My draft SDA December newsletter
Dear Comrades,
Wow! 2023 was not a bad year, politically speaking, considering what is happening worldwide. Still, as you probably noticed, I write about something other than current events but what SDA can influence.
I start with that sentence because several comrades commented that this newsletter lacked ground in reality. I answer that this newsletter does not provide an alternative to the news media. This newsletter is to provide an update on where we are.
The way I construct this newsletter may seem out of context, where I introduce people who have shaken the democratic party at its root but have been unable to create the change they hoped for.
A new year is starting and it’s time to renew your voting membership.
Those who are not members but wish to support SDA as Non-Voting members, please subscribe here: https://www.socialists.us/nonvoting/signup/join.
This year, I ask that you not join as a Non-Voting member but donate something for the Documentary COUNTY to be shown on PBS in March 2024: https://www.socialists.us/pbs.
On the fun side, Paperboy had their first 15 minutes of National Fame, where they stole the spotlight at the New Hampshire Lesser Known Candidate.
I wish everyone a New Year’s Eve and hope to see you at an SDA salon across the United States. And at the end of this newsletter, I give out the formula to influence your local county democratic party.
Stay local! Happy New Year and good health!
The content of this newsletter
- The national Zoom meeting is on January 3rd at 9 p.m. East / 6 p.m. West.
- It’s definitively a Salon
- Love in Politics
- The Remarque Institute
- Fahim Hamid’s documentary on PBS
- “Draft AOC 2028” or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for President
- Cori Bush and Derek Marshall fundraiser.
- The LGBTQ Victory Party
- The problem with New York elected officials
- The Palestinian Cause & Public Housing
- Presidential Primary
- What can we do for 2024?
The national Zoom meeting is on January 3rd at 9 p.m. East / 6 p.m. West.
It’s definitively a Salon.
This whole month, we have been going to the various Democratic Party winter solstice holiday parties, and we have been testing the water with the Salon concept. The reception has been positive as Socialist leaning people have been showing up.
The concept of a Salon really works well, as it’s a non-aggressive presentation of how we brainstorm our policies.
Love in Politics.
There are two ways to say it: the 3-minute version with Paperboy at the Lesser Known Candidate presidential debate at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics or the 20-minute version by Socialist Greek Parliament member Pavlos Yeroulanos at the Remarque Institute.
Social Democrats, please Love people again, concluded Pavlos in his presentation, and Love says Paperboy Love Prince.
Both ways are equally valid.
Remarque Institute.
The Remarque Institute published the first part of a multi-part series of videos on the future of Social Democracy.
I had the opportunity to be present in person, and these talks gave me hope for our movement.
Part 1: The Commodification of Social Democracy, Social Democracy and the Return of State Interventionism, Social Democracy and the Fear of the Future
Part 2: Austerity and the Economic Levers of Control, Today, Just Wealth Distribution Requires Radical Power Redistribution
You can find the whole program on NYU’s website: https://as.nyu.edu/research-centers/remarque/events/Fall-2023/the-future-of-social-democracy.html.
Fahim Hamid’s documentary on PBS.
For six weeks, from February 27th, 2024, to April 8th, 2024, the New York petitioning window for ballot access will begin in New York State.
Included will be the fight for the leadership of the Bronx, Queens, and the Brooklyn County Committees, which are the leadership of the home of Democratic minority Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer.
If we can recruit one socialist per electoral district across those three counties, we can nominate a socialist as the party’s leader and then have the attention of both congressional democratic leaders.
We need as many people to watch the County Documentary as possible. You can watch it here and donate here: https://socialists.us/pbs (anyone worldwide can contribute to the PBS fundraiser.)
Cori Bush and Derek Marshall fundraiser.
I had the opportunity, thanks to Progressive Democrats of America to attend a fundraiser for Cori Bush and Derek Marshall with Jamaal Bowman.
I did not give a cent to the fundraiser, not because I do not believe in what they are doing, but because I will live my life the way I preach, and I have to admit it was hard.
We are living in a time of transition, so I will lead the charge in holding off any donation but the hard work I put into Rep My Block. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/nycbdm (only if you have money left over; you don’t know what to do with it.)
Jamaal was the same Jamaal we see on TV. It was my first time meeting him, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Speaking the truth, but at the end of the day, speaking the truth cannot be ONLY during fundraisers; it needs to be every day, and they must continuously raise awareness of the fight throughout their careers.
The event was organized for Derek Marshall and Congresswoman Cori Bush, and I briefly exchanged with both.
I learned that Derek was at the same conference as our Argentinian elected comrade Esteban Paulon and that Cori Bush and I have common friends in St Joseph, Missouri. We briefly talked about the Drafting AOC 2028 project.
“Draft AOC 2028” or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for President
AOC continues to refuse to talk to us, which makes our relationship strange. For many liberal-trained politicians, on the one hand, we are patiently grooming an SDA candidate to challenge AOC for her congressional seat, and on the other, we are trying to get her to run for President.
That is what people don’t understand about Socialism: we nurture systems that are Democratic, and we make sure to allow for peaceful democratic transitions amid very hard-fought campaigns. The decision to end should not fall upon the incumbent but on the challenger and the voting public.
Any political system that relies on the incumbent to leave is flawed, and that is what happened to both the Democratic and the Republican parties. They have turned into single-state parties.
