441
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejoins DSA after membership lapse of seven years
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2026
441 points (97.8% liked)
politics
31043 readers
3080 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles. Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to US politics and contain quality and original content. Social Media adjacent hosts like Substack are allowed, but ONLY if they tie back to a company/subsidiary. No personal or friend group blogs and no self-promotion. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and re-hosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing other users of being bots or paid actors.
- No memes, trolling, misinformation, or low-effort posts/comments (including reposts). If you see posts like this that anger you, do not engage. Report, block, and live a happier life than they do. Any slap-fight is subject to comment removals. Fights full of rule violations will result in temporary bans to cool off.
- No manipulating votes via bots or alt accounts; this will result in permanent bans. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in an account ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be permanently banned.
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules and use critical thinking when reading, posting, and commenting. Users that repeatedly have comments or posts removed, weaponize reports, or violate the code of conduct, will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users. The reason(s) behind moderator action(s) are publicly available through the Modlog.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The DSA didn't "notice" anything. They've known the whole time. She left the DSA to join the Democratic party because the Democratic party was the only way to get elected anywhere. Because they had such a stranglehold on the "left wing" of our political system. What changed is that's no longer the case. The Democratic party is falling to shit because of the centrists who are basically Republicans at this point. So she is leaving that party and going back to the DSA and solidifying her position there because like her we all need to abandon the Democratic party and embrace Democratic socialism.
I'd love a source for this claim.
The DSA is a political organization, not a political party. They do not run candidates. They do endorse people.
If you are DSA and run for office, you run as a Democrat or Independent or whatever else.
So this is two strikes against you knowing what you're talking about.
You are ignorant of what the DSA actually is.
I support the DSA because they are the most progressive organization out there, and they are actually getting support, so I feel my support of them increases the visibility and support for progressive ideas. And I am not afraid of the word "socialism", and if "democratic socialism" takes off and helps us get human rights, social safety nets, and all the other things, I'm all for it.
That said, most people who are running for office who affiliate with the DSA will be running as....... wait for it.......... Democrats.
Including AOC.
So please go do a little research.
DSA isn't a party though
DSA is not a party. That's part of the reason it's unable to discipline elected officials . . . which is one reason that AOC is able to do nonsense like "working tirelessly for a ceasefire" and find no reprecussion from the org.
But nobody leaves DSA to join the Democrats. Most DSA members ARE registered Democrats, especially in closed primary states.
Explain how that's nonsense? It's not like she has the power to actually solve it
Stating that the Biden administration, which controls the weapons going to Israel, is "working ceaselessly for a ceasefire" is nonsense because they could have forced one any time they chose.
In fact, they were legally required not to provide arms to a genocide.
AOC didn't have to give them cover. But she did. DSA, meanwhile, can't do shit about her doing that.
I'm as left wing as they get but I wont support the closest American political group with a chance at getting representation in government. In fact, I'll actively denigrate and discourage others from supporting them too. That'll unlock the future I claim to want!
Better add the 'sarcasm' symbol. I've seen plenty of folks say pretty much the exact same thing unironically
Here's a history lesson.
Frederick Douglas was an escaped slave. In 1860 he was a famous speaker who had a lot of influence even though he himself couldn't vote. He had a choice; support the Abolition candidate who had virtually no chance of winning the election, or throw his support behind Abe Lincoln. Lincoln's position was that saving the Union was more important than freeing the slaves.
Douglas chose Lincoln. He figured that it was better to have an actual win and be able to talk to the President, than it was to lose and be out in the cold.
I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment.
You call yourself an 'anarchist' and then get on other people for cosplaying?
I'm not upset that you don't like unjust hierarchies, I'm amused that you picked the silliest possible way to express it.
And I did in fact answer your question. It's not my fault you didn't understand it.
Back in the Spanish Civil War the anarchist troops happily took orders and worked with other groups in a bigger cause.
Reread what I wrote and really think about it.
Here’s a history lesson.
Frederick Douglas was an escaped slave. In 1860 he was a famous speaker who had a lot of influence even though he himself couldn’t vote. He had a choice; support the Abolition candidate who had virtually no chance of winning the election, or throw his support behind Abe Lincoln. Lincoln’s position was that saving the Union was more important than freeing the slaves.
Douglas chose Lincoln. He figured that it was better to have an actual win and be able to talk to the President, than it was to lose and be out in the cold.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostensible
I don't think that word means what you think it means.
And I consider myself extremely mature and thoughtful in not using a meme.
You used 'be' instead of 'me'
Were you trying to be funny?
And exactly when did I claim to represent the DSA in any way?
You wanted a reason why you should ally yourself with others.
I showed you twice that an imperfect ally who can get things done is better than a perfect ally who can't do anything.
But yes, take the W if it means that much to you.
Congratulations, you won an interwebs argument with a stranger. You've done so much for your cause I can't even imagine it.
I don't care what you do because I'm positive it's going to be inconsequential and ineffective.
Woke 1 was crazy, amirite 😜
And let's continue funding Israel's Iron Dome, so that nobody in the region can retaliate 😊
Yes I'm glad they're winning more elections this year but it really has more to do with anti-Trump, anti-tech feelings and progressive messaging than the DSA itself. They have some stupid out of touch nonsense on their website that just provides fodder to use against their candidates.
If I ran as a progressive I'm not sure I'd affiliate with them.
DSA is the field, not the team. If you're left wing, you go there because that's where you can find left wing people to organize.
The DSA didn't originate that slogan, and it was originally "Defund, disarm, disband the police." Anyway, how can anyone "seize the levers of power" without changing anything about how policing works in this country?
Also, taking over the Democratic Party from the inside is literally the DSA's stated goal. Why are you so mad at them? They agree with you on this one!
Of course you support entryism. How unthinkable is it for you people that maybe your police doesn't need military equipment?
That's been the strategy for 10 years, since Bernie's first run.
How's that working?
I'm not knocking the DSA, but the idea of a left-wing takeover of the Democratic Party is less applicable than ever. Unlike 2016, the centrist Dems are well aware of the threat to their left - and it's obvious, that's the ONLY thing they're determined to stop. Which is why they're currently spending their time attacking Hassan Piker and anyone else opposing the genocide in Gaza, not Donald Trump.
Any victory you find in the Democratic Party will be pyrric at best, imho. By the time you defeat these people, what will be left?
How can you say it doesn't work when that's literally what maga did?
it hasn't worked with the Democratic party. That's what happened in 2016 . . . the Dems were able to stop the revolt from the wing, the GOP was not. Now the GOP is MAGA, and the Bernie wing is contained.
There's a few reasons for that - one of which is that the GOP process is not as controlled, and another is that the Dems were smarter than the GOP, which had already seen its leadership wounded from the Tea Party.
The Dems didn't show that. After losing to an insane gameshow host in 2016, their leadership remained identical in 2018 and 2020. There wasn't even window dressing changes. And 2020 saw the center and party establishment firmly not only win (Biden over Bernie), but use that to systematically lock out the left. Why do you think the first primary was moved to South Carolina, a state which will NEVER go for the Dems in the general?