In the last one and ½ months Fox News has published 5 stories about “democratic-socialists”.
The articles focus on the idea that Democrats have moved far left with candidates such
as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Bernie Sanders (I-VM). The Democratic Socialists
of America (DSA) are not a political party, but do have key beliefs on their website including
“universal housing and health care, free public college education, and an economy where the
worker is the priority.” An ASU professor calls the DSA “pragmatic” and reinforces the negative
connotation of socialism while saying the DSA must be “anti-socialist” in order to be popular.
The article points out that any reference to Cold War anti-communist fervor is a winning strategy,
especially by tapping into a sentiment that Democrats will create a government that “ hands over
all aspects of our lives to a government that can barely provide services competently.” That being
said, the DSA claims that they have won 22 out of 30 elections in the last year. Ocasio-Cortez’s
primary victory to take a solidly Democratic seat in the House this fall reflects the idea that
Democratic Socialists will work from “within the Democratic establishment” to push their
agenda of increasing the power of “labor and the left.” The Democratic Party remembers
the divide between Hillary and Bernie supporters, with the party still somewhat searching for
its identity. As such, it’s not surprising that a DNC spokesperson said, the DNC's mission is
to elect Democrats from the school board to the oval office, and we welcome the help of all
organizations to achieve that goal.” It remains to be seen how much the party moves to the
left and how that plays out in 2018 and beyond.
The articles focus on the idea that Democrats have moved far left with candidates such
as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Bernie Sanders (I-VM). The Democratic Socialists
of America (DSA) are not a political party, but do have key beliefs on their website including
“universal housing and health care, free public college education, and an economy where the
worker is the priority.” An ASU professor calls the DSA “pragmatic” and reinforces the negative
connotation of socialism while saying the DSA must be “anti-socialist” in order to be popular.
The article points out that any reference to Cold War anti-communist fervor is a winning strategy,
especially by tapping into a sentiment that Democrats will create a government that “ hands over
all aspects of our lives to a government that can barely provide services competently.” That being
said, the DSA claims that they have won 22 out of 30 elections in the last year. Ocasio-Cortez’s
primary victory to take a solidly Democratic seat in the House this fall reflects the idea that
Democratic Socialists will work from “within the Democratic establishment” to push their
agenda of increasing the power of “labor and the left.” The Democratic Party remembers
the divide between Hillary and Bernie supporters, with the party still somewhat searching for
its identity. As such, it’s not surprising that a DNC spokesperson said, the DNC's mission is
to elect Democrats from the school board to the oval office, and we welcome the help of all
organizations to achieve that goal.” It remains to be seen how much the party moves to the
left and how that plays out in 2018 and beyond.
- Do you think moving to the left will be a winning strategy for the Democratic Party
- Is the DSA a fringe organization or does it have significant influence on the political process?
- Has the Democratic Party moved to the left since the 1980s/1990s (toughest question
because the article doesn’t address this)?
1. It's a winning strategy, because it will polarize Dems against Republicans, and pull those who are becoming frustrated with Democratic party's inactivity come back. However, a leftward move will only increase gridlock, so it's not necessarily best for the country
ReplyDelete2. The DSA is currently a fringe organization. Clearly the Democratic party is not adopting its ideals, with Obama and Hillary being incredibly moderate.
3. No, the Democratic party hasn't really moved since then, and if anything its moved right, relative to the rest of society. In general, the youth move society to the left, but Democratic party hasn't moved, making youth uninterested.
Above is Andrew Cummings
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCHARLIE CHAPMAN
ReplyDelete1. I think it is a winning strategy for people running in primary elections in very liberal areas. This is evidenced by Ocasio-Cortez winning in New York, with that area being heavily Hispanic. I do not think the strategy will work nationally, where people are still wary of canidates who condemn traditional American values.
2. While I consider their opinions to be extreme, it is clear that the democratic party has embraced the DSA. Tom Perez, who leads the DNC, stated that Ocasio-Cortez is the "future of the democratic party." Also, more mainstream figures, such as the governor of New York, Cuomo, have embraced the sentiment that America is deeply flawed, saying that "America was never great" to a crowd at a recent fundraiser.
3. Yes, the democrats have moved radically to the left. This trend has been consistent on social issues since the 90's and more recently on economic issues. This is evidenced by Democrats moving from not supporting gay marriage in the 2000's to condemning all who disagree with transgender bathroom bills.
1. I do not believe it is a winning strategy for the entire party, as becoming more left is exactly what the Republicans want to leverage to antagonize the Democrats as "communists". Though it can be effective in certain, far liberal areas such as NY and SF, overall it will isolate most voters who identify as Democrats.
ReplyDelete2. The Democratic Socialists speak to the common American, by appealing to the "'labor and the left"', they speak to the working class, which has shown to be effective for the Democrats ever since FDR's New Deal.
3. The Democrats have became increasingly liberal in their social issues within recent years, (i.e. gender identity issues and gay rights), to a point where it is almost turning people away. Though, economically the Democrats have remained somewhat moderate compare to the 90's.
