Towards 2028: DSA Needs a Campaign of a New Type

This article is the first part of R&R’s statement of position on the challenges and possibilities of an AOC presidential run in 2028. “Towards 2028” was written by Sarah Milner, R&R’s representative on DSA’s National Political Committee, and its fundamental political points are approved by the membership and Steering Committee of Reform & Revolution.

DSA faces an enormous, yet perilous, opportunity for development in 2028. The prospect of a left populist campaign led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) offers hope for rekindling wider interest in the socialist movement, with an even larger growth spurt than the one following the Bernie Sanders campaigns which remade DSA into what it is today. We are now the largest socialist formation in U.S. history, and by far the most democratic and (thereby) dynamic and rapidly-evolving left organization in the country. This time around, DSA’s core of organizers will be substantially more mature, better able to advance our political message, and contain a much larger independent contingent in our ranks — more independent, that is, from fidelity to the Democrats. Beyond sheer growth, our members’ organizing skills and organic ties to the wider working class would develop by leaps and bounds. Imagine what our organization could do in such a moment! We are 130,000 strong and steeled in many electoral campaigns, most famously that of Zohran Mamdani. Even a social-democratic President, the first in U.S. history, is no longer out of the question. If DSA holds aloof from this popular movement, and fails to deeply engage with it due to the obvious political deficiencies of AOC and her ilk (being progressives, not socialists), would amount to giving up on a huge opportunity. It could set us back years that we cannot afford to lose.

As to our challenges, they are not to be underestimated. The failure of Sanders’ campaigns, the collective trauma of the Trump and Biden stints (one backward, the other nearly useless) have left millions understandably pessimistic about electoral politics. They not only distrust the two capitalist parties, but do not believe politicians can represent them in any meaningful way. Moreover, there are few signs that AOC has the vision or experience to campaign with Sanders’ distinctive populist vigor, let alone to govern. This leaves us with the threat of a milquetoast campaign that results not in grand political transformation, but a rightward-moving politician that we can neither control nor escape responsibility for. For example, we could see a membership exodus if AOC defends Biden’s Gaza policy, not to mention a movement-destroying split after the first DSA-endorsed President orders her first drone attacks or breaks a major strike. One can also easily imagine AOC as a U.S. version of Gabriel Boric, who was propelled to power amid mass excitement for change in Chile, only to become unpopular amid legislative gridlock and hand over power to the next far-right leader. 

AOC will likely make a bid for the presidency. If she does, she will have a mass movement behind her. She will also certainly move to the right as she campaigns, a drift that would only worsen if she wins. This, in a nutshell, is our peril: we want to reach the radicalizing workers that are inspired by her campaign, while charting our independent worker-led movement that both builds on and outlives AOC’s campaign, and does not come to grief with her inevitable disappointments. To safeguard our independence, we must openly acknowledge the weaknesses and deficiencies of AOC and the Democrats from the outset, sharply drawing the political line between them and DSA as we engage with hundreds of thousands of workers across the country. 

This is a very tricky and risky undertaking, but our history shows that workers’ power never comes on a silver platter, and always involves taking risks. An independent yet critical campaign does not offer the simplicity or short-term benefits of wholehearted support, nor the smug satisfaction of flat opposition, and is not something DSA has much experience in. The frustration and heated debates of this moment attest to that fact. In what follows, I shall outline why and how an independent campaign is the best approach for DSA to take towards AOC in 2028. 

The present moment: the crisis

Driving the anxiety and energy around the 2028 election is the wider economic and political crisis, which is driving people either towards the false promises of the far-right, or the real promise of class struggle offered by the socialist left. 

After the collapse of the New Deal and the onset of neoliberalism (from the 1970s), American politics have been marked by short-term pivots and financial maneuvers of a ruling class desperate to keep their system running smoothly until the next quarter. By now, almost two decades into the so-called “Great Recession” (from 2008), these maneuvers have clearly run their course. Consequently, the elites who championed these quick fixes are losing the trust of the general public. 

