We Have No Values: Democratic Socialists of America Edition
I'll admit I'm loving the California governor's race a bit more than I should.
Because not only has Our Revolution completely destroyed what little credibility it had left by endorsing billionaire Tom Steyer, but so too have the Democratic Socialists of America. From the California DSA voter guide:
Finally, Tom Steyer is somehow running the most progressive campaign. Despite being a billionaire, he supports taxing the rich and supports the Billionaire Tax currently on California’s ballot, which CA DSA has endorsed. He has done an about-face from his previous position to now supporting state-level Medicare for All. He has called ICE a “violent extremist group” and outlined how he, as governor, would prosecute ICE agents. He has also been endorsed by a number of major labor unions, including the California Teachers Association, the California Federation of Teachers, AFSCME 3299, Unite HERE, the California Nurses Association, and the California Labor Federation, as well as progressive groups such as Our Revolution and Courage California, and former gubernatorial candidate Betty Yee.
Notably, Steyer is one of two Democrats in the race, alongside Tony Thurmond, to explicitly support California’s law protecting trans girls’ participation in girls’ sports; Becerra, on the other hand, glibly stated that “there’s nothing in the Constitution that says that you are entitled to play a sport”, and other Democrats, including Porter, agreed…
…However, the most progressive of the current viable candidates for governor is Tom Steyer. Time will tell whether he’s truly a class traitor.
*Insert laughing gif here*
No, seriously. Insert the damn gif. Because like Our Revolution, this endorsement is the icing on the cake for this joke of a "progressive" organization.
DSA exists solely to cause chaos. They were a fledgling nationwide organization before Bernie Sanders ran his vanity campaign in 2016 and suddenly sparked renewed interest in the ideals of Democratic socialism, a form of government that every high school freshman loves before they actually study world and American history. DSA enrollment declined steadily throughout the Trump and Biden years and spiked again after the 2024 election. But even with current enrollments being the largest in the past 100 years, DSA has found itself in hot water, especially as it comes to increasing antisemitism throughout the organization. Starting with its October 9th, 2023, statement where it claimed Hamas' attacks were not unprovoked due to Israel's "apartheid regime," DSA made it clear that support for Israel and, therefore, Jewish candidates would be a dealbreaker in the weeks and months ahead. It got so severe that they even unendorsed golden child Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who had the gall to attend local events combating antisemitism and voted to continue to arm Israel against foreign terrorists. Eventually, DSA's endorsement questionnaires required candidates to commit to anti-Israel loyalty oaths, and several of its college chapters began organizing anti-Israel rallies. All of these acts combined helped earn DSA a spot on the Anti-Defamation League's website as an organization intentionally targeting the Jewish community. They let it be known far and wide that they were simply the latest far-left organization that was more than happy to use the tragic events of October 7th to implement its antisemitic agenda.
Yet for an organization allegedly dedicated to the principles of socialism, you'd think that a billionaire would be at the bottom of any sort of endorsement list. But with its endorsement of Steyer, we're seeing just how ideologically inconsistent the organization truly is. As much as DSA loves to talk about how "billionaires should not exist," in California, they found one who they believe furthers their aims as a fringe organization. Like Bernie Sanders swooping in at the last minute to "rescue" Zohran Mandami in New York City, DSA expects a similar outcome in California. They honestly can't understand the hypocrisy of the organization going all-in on both the statewide billionaire tax ballot initiative while simultaneously endorsing a billionaire for governor. DSA sees Steyer polling well, and they're making a gamble that he'll emerge from the crowded Democratic field to become the state's next governor. The fact that he was everything the organization supposedly hated less than one month ago has no importance. All that matters is that DSA needs a statewide win in California and sees Steyer as the best candidate to make that happen.
DSA has always been a joke in social justice circles, but this latest glaring hypocrisy should once and for all end the notion that they have any sort of consistent political ideology. The figureheads of their movement now include millionaire Bernie Sanders and billionaire Tom Steyer. Their long-festering antisemitism has finally risen to the surface over the past two years and has become clear for all to see. They're willing to cut ties with some of their most committed members, like AOC, simply because they aren't antisemitic enough. And while they enjoyed the temporary victory given to them by Zohran Mandami in New York City, they know they need a larger, statewide victory to legitimize themselves on the national stage. Fortunately, as we've seen from them throughout their history, they have terrible political instincts. A Tom Steyer endorsement is a huge gamble and one that can very well backfire in their face come June 2nd. Should Steyer lose, DSA will once again have a huge egg on its face for having completely undermined everything a socialist organization should stand for, all to try and be on the winning team in California.
And all of us will once again laugh at the complete incompetence of this fleeting far-left organization.