Earlier today, I came across Metro DC DSA’s Medicare For All Working Group’s statement to the Metro DC DSA Steering Committee that was sent out on Jan 5, 2020. I’ve included a few excerpts from this letter below. Can you sense the frustration?
“The other rationale for rejecting our request was that it would not be prudent to pick a fight with a nationally-endorsed elected representative. DSA endorses representatives based on their adherence to our core principles and commitment to our goals and not the other way around. These endorsements should not be a lifetime guarantee, but a guideline from which to hold our leaders accountable. Otherwise, we become no different than the Democratic Party that reinforces the status quo instead of demanding real reform.”
“Time and again, our good faith efforts at organizing around DSA’s stated goals and the working group’s agreed-upon priorities were stymied by this committee. We are concerned that the Steering Committee made no attempt to reach out to us about this issue, or learn of why it was important to this group to support this action. We are the ones who organize around Medicare for All and healthcare advocacy every day, yet we had no voice or input in a decision directly related to Medicare for All in this chapter. If Medicare for All is still a principal pillar of the DSA, then the Medicare for All organizers should be able to organize around it within the DSA.”
“We believe this speaks to a wider disconnect between working groups and the Steering Committee. No one understands the intricacies of mobilization and organization efforts better than the organizers of the various working groups within this organization, yet we have no say in what we are ultimately approved to be able to organize”
DSA M4A held a restructuring strategy meeting last Saturday in response to the many concerns that have been thrown at leadership over the last few weeks.
While I wasn’t able to attend — I’ve gotten the (few) inside details on what was discussed and what the plan is, moving forward. I’ll lay off DSA for a bit after this, for now, but the points listed below hardly address some of the larger issues. Whether DSA’s internal challenges improve is solely up to the leadership. The members have spoken. Will leadership follow through or will they continue to make decisions on a national level based on an elected official?
Members and committee leaders were tasked to come up with solutions to the following problems by their next meeting on Jan. 16th:
How to improve DSA’s communication chains so that messages are relayed quicker between different layers of the organization
How to “gain and maintain” a direct line of communication between DSA’s endorsed elected leaders and hold them accountable to DSA policies and goals
Need to develop a committee that covers legislation, political leverage, and policy implementation strategies
Procedure to hold emergency meetings when sudden opportunities present themselves and immediate action is required
Need better access for members to understand how the DSA’s structure works
That’s. About. It.
In closing, I’ll reference another great article by DSA member, Shamus Cooke, on the challenges DSA’s leadership now faces. I’m not sure if the leadership knows they’re at a fork in the road, but they’ll soon find out if they don’t address the serious internal challenges. Not only are their members frustrated and confused—they feel like they’re not being represented.
To the DSA leaders:
If you ever read this, I’d ask that you take another look at your own organizational structure when searching for answers to problems that you’ve been quick to blame on external figures.
I’ve heard several of you ask how it’s possible that people like “Jimmy Dore, the YouTube comedian”, and other independent journalists and content creators, have been able to take over the M4A narrative so easily.
It probably has something to do with the complexity of your organization and your reluctance to challenge your very own DSA-endorsed candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Here’s to hoping things change.
Until next time,
Aly.