Julia Everson:
ReplyDelete1. I don't believe that moving to the left is a winning strategy nationally (for presidential elections), but could work well locally and in states by bringing together more progressive liberal people who might tend to vote for the Green Party and less progressive democrats. Nationally, I think moving the Democratic Party to the left would make more moderate or independent people go Red.
2. The DSA is moving its way out of being a fringe organization and into having some real power. Since the 2016 election the DSA has grown to about 25,000 members nationally and continues to grow with young people pressuring politicians to make change.
3. I think that the Party has moved left on many social issues, but economically not too much. Additionally, the candidates for the Democratic Party for the past two elections (Obama and Clinton) were quite moderate Democrats, showing that the Party hasn't moved drastically to the left.
Kate Linenbach:
ReplyDelete1. I think moving to the left will be a winning strategy for the Democratic Party. During the 2016 presidential campaigns, Bernie Sanders captured the attention of a demographic that usually is apathetic towards politics: 18-24 year olds. His message was very far left, and the youngest demographic was definitely interested in what he had to say. Because 18-24 year olds are the future of the United States, this trend will likely make a lasting impact upon our country. Furthermore, certain states are starting to become more inclined to vote for more liberal candidates. For example, in New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described Democratic socialist, won her primary against an established Congressman.
2. The DSA is still a fringe organization, but seems to be gaining power after every election. The Democratic Party has remained mostly silent about the DSA, even though Bernie Sanders was very successful in the months up until the 2016 presidential primaries. Therefore, the DSA has not been fully accepted by the Democratic Party. However, this is likely to change because of the success of the DSA in recent years.
3. The Democratic Party has moved to the left since the 1980s. Over time, Democrats have become more socially liberal (advocating for gay marriage, rights for transgender individuals, etc). However, Democrats have not moved as much to the left as many claim. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both fairly moderate compared to people on the far left, such as Bernie Sanders. These two individuals are still strong representatives of the party, which shows how the Democratic party is actually more moderate than people tend to believe.
1. Moving farther to the left is not a winning move for Democrats. Although socialism attracts the traditionally apathetic younger demographic, it also pushes away the more moderate Democrats and causes the overall public to fear success for the party because of what happened in Venezuela. Republicans will also use a leftist movement to portray Democratic Socialist party as a threat to American values.
ReplyDelete2. The DSA has significant influence of political progress because of their growing presence in the already existing Democratic party. The media portrays Ocasio-Cortez as “the new face of the Democratic Party” and appeals to the public by moving away from Marxist principles in place of Roosevelt and MLK.
3. Since the 1980s, Democrats have become more liberal regarding social issues such as same-sex marriage. As partisan lines become more defined, as they did after 9/11 and conservatism brought the country to war, moderate Democrats feel the need to move left if they want to be heard by other parties.
Ethan Lai^^
DeleteVishu Prathikanti
ReplyDelete1. I do not believe moving to the left is a good strategy for the democrats, at least to win national elections as the cartoon portrays. I think that the article shows that the DSA is moving INTO the Democratic party, so why would socialists vote for anyone other than Democrats? If the DSA was a strong third party in national elections, then maybe it would be a good idea, but there is none, and therefore no base to bring voters from into the Democratic party. A while ago we were shown the graphs on where america lies in terms of ideology, and for the majority of people it was somewhere in the middle. The winning strategy is to convince moderates or moderate Democrats to vote for Democrats.
2. I would say that the DSA has influence on the political process. As the article said, Ocasio-Cortez is becoming a very prominent figure in the DSA and even the democratic party. They even claimed to win 22 out of the 30 elections they partook in.
3. I would say that the democrats have definately steadily moved towards the left in terms of their support for social issues, ie same-sex marriage, gay people in army. Economically they have also been moving towards the left: moving the minimum wage to $15 and raising taxes for the rich. However, besides that there isn't much else.
1. No, I do not think that moving to the left will be beneficial to the Democratic party. This is because the democrats would want to keep the votes of moderate republicans, rather than have them prefer to vote democratically. They will want to do their best to stay in power.
ReplyDelete2. the dsa is a fringe organization because it is more "left" than the democratic party. However, as seen with Bernie, it seems to be gaining more power.
3. yes, the democratic party has moved more left such as with support to the lgbtq community. People are becoming more accepting in general. Additionally, the democratic party is standing up for more issues.
from sarah elshenawy
DeleteHanna Schweinberg
ReplyDelete1. I don't think moving to the left will be a winning strategy for the Democratic party as a whole. Instead I think that moving to the left will create a more divided party, those favoring moderate policies (middle aged to older individuals) and then those who are leftist (the apathetic youth). Due to this, the DSA may be supported in regions such as New York and San Francisco where liberal views reign supreme in the cities (ie. Bernie and Ocasio-Cortez), but will not have a positive effect across the whole country.
2. The DSA is currently still a fringe organization, but is gaining more power with each election. Since many of the young voters identify with their beliefs, it might encourage them to participate and take action in politics. Young people are the future of society so they might spark the DSA's power.
3. I think the Democratic party has moved to the left since the 80's and 90's. Social issues especially define this change with the belief in same sex marriage and equal rights for the LGBTQ community (transgenders especially). I think that Obama, the last Democratic president, was fairly moderate regarding other issues in the economy, however.