by ERIC LONDON
On May 26, Jacobin’s Liza Featherstone published an article claiming that Democratic Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was helping to inspire a socialist movement against corporate power by endorsing the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA’s) slate of 13 candidates for New York state office.
In an article titled “AOC Is Endorsing the Full Slate of New York Democratic Socialist State Candidates,” Featherstone writes, “AOC’s endorsement reflected solidarity with NYC-DSA’s platform and movement, against the forces of capitalism and reaction both inside and outside the Democratic Party.”
The article is a public relations ploy aimed at resurrecting Ocasio-Cortez and the DSA’s failing image as “socialist.” Ocasio-Cortez and many official DSA accounts tweeted the Jacobin article almost immediately upon publication.
At this point, the claim that anything Ocasio-Cortez and the DSA do is “against the forces of capitalism and reaction” is downright embarrassing.
In mid-May, Ocasio-Cortez and all DSA members of Congress voted to send $40 billion in military aid to arm the fascist militias in Ukraine, to train Ukrainian soldiers and police, to house American soldiers throughout Europe and to replenish US missiles, tanks and other weapons. The vote brings two nuclear armed powers, the United States and Russia, closer to a shooting war than at any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Ocasio-Cortez and the DSA members of Congress voted to spend such massive sums of money to pursue the geostrategic interests of Wall Street amid mass social suffering at home. In AOC’s own district, which is comprised of parts of the Bronx and Queens, poverty is rampant, and workers are struggling to survive the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the rising cost of living. A gallon of gas in her congressional district costs $5.00 in large part due to the war she has voted to endorse. One cannot claim to fight “against the forces of capitalism” at home while doing their bidding abroad.
Featherstone and Jacobin present the DSA slate as the spearhead of socialism, but the DSA recipients of Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement are not opponents of imperialist war. For the most part, their campaign websites and official Twitter accounts ignore the danger of nuclear war and refuse to condemn the US-NATO role in the proxy war against Russia.
In March, the New York Times attempted to ask members of the DSA New York slate what their views on the war are and the results were telling. After citing one DSA candidate’s statement that “NATO is one of the primary lines of defense that we have to address Russian aggression towards Ukraine,” the Times wrote:
Many other New York City officials aligned with D.S.A.—some of whom have weighed in often on other national and international issues in the past—were far more circumspect.
“Thanks for reaching out, but our campaign has no comment on that,” emailed Stephen Wood, a spokesman for Brooklyn State Senate candidate David Alexis, on Wednesday.
Other elected officials who declined to comment or did not return requests for comment included Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; State senators Julia Salazar and Jabari Brisport; and Assembly members Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Marcela Mitaynes and Phara Souffrant Forrest. Nor did Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, of Brooklyn, agree to comment.
“If you’d like to write about all electric buildings act, LLC disclosure legislation, or any of my other work as a legislator I’d be happy to talk,” Ms. Gallagher said.
All the candidates referenced here are among the 13 individuals Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed. Such fecklessness is to be expected of Democratic Party politicians like those the DSA hopes to send to Albany.
Featherstone has long used her Jacobin column to promote the “left” bona fides of various right-wing capitalist politicians. In January, she wrote an article titled “New York Democratic Socialists Are Playing the Long Game,” which went so far as to praise Democratic leaders like Senator Charles Schumer and Governor Kathy Hochul.
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