The DSA Has Never Believed That “The Democratic Party Is Its Voters”
That started on Tuesday
The Democratic Party is in a weird spot: In some very blue parts of the country, the party banner is carried by people who are sworn enemies of the Democratic Party. And if you think that characterization is hyperbole, you may have missed the DSA’s own rhetoric, DSA supporters chanting “YOU’RE NEXT!” to Hakeem Jeffries, or this message from Hasan Piker to Ritchie Torres of New York’s 15th congressional district:
I’m struggling to think of ways that that is different from this:
This would be a lot less weird if the DSA didn’t define itself as a movement distinct from the Democratic Party, or if the DSA stopped bashing Democrats even after they win the nomination, or if they’d stop talking about the Democratic Party like it’s a splinter group that broke away from the Schutzstaffel for being too left-wing. If it this was just some pretty-darned-left-wing folks winning primaries, well…that happens sometimes. Once you accept that voters, not parties, pick nominees — and I do accept that, even though I see all the problems with that system — you’ve accepted that “the party” is whoever voters say it is. The voters get to choose even if they chose a hate-filled dipshit who isn’t fit to clean the toilet on a Bolt Bus, which they often do.