While the U.S. remains the foremost power in the world, a series of disastrous imperialist adventures—from Iraq and Afghanistan to Ukraine and Iran—reflect a slow, steady decline in US hegemony. A recent flashpoint of this crisis is the destruction of Gaza by the Zionist state, armed and supported by both capitalist parties, and bringing international disgrace to the U.S. for funding a livestreamed genocide. This imperialist debacle (aka “foreign policy”) is widely decried by voters, but remains a bipartisan consensus among political elites. 

As U.S. international power declines, the country faces the looming question of its relationship with China. Uniformly described as an adversary in both Democratic and Republican rhetoric, the fact remains that the two economies are inextricably linked by trade, supply chains, and credit. A potential military conflict, though it can hardly provide a lasting solution to the decline of U.S. imperialism, may well come about as a last ditch effort of an eclipsed ruling class. 

Though its particular features may seem new, the overall nature of this crisis is that of a liberal democracy unable to resolve its crises through ordinary political means. As history has demonstrated time and again, these are precisely the conditions that breed fascism. Thus, we are seeing signs of “creeping proto-fascism” every day. This includes repression of nascent populist dissent, and a breakdown of the institutions of liberal democracy: the enormous concentration of power in the executive branch, the metastasizing of the police and security state, and the relentless attacks against the gains of the labor, Civil Rights, and feminist movements. This is not a “battle over the soul of America,” as Joe Biden was fond of saying. It is the rumblings of the final collapse, a descent into the kind of class conflict that the entire U.S. political system was built to preempt and contain. Things will have to go, to borrow a phrase from an earlier national crisis, all one way or all the other. 

The rise of fascism in the U.S. is, of course, represented in the cult around Trump, who poses as an outsider coming in to “drain the swamp.” He is now enjoying his few years of popularity, until his maneuvers will also be exposed as useless. (You can only talk about creating jobs for so long without actually creating them, before the underemployed see the sham for what it is.) Today’s far-right has yet to dredge up a leader and party with a clear class project, as did the fascists of the 20th century. For the latter, the plan was brutal, but their promises were at least partially satisfied: they “saved” the crisis-ridden economies that propelled them into power, if only for a few years, through a massive ramping up of military spending coupled with bloody repression of workers and marginalized groups. To put it bluntly, though the left is far behind where we ought to be, our most vicious opponents do not yet have their shit together either. This is no cause for complacency, however, as this may change very quickly. 

The progressive upsurge and the role of the socialist left

Just as the Republicans responded to the crisis by putting their weight (after initial hesitation) behind the loose-cannon politics of Trump, the Democrats have grudgingly accepted into their midst a new progressive wing (the “Squad”). The difference between the parties is that the center has not made the analogous move of backing their left faction, as the latter has not made significant electoral inroads—yet. In other words, the Democrats have not been forced into the “FDR moment” that Sanders had hoped to create (a vain hope without the kind of working-class upsurge that pushed FDR leftward in the first place). So far, the closest we have come to a realization of the kind of progressive revival Bernie tried to lead is the spectacular victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York — a local success that has yet to ripple into national proportions. This is where AOC comes in, or rather might come in.

If elected, she would be the first self-described socialist president. Her platform would likely include a series of transformative reforms, such as Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, raising the minimum wage, and ending or restricting military aid to Israel. Her campaign would rally millions of supporters, engaging people at a scale DSA can only dream of. She would bring a message of progressive politics to hundreds of millions of people. Though she is a progressive, we know (from the Bernie wave, for example) that a mainstream politician pursuing pro-worker reforms under the banner of “democratic socialism” brings scores of new people into the organized left, and DSA in particular. An AOC presidential campaign, even if she fails to win office, would be transformative for the socialist movement. 

