportunism).

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Engaging in the Democratic Party?

The “vote uncommitted” campaign means voting in the Democratic Party primaries. For example, in Washington state someone can only take part in those primaries if they affirm that the Democrats are their “preferred party.” In other states, various forms of declaring loyalty to this pro-war, pro-capitalist party are required to be able to vote in their primaries.

Does this go against our intention to build an independent party? Undoubtedly, this is painful, especially for activists who have already broken with the Democratic Party. 

However, this is not about us feeling good or morally superior in a performative manner; this is about socialists being part of a movement to express the strongest possible opposition to the policies of Biden and the Democratic Party. While this is formally a protest within the Democratic Party, it can absolutely be used by socialists to challenge the two-party system.

The decisive component for the campaign to work against the Democrats is for the socialists involved to speak up loudly and clearly to assist people in addressing the challenges of opposing Trump without endorsing the Democrats and Biden. Simply choosing not to participate in the campaign is not productive and would be a sectarian policy. However, opportunistically staying silent about our goal – to participate in order to build a democratic, socialist mass workers party – is also damaging.