For a very long time, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has billed itself as a worker-oriented movement that is entirely devoted to fighting “for reforms that empower working people.”
The DSA’s website, social media accounts, and suave influencers all parrot the message that the DSA is “an organization of, by, and for the working class.”
To some degree, the narrative that the “DSA is for the workers” must be resonating because DSA candidates are winning in places like Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Perhaps many gullible, uninformed voters noticed that the DSA’s official policy platform is called the Workers Deserve More Program and thus concluded it must be worker friendly.
In today’s hyper-stimulating, screen-filled society, wherein most people rarely dig deep into issues and policies, I would not put it out of the realm of possibility that a huge number of people have been misled into believing that the DSA and workers are copacetic.
I don’t doubt that workers like public school teachers, professors, and community organizers are pro-DSA. Surely, social justice cottage industries such as DEI, CRT, ESG, MMT, etc. are loyal adherents.
But I do doubt that America’s vast array of highly skilled and very street-smart blue-collar workers like pipefitters, electricians, and welders, just to name a few, support DSA candidates with similar fidelity.
As polls prove, there is a stark difference between leftist white-collar workers and moderate blue-collar workers when it comes to the DSA simply because the DSA’s Workers Deserve More Program would literally wreak destruction upon blue-collar communities.
Sadly, many white-collar workers have been miseducated into believing that America is morally awful, capitalism is horrible, the Constitution sucks, racism is systemic, and they unwittingly serve at the mercy of a secret Oligarchy.
Even if a white-collar worker who leans left believes none of that, the DSA is offering him or her all sorts of “free” stuff, including college loan debt forgiveness.
For many white-collar workers with a leftist disposition who are drowning in college loan debt and feel they can never afford to buy a home, the DSA’s “free” stuff courtesy of the billionaires is quite enticing.
Plus, the DSA is ardently anti-data center and skeptical on AI, which means young, white-collar workers who may be afraid that their jobs are in jeopardy are more likely to support the DSA, which they do.
On its face, this seems like it could be a powerful “worker” coalition.
However, without widespread support from the tens of millions of workers who do not occupy offices, the DSA’s “worker” movement is a mere paper tiger.
The reason I am confident most blue-collar workers will continue to outright reject the DSA’s Workers Deserve More nonsense is because of self-preservation and the recent loss of DSA candidate Francesca Hong in Wisconsin.
By self-preservation, I strongly believe that most working-class families do not support abolishing ICE, enacting reparations, fully abolishing the police and prison system, defunding the Department of War, abolishing the Senate, abolishing the Electoral College, and replacing “the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.”
My intuition also tells me that working-class families probably aren’t in favor of a universal basic income regardless of one’s desire to work, a “democratic transition to a green future” with “no use of fossil fuels,” or “public ownership of the largest corporations.”
Under basic scrutiny, the DSA’s Workers Deserve More Program is anathema to America’s real workers.
As for Hong’s defeat in Wisconsin, this factoid explains it all: Hong carried Dane County, the largest county in the state, and home to white-collar Madison, by 7.8 percent. But she lost blue-collar Milwaukee County, the second most populous county, by 1.6 percent.
Had Hong performed in Milwaukee, like she did in Madison, where the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus is located, she would have sailed to victory.
On the other hand, she did run against Joe Crowley, who currently serves as Milwaukee County Executive. Suffice to say, Hong had an uphill climb in Milwaukee for several reasons.
Even though Hong lost to her moderate foe, the final tally was super close. Crowley received 315,308 whereas Hong fell short with 311,512.
While many normal Americans who understand the depravity that socialism brings are breathing a big sigh of relief that Hong lost, I would not take solace yet.
Considering that DSA goddess AOC recently admitted that “woke 1.0 was crazy,” I would not be surprised if the DSA jettisons the “crazy” stuff and doubles-down on popular policies like Medicare for All and slogans like make housing more affordable.
If the DSA dumps the “crazy” and pivots to the “normal,” with a laser-like focus on Medicare for All and the price of groceries and housing, which is what AOC seems to be fostering, the DSA’s hostile takeover of the Democratic Party could come soon.
Whether the DSA shifts its political posture and messaging in the future in a quest to score political points with workers means nothing.
The bottom line is that the DSA seeks to impose a neo-Marxist agenda that will indeed unite the workers as slaves to the state.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.