Of course, AOC is also a deeply flawed politician. Even compared to Bernie Sanders, with whom she shares the overwhelming majority of her positions, AOC lacks the decades of political credibility and his independent status. She lacks the messaging discipline of Sanders or even Mamdani. More importantly, AOC lacks a cohesive alternative vision for a foreign policy that could curb imperialist aggression, or for economic and political reform that empowers the working class. She is, in short, an avowed reformist, albeit one who is uniquely positioned to win the Democratic nomination. We need to be brutally honest with the public about AOC’s strengths and her weaknesses. Her ties to DSA are flimsy and probably transient, but we cannot deny the genuine political overlap and common interests. We must be candid about the limits of her reformist approach, but also about the enormous potential to improve the lives of working-class people through her proposed reforms. We should highlight our disagreements, but also the unique opportunity to build a wider movement that can push way beyond the narrow limits of her program. 

The state of DSA

DSA is deeply divided on the question of AOC. Unfortunately, the debate is usually framed simplistically, as if the choices are between endorsement and non-endorsement. Socialist Majority and Groundwork recently launched a petition whose official language calls for DSA to offer its “full, unequivocal support” to AOC. But as noted above, there are substantial reasons to be explicitly critical of AOC (though certainly not “equivocal” —critical support demands clarity). It is reckless naivete to offer flat support to someone we know will not only let us down in the future, but falls far short of our socialist vision right now. The petition’s language has no chance of being passed by the current National Political Committee, although some chapters may well adopt it. It does, however, provide the ideal foil for those who wish to completely block an AOC endorsement. Liberation Caucus were the first left caucus to weigh in with such a position: “The current rumblings for and prospects of an AOC presidential campaign should be met with a clear answer from the socialist left: No. We will not endorse or give succor to a campaign to put a social democrat at the head of an empire, where she will make even more capitulations to the imperialists, and drag our organization into antagonistic contradiction after antagonistic contradiction.” Doubtless, both the petition and Liberation’s countermand speak to sizable sections within DSA. But are these really the only two options? 

I have argued that DSA can and must run a different kind of campaign altogether: one aiming not merely to elect AOC, but to build a movement that taps into her campaign’s energy and works shoulder to shoulder with its activists, but whose potential does not depend on her victory, and whose lifespan extends well beyond her moment. We must campaign for AOC, but not dissolve ourselves into her (necessarily!) ephemeral activist machine, maintaining our political independence as socialists, and making it abundantly clear that this campaign is but one step towards a larger task: building a mass working-class movement that is not only necessary to deliver her promises, but to transcend their reformist limitations and fight for real socialism. We want to help AOC pass her social-democratic reforms, but we don’t trust her to commit to socialism, break from the Democratic Party, or advance a genuinely anti-war foreign policy.

Done right, critical support can unify DSA behind a momentous campaign, as our “big tent” comprises both reformists and revolutionary socialists. The former see AOC-type politics as the goal (a nicer capitalism), whereas the latter see it as a stepping stone towards workers’ power (socialism). This means that different conversations with working people will be had by different DSA factions, but the sheer amount of outward-facing organizing work that such a campaign affords us is an opportunity we cannot miss. It will allow us to articulate our socialist message to the public at a scale we can hardly imagine. 

Preparing for an independent DSA campaign

In 2020, when Joe Biden won, DSA was left adrift and directionless. This must not happen again. Whether it is AOC winning and making major missteps in office, AOC losing the primary and endorsing the Democratic nominee, or AOC losing in the general election, DSA must prepare our members and the wider working class to not collapse into despair and apathy when setbacks come. This means the goal of our campaign should be driving home a simple yet critical message: DSA supports AOC’s election, but we will not be surprised if she backs down or dilutes her campaign promises, just like all presidential candidates before her. Whether AOC acknowledges this or not, we know that passing even reforms like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal will take an unprecedented mobilization of workers and the leverage of concrete protest and strike power. (Recall that even Bernie Sanders was astute enough to make this point many times, though he did little to actually organize such a movement, focusing only on his electoral campaigning machine, which largely dissipated after he lost.)  