We, the Social Democrats of America, are here to groom the next set of Socialist challengers to keep the incumbent on their toes, including the AOC congressional challenger and the AOC presidential campaign.
As I explained to Cory, this is not for AOC to decide when she is ready; it’s for us, the Socialist activists, to activate and prepare the terrain to create the conditions for a Socialist to win. We are hurting.
We need Medicare for All, we need education, we need an ecological transition and much more. We can’t wait.
The LGBTQ Victory Party.
The fact that several Socialists were in the room, but they did not talk to each other. Each one is in their bubble, and that is the problem with American Politics.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s with the Computer Hacker Conference, the American Association of Dentistry, Bankers, or even the Socialist Conference, etc the American system of conferences is there to create bubbles where we place particular people on a pedestal, which, of course, create false barriers.
Yes! It feels good to see our comrades being recognized, but we need to start breaking down that false barrier, and that is what a Socialist organization is meant to do: break down every barrier preventing our growth.
Our Comrade Esteban was networking with his Latino-American delegation, and Derek Marchal was networking for his campaign in another corner.
Our comrade Tiffany Cabán was honored in another corner of the event, yet they all are Socialists.
Tiffany gave an inspiring speech that transcends the LGBTQ+ movement, and I recommend listening to it.
The problem with New York elected officials.
The problem is that none of these New York Socialist elected officials raised their voices through the ranks of the Democratic Party and did not know how the influence inside the party works to convey it to others.
These progressives New York elected repeat what the liberals in power have been saying nonchalantly: “Ooooh, it’s a useless body. It’s just ceremonial; we vote how we are told.”
I asked Tiffany Cabán to organize a City Hall cultural celebration to commemorate the Chicago Haymarket affair (our first Socialist resolution where we, the Second Socialist International, adopted “a great international demonstration” resolution calling for a universal 8-hour workday.)
I also asked Muslim Zohran Mamdani to consider calling for the Muslims in New York City to run for the County Committee Committee in February using the Rep My Block tool.
The Palestinian Cause & Public Housing
One of Rep My Block’s ambassadors, activist Ed Lee, better known as DJLEF, promoted Rep My Block at a Palestinian event in June. Nobody signed up.
I even had the opportunity to send Fahim’s movie to Dr. Nabeel Shaath and Fatah’s International Relation Faraj Zayoud. Nobody seemed interested.
I apply the same principle to the NYCHA residents. They can build a massive powerhouse but still become disillusioned with political organizing.
I set up a particular version of Rep My Block where NYCHA residents organize a slate of presidential delegates by NYCHA residents for NYCHA residents to send to Chicago NYCHA residents.
NYCHA residents represent more than 1 million of the least educated voters. At every election, the liberal politicians show up promising to fund Public Housing in exchange for their votes while behind the scenes selling the property to shoddy developers.
After visiting the White House, the Republican National stabbed Carmen in the back while the shoddy developers (the reason I know they are shoddy is because they are the ones that are trying to evict me from my apartment.)
Carmen was featured during the RNC as an accomplishment; the reality is that nothing has changed: NYCHA Tenant Featured in RNC Video Says She Isn’t a Trump Supporter But Saw a Platform For Housing (https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2020/08/30/nycha-tenant-featured-in-rnc-video-says-she-isn-t-a-trump-supporter-but-saw-a-platform-for-housing.)
Whether it is NYCHA or Palestine, in the end, it’s about a land grab; one cautioned by the New York City Council and the other by the United Nations, and the President of the United States controls both.
The problem will not go away until the NYCHA tenants and the Palestinians show up in the room in troves.
Presidential Primary
The only way to change the national discourse spearheaded by liberals politicians is to push for genuine and proven Social Democratic policies.
We tried to rally Socialists and allies to find candidates to run as Biden delegates. Five people showed interest, which was insufficient to create a Socialist slate for Biden.
The reality is that both the Democratic and Republican parties are controlled by the Liberals. In the Red States, the left-leaning Republicans are liberals; in the Blue States, the Right-leaning Democrats are liberals.
They publish all the information to give the illusion that the system is democratic, but in reality, they block the flow of information to a strict minimum.
When I first built the non-partisan Rep My Block tool, it was to help every candidate get ballot access, but with time, I realized that I also needed to offer the voter non-biased candidate information.
Each candidate controls the information about themselves. There isn’t any gatekeeper, as each candidate gets to upload a PDF file. They are free to write whatever they want about their campaign.
What can we do for 2024?
- Go on Google and search “What is my county democratic party?” (Don’t use Bing as it doesn’t return the proper party details.)
- Go to their monthly meeting and ask for the chair and ask for a copy of the bylaws and the calendar meeting,
- If you can, let them know that you are either a Social Democrat or a Socialist. You can also say you are a Progressive but need to convey that you are not a Liberal,
- Do not donate to any of their liberal candidates, and do not participate in activities that require you to contribute to candidates that you do not believe in (keep your hard-earned money)
- Donate to the minimum required to the party to vote, and donate only to party money that is earmarked for party-building activities,
- Find five comrades and start a Socialist Salon,
- Run for the leadership of the local county democratic party,
- Recruit for AOC 2028.
In solidarity,
Hasta la victoria, ¡siempre!
Theo
