The Stunning Rise of the Democratic Socialists of America

DSA's recent primary election victories0:32

Democratic socialists have won multiple congressional and mayoral primaries across the country, including in New York, Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida, signaling a major shift in the Democratic Party. Polls show two in three Democrats now view socialism favorably, giving the DSA a stronger brand than congressional Democrats.

Early 20th century American socialist movement5:59

The Socialist Party of America peaked in the early 1900s under Eugene V. Debs, who won up to six percent of the presidential vote by advocating public control of the economy for workers. The movement declined after Debs was imprisoned for opposing WWI, internal factional splits, and FDR's New Deal co-opting many socialist economic policies.

FDR's New Deal co-opted socialist ideas9:19

FDR implemented policies like federal employment programs and Social Security that mirrored socialist proposals, effectively stealing the movement's thunder while framing them as capitalist reforms. He explicitly rejected the socialist label to distance his agenda from the Soviet Union and communism, which had made socialism appear foreign and threatening.

DSA's founding and Bernie Sanders' impact13:56

Michael Harrington founded the DSA in the early 1980s when socialism was deeply unpopular, and it remained a small intellectual society until Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Sanders' self-identification as a democratic socialist and focus on wealth inequality and Medicare for All triggered a massive membership surge, dropping the median age from 68 to 33.

DSA's electoral breakthroughs and internal factions19:32

• Charlie Homanassertion

  DSA has two main factions: one that contests elections on the Democratic ballot line and another that prioritizes labor unions and street protests.

AOC's relationship with DSA platform29:23

AOC is polarizing within the DSA because her congressional compromises and less unequivocal stance on Israel-Palestine conflict with the organization's demand for strict candidate discipline. National DSA leadership is split on whether to support a potential AOC presidential run, reflecting the broader tension between pragmatic electoral politics and ideological purity.

DSA's radical platform proposals25:44

The DSA's national platform includes familiar progressive policies like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, alongside more radical proposals such as abolishing the police, prisons, and the U.S. Senate. The Senate abolition stems from a commitment to a more responsive 'working-class democracy,' viewing the institution as structurally unrepresentative.

Democratic Party's response to DSA23:00

• Gavin Newsomopinion

  The Democratic Party should welcome the DSA into its coalition to capture energized younger voters.

• Democratic moderatesopinion

  The DSA is parasitic because it only wins safely blue districts and cannot help the party secure congressional majorities.

• Republicansopinion

  The DSA's radical platform, including abolishing prisons, is a massive liability that will destroy the Democratic Party's electoral chances.

DSA's potential presidential candidacy43:32

A strong DSA-backed presidential candidate could normalize socialist ideas for the general public, similar to how FDR, Reagan, and Trump mainstreamed their respective movements. However, this could also trigger a referendum that either acclimatizes voters to socialism or permanently damages the Democratic Party's brand if the label remains unpopular.

DSA's comparison to Tea Party and MAGA42:10

The DSA is compared to the Tea Party for its insurgent primary challenges and to MAGA for its potential to eventually consume the host party. Unlike the Tea Party, which quickly won dozens of seats, or MAGA, which had Donald Trump as a unifying leader, the DSA lacks a single national figure to wrangle its factions and has yet to prove it can flip competitive seats.