Our goal is to swell our ranks, which also includes cultivating new leaders. The next socialist politicians, more radical than AOC or Mamdani, are waiting out there. Our canvassers could be the ones who introduce them to socialism. AOC is not the leader who will guide the working class out of capitalism. But those leaders are out there, toiling at their wage jobs. Those leaders might not even know their potential, or their future revolutionary role yet. They might never have heard someone tell them that the working class has different interests than the ruling class, or that we can organize and fight back. They deserve to hear DSA is building a mass movement to do just that. Many of these future leaders will overwhelmingly be excited by, and vote for, AOC. And when those future leaders are inevitably left disappointed by opportunist politicians like AOC, they will start looking for more. Will we leave them where they are? Leave them to fall into apathy and despair? Or will we meet them where they are, and talk to them, fight with them, and help them to learn about the better world we will build together? DSA is uniquely positioned to pull off such a campaign.

Critical support is a step forward in the fractious process of party-building and building left unity, which is sorely needed given the global crisis and rise of fascism. In our struggle against the far right, we can only rally the working-class majority if we are honest about the current balance of forces. We cannot repeat the sectarian mistakes of the European left a century ago, which held aloof from reformists on principle, thereby abandoning the working class to the ravages of fascism. On the other hand, if we completely absorb ourselves into the Democrat event horizon, we could undo all the work done since 2016 to steer DSA away from its realignment origins (allegiance to the Democrats), which has clearly shown its bankruptcy years ago. 

How can we avoid both traps? We shall go into a proposed outline of a campaign further below, but in brief: we should hold our own DSA phonebank and canvassing operations, create our own socialist literature and messaging, and always maintain clarity about the limitations of reformism, and the deadly trap of the Democrats and all capitalist parties. Our NPC co-chairs should transmit this independent socialist message every day in the media. Such a campaign should be used as an opportunity for members to talk to their neighbors and coworkers about the state of their city, the leadership of their union, and the state of American foreign policy. Each canvass is a chance to talk about DSA, and why we are canvassing. In the process, we should collect our own data and recruit to DSA the waves of new volunteers such a campaign would bring. We are not just securing a vote, but building a movement! Our campaign should not be limited to doorsteps. We must recruit coworkers to DSA-supported radical reform caucuses in our unions, our neighbors to tenant unions, and to grow protest movements and mutual aid networks. Imagine the impact of tens of thousands of socialists having meaningful conversations with working-class people, distributing DSA materials, and recruiting new members!

What does an independent campaign look like?

Organizational independence is vital if we want to avoid the mistakes of groups like Obama For America, or Our Time, or even the Bernie campaigns, which floundered without the continued supply of electoral fuel from their figureheads. Our goal is to build an organization that keeps growing and fighting regardless of how the election goes, and even of how AOC may govern if she wins. To unleash the potential of our mass of volunteers, our members need to feel ownership over this campaign. A democratically-decided and organized campaign, run by our internally elected leaders, debated and openly discussed, would naturally be chaotic and complicated. Good! Conflict in democracy is the sign of contradictions being confronted in real time. 

The second kind of independence is political. It means being open and honest with the public that our campaign and AOC’s are far from aligned, clarifying our differences at every opportunity. It also means we should expect her to do the same (as she has already done). If we are confident in our messaging and analysis, we should feel assured that our positions will come out on top in the eyes of the public. AOC and DSA have different goals. More precisely, AOC is sharply distinguished as a progressive from the growing revolutionary socialist factions of DSA, who represent what DSA must become if it is to remain relevant at all. The key difference between our approach to the “AOC question” and the majority of self-proclaimed revolutionary socialists in DSA is that we believe that abstention from major progressive-populist campaigns at this stage is a recipe for the continued marginalization of the “DSA Left”. An independent intervention by DSA is the ticket for socialism to move from its current status as counterculture to its proper place in mainstream working-class culture in this country. As such, how revolutionary socialists in DSA choose to position themselves in relation to such inevitable stepping stones (as reformist and repugnant as they may be!) is a matter of life or death for the socialist movement. 

