Democratic Socialists Stage a Summertime Comeback
Relatively few in number, the organization and its candidates have made a mark in midterm elections
By David Weigel
It has been a good summer for the Democratic Socialists of America.
On June 20, members of its Metro District of Columbia branch confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a Mexican restaurant downtown, chasing her out and making national news.
Six days later, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrestled the Democratic House nomination away from Rep. Joseph Crowley, N.Y., becoming an instant political star, crisscrossing the country to boost other candidates and talking up “democratic socialism” on late-night TV.
Three days after her win, the Los Angeles City Council approved a ballot measure that would create a public bank, to replace Wall Street banks and payday loan centers with something accountable to voters — a cause that the city’s two growing DSA chapters had helped to pull from obscurity.
DSA, founded in 1982 and nearly moribund before 2016, has never had more adherents or more clout. It’s not a political party, although members are often asked if it is. It’s not directing the Democratic Party’s agenda, but rather is the most visible and…
