This is great! Can't wait for him to no be able to do anything due to gridlock from the NYC democratic party machine and have to capitulate constantly, and then the massive Centrist Lib media apparatus will blame every problem plaguing NYC (even if the problems predated his mayoralship) which will give the Dem establishment more ammunition to blame all their woes on the progressive wing of the party and sell disenfranchised urban poor voters on establishment Dems.

Really a big fucking win for us. Letting the city sink under and establishment Dem was totally not the smarter fucking move.

Also if anyone calls me a doomer for this take I'll be recording your usernames and asking you how you feel about this post in a year from now.

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[–] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

The problem is that DSA and Zohran are not actually organizing for anything other than getting Zohran elected. They do not work hand in hand nor are they likely to once he's in office. This is pretty much a universal issue across all of DSA high profile elected officials. That often means DSA is used as a pool of eager volunteers for a campaign but nothing more. It also means that when the pressure to capitulate is particularly acute, DSA elected officials have a history of betraying some of DSA's core values. AOC and Jamal Bowman are key examples here but it happens at the local level too. This all unfortunately means that people are never brought into DSA because candidates aren't proud and open about their membership. It also generates a lot of internal strife within DSA which causes a lot of good organizers to burn out and leave the organization. Neither of those things is good for the development of the socialist movement.

Just to be clear though this is meant as a constructive critique. It's not unique to Zohran and it's been a problem in DSA for years. They might resolve it but I'm not entirely sure they will or if Zohran's win will help. That said, I still like DSA and Zohran. It's pretty cool seeing a sex pest cretin humiliated by some social democratic muslim guy from queens. Even if this isn't a stepping stone to socialism, I think it's fine to celebrate. It's kind of like watching cops pepper spray themselves or billionaires getting crushed in a wildly unsafe submarine. It just reminds you that the people with power are vulnerable and that's always a good feeling.

[–] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

yeah the DSA should be activating members for things even when elections aren't on. maybe someone on his campaign staff is cool like that.

[–] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 days ago

They need to do more than activate members though. They also need to engage members in the actual practice of running a party and making decisions together in a cordial and democratic way. People in the US generally have almost no experience doing anything like that which is unfortunate because it’s a necessary precondition for any kind of vanguard party.

[–] pastalicious@hexbear.net 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Thing is, DSA had like 7,000 members throughout then 90s, 00s and early 10s. Since then elections that put socialism front and center have driven those numbers up above 70,000. I can say the chapter near me hasn’t spent any energy on elections this year, instead focusing on buying and forgiving medical debt and putting people on a picket line so local workers didn’t have to be there for 72 hours straight without any breaks. The fact that the primary was covered so widely and people were clapping for an avowed socialist is not nothing. But we should still temper our expectations.

[–] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago

I want to be clear, I think it’s totally okay for DSA to spend time on electoral campaigns. I even think it’s good actually even if some members still believe in the idea of voting their way to socialism. I just think they need to act more democratically and in a more coordinated fashion.