AOC’s approach is to use Congress (and perhaps the White House) to ameliorate US capitalism through a series of social-democratic reforms. This is a project worth supporting, and certainly represents one step of DSA’s vision. But where AOC’s political horizon ends, DSA’s vision merely begins. We support a complete overthrow of the capitalist system: a workers’ government that takes over the major corporations, ends the police state, ends imperialist domination of developing countries, and replaces all oligarchical power structures with participatory-democratic ones, in both economic and political spheres. 

This political independence is vital to internalize and broadcast to the public. We must commit, however difficult, to be ready to protest the very day a hypothetical President AOC drops her first bombs, signs her first corrupt trade deal, or passes her first bloated military budget. Beyond this, we must be clear with the public that we fully expect this outcome, and are building a mass movement precisely to prepare for it. Today’s criticisms are tomorrow’s principled political stands. 

What does criticism look like?

Probably the most closely contested element of “critical support” is the question of what, precisely, the criticism looks like. If we do nothing but criticize, or do so half-heartedly, we run the risk of ending up being either untrusted by coalition partners or ignored by the public. 

A campaign based on critical support should not revolve around criticism for its own sake. Rather, the goal should be to present a compelling, forward-looking contrast. The most effective “criticism” for recruiting members is to point out that, besides DSA, nobody in the AOC campaign is building a mass, democratically-run organization designed to build working-class power. The day after the election will come, and we are the only ones who have an answer to the inevitable question: “What next?”  

DSA’s program, Workers Deserve More, can be a useful tool in this regard. Though AOC is not going to promote this program in its entirety, she certainly agrees with parts of it. She thus provides a bridge toward talking to people who may agree with the full program, and well beyond. (The program is, after all, a far cry from a revolutionary socialist one.) Criticism here comes in the form of contrasting but overlapping positive visions. Of course, it will also be necessary to train our members to articulate explicit criticism of AOC as well. We need to be open about our disagreements in phonebanks, at the doors, in our leaders’ media appearances. At each turn, the goal of this criticism should not merely be to denounce AOC, but to pivot the discussion away from her failings to the real issue: the urgent need for a mass working-class movement, and to highlight DSA’s role in building such a movement. We are, essentially, trying to convince people at scale of the very conclusion we have already reached: AOC is worth voting for, but is not the answer—and that’s why we’re in DSA.  

What does this look like in practice during canvassing? Say someone expresses reservations such as “I just don’t know if I can trust her to do what she says,” we should reply, “I have no trust in her either, mostly because of the capitalist party she is in. That’s why I’m a member of DSA, an organization trying to build a movement for working-class power, first to push politicians like her and hold them accountable, and later to actually replace them and the system they defend.” 

In our media appearances, however, we must insist on a clear articulation of our differences. There should be no equivocation about this simple fact: AOC is much more moderate than DSA. She wants a better capitalism, and we want no capitalism.  However, we do have overlapping short-term goals. DSA leaders should provide chapters with clear communication guidelines, outlining  policies we agree with AOC on, and those we disagree on, with talking points and conversation tips.

✦ ✦ ✦

So far we have laid out the fundamental stakes of the 2028 elections and the basis on which DSA can carry out a political, party-building, class-struggle intervention in this key terrain of struggle. The question you, the reader, will now have is what this approach will look like in the concrete. In the following section, we will lay out the basic components of what an independent DSA intervention will look like. It should become clear to comrades that Reform & Revolution’s position, rather than being a “compromise” caught between the two wings of DSA, is in fact a politically distinct alternative strategy for the organization in this context.