Contributions to the AOC Endorsement Debate

Following a vote by NYC-DSA to endorse AOC for re-election this year, DSA members have been debating if DSA should also nationally endorse. For example, Marxist Unity Group argues against national DSA endorsement. At a recent National Membership Meeting, Reform & Revolution members participated in this debate with three different proposals submitted: critical support, conditional endorsement, and no endorsement. At the end of the debate, members took a non-binding straw poll. The proposals are shared here alongside the percentage results of the straw poll. Longer articles explaining each position will soon be shared on R&R’s website.

How Should Revolutionary Marxists Relate to AOC? – The Case for Critical Support

By Philip Locker

We support DSA endorsing AOC for re-election in 2024 on the basis of an independent message that makes clear that she is not currently representing DSA’s politics.
AOC is the highest-profile left-wing progressive member of Congress. She has supported progressive movements, is associated with DSA, and has supported some DSA efforts, but has not acted as a representative of DSA positions on a number of important questions. Taking all of this into account, we support endorsing AOC as part of:
- Making clear our support for building the left in Congress and connecting with left-wing working-class people in labor and social movements
- Allowing more time to educate DSA members and its periphery about the political differences between DSA and AOC
- Maintaining DSA’s association with AOC in order to step up its efforts to encourage her to adopt a more socialist approach and open up a wider debate among her supporters.
DSA’s endorsement of AOC should include that we do not agree with her endorsement of Biden for President, and that we ask her to publicly withdraw it. Alongside this, we should urge her to not speak in favor of Biden at the Democratic National Convention, but to instead use any platform she has at the Convention to speak in support of the Palestinian solidarity movement and other working-class struggles.
Both the moderate wing and the left wing of DSA’s NPC fail to combine a challenge to AOC’s policies with a determined campaign to win over her supporters to socialist politics. The moderate wing wants to uncritically endorse her, while the left wing uses non-endorsement to avoid a struggle for leadership among the base of AOC and progressive workers.
In fighting to build toward a mass working-class party, revolutionary socialists need to be clear and outspoken about the dominant character of reformist organizations like DSA and left-progressive representatives like AOC and Rashida Tlaib, while engaging with these political forces in a real way to build resistance together against capitalism and imperialism. It is through this method of fighting in a principled, but not sectarian, fashion that revolutionaries can most effectively build support for the Marxist politics needed to lead these struggles to victory.

Results: 56% yes, 37% no, 7% abstain

Amendment – The Case for Conditional Endorsement

By Sarah Milner

Additions are highlighted in blue, and subtractions are crossed out.

We support DSA endorsing AOC with the following clear conditions for re-election in 2024 on the basis of an independent message that makes clear that she is not currently representing DSA’s politics.
We support DSA setting the following conditions for a federally endorsed official. The NPC should be expected to proactively advance and campaign on these standards, using messaging to explain our principles:
- Have their office meet with DSA at least monthly.
- Commit to attending public DSA events when viable
- Do not campaign for Joe Biden, or speak for him at the DNC
- Vote against all increases to the military budget and military funding to Ukraine or Israel
- Take a publicly oppositional stance to the Democratic Party leadership
AOC is the highest profile left-wing progressive member of Congress. She has supported progressive movements, is associated with DSA, and has supported some DSA efforts, but has not acted as a representative of DSA positions on a number of important questions. Taking all of this into account, we support endorsing AOC as part of:
- Making clear our support for building the left in Congress and connecting with left-wing working-class people in labor and social movements
- Allowing more time to educate DSA members and its periphery about the political differences between DSA and AOC
- Maintaining DSA’s association with AOC in order to step up its efforts to encourage her to adopt a more socialist approach and open up a wider debate among her supporters.
DSA’s endorsement of AOC should include that we do not agree with her endorsement of Biden for President, and that we ask her to publicly withdraw it. Alongside this, we should urge her to not speak in favor of Biden at the Democratic National Convention, but to instead use any platform she has at the Convention to speak in support of the Palestinian solidarity movement and other working class struggles.
Both the moderate wing and the left wing of DSA’s NPC fail to combine a challenge of AOC’s policies with a determined campaign to win over her supporters to socialist politics. The moderate wing wants to uncritically endorse her, while the left wing uses non-endorsement to avoid a struggle for leadership among the base of AOC and progressive workers.
In fighting to build toward a mass working-class party, revolutionary socialists need to be clear and outspoken about ~~the dominant character of reformist organizations like DSA and left-progressive representatives~~ hegemonic reformist approach in DSA and the failures of ultra-left over corrections. We need to clearly advocate DSA use our relationship to left-progressive representatives like AOC and Rashida Tlaib to advance Marxist ideas while engaging with these political forces in a real way to build resistance together against capitalism and imperialism. It is through this method of fighting in a principled but not sectarian fashion that revolutionaries can most effectively build support for the Revolutionary Socialist Marxist politics needed to lead these struggles to victory.
In the likely event AOC does not meet these standards, the NPC should consider actions to enforce electoral discipline, including escalatory actions rising to the possibility of severing endorsement, and organize national discussions to engage members in an assessment of AOC’s politics and approach.
Additionally, R&R supports the direction of the Groundwork proposal which aims to organize a DSA-wide conversation on AOC, but disagrees with the specific mechanisms. We will advocate for a longer deliberative process, without connecting AOC and Rashida Tlaib, focused on the question of how we can build a socialist party.

Results: 43% yes, 43% no, 14% abstain

Implement Our Party-Like Strategy! – The Case for No Endorsement

By Ruy Martinez

R&R should be against a re-endorsement of AOC and for an implementation of policies similar to those of “Towards a Party-Like Strategy” without tiers. We should clarify the debate around AOC’s endorsement goes beyond her personal failings and points to the larger systematic issues of our endorsement approach.

Results: 7% yes, 78% no, 15% abstain

Reform & Revolution

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Philip Locker

Philip Locker, he/him, recently was co-chair of Seattle DSA and was a candidate for DSA’s NPC. He was the Political Director of Kshama Sawant’s 2013 and 2015 independent Seattle City Council campaigns and the spokesperson for 15 Now, which played a leading role in making Seattle the first major city to adopt a $15 minimum wage.

Sarah Milner

Sarah Milner, she/her, is a rank and file union organizer and member of Portland DSA and Portland State University YDSA. She co-chairs the Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy Campaign. She has previously been the co-chair of PSU YDSA and of Portland DSA’s Electoral Working Group. She spent two terms on the chapter Steering Committee. She is a member of the Steering Committee of Reform & Revolution caucus.