November 29, 2024

Democratic Socialist Post-Election Musings

A longtime member and former elected rehearses some important history and argues “DSA… has also struggled with the more immediate, public, and arguably more important question of working out a tenable relationship with those members holding elected political office. While the organization encourages members to seek office and benefits from their successes, it understandably does not want to be associated with public figures with markedly divergent politics. At the same time, office-holding members are answerable to their electorate, not DSA. In the light of some recent experiences on this front, [Sen. Bernie] Sanders’s non-joiner stance starts to look somewhat prescient. DSA’s long-term relevance will depend on its ability to carve out a meaningful role as a socialist organization that is not and does not aspire to being a political party.” from Medium via Portside

Republicans Freak Out Over Trump’s Choice for Labor Secretary
“Former GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination puts the economic populist wing of the Republican Party on a collision course with more traditional Republicans, who have always been on the side of company bosses. She embodies the contradiction that is the Trump coalition. It won political power with widespread support from blue-collar workers but has up until this point looked poised to hand the federal government over to business-friendly billionaires. In fact, Chavez-DeRemer, the daughter of a Teamster, has such a pro-union record that some Republicans are in a full-blown panic about her nomination.” NYT via Portside

As D.C.’s home rule faces fresh threats in TrumpWorld, some important history

The 51st ran an important article on the history of home rule, noting as well the many instances of federal government interference with local DC governance. Prior to home rule’s passage by Congress in 1973 (which the 51st only touches on), the District was virtually run by the Board of Trade (all older white businessmen) — so home rule, with all its limitations represented an enormous advance. And while there are many sources of the struggle for home rule (DC Statehood was a demand made at SNCC’s founding convention), a key factor behind that decision took place after the District went up in flames following King’s assassination in 1968. This article’s politics reflect a mixture of good-faith hope in what a compromising Mayor Bowser could achieve; its value, however, lies in its narrative of events post-1971. Kurt S

Maryland has its own history of slavery, white supremacy, and lynching – reminders are never too far away 

As initially reported in Intersection, a Calvert County neighborhood saw an incident where someone just weeks ago hung “a black human-like figure from a tree” on a nearby property. Town officials had done little to see to its removal at the time of Intersection’s report. The complicated sequence of events in the story (before and after the Intersection’s report) was developed by Context newsletter.  Kurt S