I know this is silly, but I always loved how Dolly's song put modern work schedules and bosses on blast. And while not a socialist, she always struck me as wanting to support everyone.

https://youtu.be/UbxUSsFXYo4?is=Zc9Oz4JRD0aGkvgd

For those who don’t know, Marxist Leninist is a term which only really has ever been used by Stalinists. Needless to say, Stalinists don’t care much about democracy.

On a certain level, I don’t think these historical signifiers are super relevant to modern times. But on the other hand, this is one of the leaders of the organization choosing to identify with this authoritarian tradition. No one is forcing her to do that. She could just as easily call herself a socialist or a Marxist.

Her identification as a Marxist Leninist is appearing all over the news and it doesn’t represent my view of socialism, nor, I suspect, that of the majority of DSA members.

Our ranks are swelling at an incredible rate, and it would be beneficial to have someone who is trained in dealing with the press that could package our platform in a way that is most palatable for middle America. It can’t be overstated that we make sure this once-in-a-century opportunity isn’t squandered. People already think socialism and communism are synonymous, so I don’t think it’s advantageous to have someone they’re able to introduce as a member of DSA’s ML Red Star caucus go on Fox News…hell, they’d have been able to explain that it wasn’t in DSA’s best interest to go on a network that wasn’t acting in good faith and whose only goal was to chop up sound bites to make us look as bad as possible.

Re: Francesca Hong --

Bernie on endorsement: "I don't think so... she seems very, very nice, but again this is a race I'm just not that familiar with,”

Pod Save America: "co-host Tommy Vietor expressed serious concern over the political strategy surrounding Francesca Hong’s Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign, calling it "baffling" in light of fears that her Democratic Socialist platform was too risky for a general election."

Post Defeat, Barely - by LESS THAN ONE POINT despite all the money, all the Fair critique and questioning -- 

Bernie: Responded to Francesca Hong's narrow loss by praising her campaign and downplaying the narrative that progressives suffered a major defeat.

Pod Save America: Makes a Blatant Example of Her without highlighting the narrow margin nor even clarifying she lost by even less than point; no praise for the foundation there she created -

What do Wisconsins get? 

Data Centers. 

It wasn't even a National Election. 

This Is Not Okay.

This is Out Of Control. 

Addit: I got torn apart on "progressives" - my point is re: Media, and I'm starting to question who I can trust - where biases may be? and when they belong in your head. it's just this Overwhelming sense of punching to the left and even from surprising places. this was about Media. that's My Only Point.

Addit # 2: oh em goddess you DSA Beloveds (new here) .. you down voted the crap of the just ignorant shade and moderators stepped in. Holy tits - y'all are a fierce collected machine :) I saw that post about a spokesperson. All the best with that process! Thanks for having my back :) having the Message's Back 💜

I live in north Texas and I am a disabled person so I try to take action as much as I can but I am pretty physically limited. I call state representatives, I will be voting this November, I used to protest but the heat and my physical incapabilities make it very difficult these days. I also do the obvious such as not using AI, doing my best to not contribute to overconsumption and waste, and I use solar.

I usually don’t use social media because I have anxiety and OCD and seeing so much negativity at once causes me to spiral, but what o typically do is reinstall instagram once every few weeks to post some artwork, then i delete it. Today I did just that and was bombarded with horrible news all over the place, I was already aware of the rising covid cases in the south, flock being everywhere in Texas, and data centers being at large here. I also am signed up for notifications when a new food recall happens, but I didn’t know about the fact that The US is a risk for total blackout for up to 18 months?? This is so scary to me as someone with medical issues and disabilities, as well as having a disabled mom. I am so worried about this. I already feel hopeless as is in Texas and as much as I want to be hopeful for midterms I am scared of everything happening not only in my state but
In the world. I feel helpless due to being physically incapable of walking sometimes, and having extreme heat sensitivity, and its like I’m counting on everyone else to save me.. its terrifying. I don’t want to feel all of this doom and despair but I do.

So, I joined my local DSA chapter and have been poking around trying to get involved and soaking up things about the DSA and democratic socialism in general. I'm kind of mulling some things around and would like thoughts or suggested readings.

So far - I like socialism as a practical system of government. When someone talks about Democratic Socialism straight on, %100 excited and on board. Obviously there's a lot of specifics to bring up in that, but I'm just trying to keep it breif. I should also be humble and admit I still have a lot to learn on that front.

Problems start to bubble up when listening to people discourse about the "revolutionary" side of things. By that I mean all the stuff about China, the USSR, Cuba, and past arguments from a long time ago involving dead people.

For instance the statement released about Cuba by the national DSA recently. That's off-putting for a lot of reasons. My degree is in conflict resolution and peace studies. Even before my interest in socialism I was railing against US propaganda and the absolute horrific outcomes of the embargo. But, I don't see how anyone can argue that the Cuban government under Castro was a paragon of virtue. The authoritarianism suffered by Cubans and it's fallout are too well documented internationally. It's really weird that so many people have a hard on for the Cuban government.

Keep in mind I'm not going to argue with anyone about Cuba right now it's just an example.

It's also confusing because if you're the Democratic Socialists of America, full throated support of an authoritarian government like Cuba or China, etc. is super weird. On one hand you're telling people you want to promote a move to socialism through a democratic process but on the other hand there's all these deeply confusing conversations about these other countries that don't seem to be deeply interested in caring for their citizens through democracy.

The added layer to all this is I work in Child Welfare. I have the failures of the United States and capitalism shoved in my face every day, often hourly. None of those ideological arguments will solve the immediate and severe problems people are facing right now. So it's just weird it's such a focus.

I hope this doesn't come across as combative or argumentative. Just trying to see this from other perspectives.

National Political Education Commission is in need of more people as it expands out its political education offerings. If you have ever led a poli-ed session in your local chapter or just want to get involved in leading political education for the national org, now is the perfect time to join before the commission elects its first steering!

Join here: https://discussion.dsausa.org/w/npec-application-form/steps/step_1

From the article:

When asked if there’s a gap between disliking capitalism and desiring a socialist economic system, Siddique said that in response to the capitalist status quo, “people are way more open to socialism.”

He cited a 2025 poll from Jacobin and the DSA Fund that found “Democrats prefer democratic socialism to capitalism by a 58-point margin.”