On October 8th the National Political Committee (NPC) held a national call of DSA elected leaders to discuss strategy for election day. The discussion was anchored around a strategy document written by the NPC and is part of a series of calls the they are holding with chapter leaders to prepare for November.
But while the call was intended to prepare DSA chapter leaders for a variety of outcomes going into the 2020 election, personally I left it feeling unsettled and worried that rather than clarity, what we got instead were mixed messages and more confusion about what lays ahead of us and how chapters should act.
The initiative of hosting organized calls with chapter leaders to get them thinking about deeper strategic questions around the election is an excellent one by the NPC. It isn’t something past NPCs have really done before and its a critical exercise (not to mention a lot of work) the NPC should be given much credit for devoting time and effort to. But the specifics of the strategy leave a lot to be desired and its worth a deeper look at what exactly they are directing members attention to.
The problems begin with the document itself. The scenarios it lays out strike a bizarre tone, both fixating on the threat of violence in the wake of the election, and also for some reason impressing on chapters that they should somehow see themselves or their actions as the main bulwark against this violence.
(Note: National has circulated a more detailed internal memo from the NPC which is what was discussed on the October 8th call, which I am not linking here. Instead I am including a different version, which National has made public. The portions quoted below are identical in both documents.)
The meat of the NPC document lays out three potential scenarios for election day and what chapters ought to prepare for. In the first sentence of Scenario 1 (Biden wins and Trump concedes) they write, “In the event of this outcome, we will need to be prepared for right-wing street violence to express frustration about their candidate not winning.” In Scenario 2 (Trump wins), again the first sentence is, “In the event of this outcome, we will probably see an increase in hate crimes and other targeted violence similar to what happened in 2016.” Scenario 3 (Biden wins but Trump refuses to step down) as well says “[t]he question then becomes - who among our informal and formal allies will brave mass mobilizations that will probably end up toe-to-toe with armed right-wingers itching for an excuse to go to war for their President?”
It would be one thing for right-wing violence to be one aspect in an array of outcomes, but the document feels like it focuses on little else. Given this fixation it is even more confusing that the NPC repeatedly calls on DSA chapters to be “defending democracy at every turn” as our central task, and presents chapters role as some sort of vanguard in this coming struggle for democracy.
[It’s] imperative that DSA lead a coalition of the willing into that fight, despite the unknowns. Based on the huge public outcry after feds began snatching people into unmarked vans in Portland (alongside constant necessary reminders that this has been de facto foundational immigration policy since day 1 for Trump and Miller), and the resulting bipartisan pushback, it’s relatively safe to assume that huge numbers of unorganized people would pour into the streets should Trump refuse to acknowledge the results of an election - even if he were to try and blame vote-by-mail fraud or other scapegoats. If DSA chapters begin strategically engaging in serious coalition-building efforts right now- prioritizing militant rank-and-file led unions; hyperlocal organizations that are in touch with community networks and bases with deep roots; and other formations that are truly democratic in nature and not likely to be swayed by foundation funding or the national policy objectives of the Democrat-adjacent consultant cartel; then, they can move extremely quickly to consolidate power and leadership on that local level if we enter a situation as dangerously fluid as the outcome here.
Where even to begin. Let’s start with the obvious. As an elected officer of a chapter, under no circumstances would I ever use this sort of language when talking about the lives and safety of our members. I would be extremely careful about intimating to members that they should be readying themselves to go “toe-to-toe with armed right-wingers itching for an excuse to go to war for their President.”
Even if I believed that generalized street warfare was the most likely outcome, I would not be invoking the rhetoric of some sort of final conflict between us and the army of darkness.
Second, lets unpack this idea that “If DSA chapters begin strategically engaging in serious coalition-building efforts right now…then they can move extremely quickly to consolidate power and leadership on that local level.”
DSA is relatively small. We have a relatively shallow social weight (though this is changing), and the capacity and core strength of chapters can vary wildly. Some chapters are struggling to develop consistent patters of activity, meeting schedules, and so on—and as many more are still working to find some sort of breakthrough in navigating the delicate process of building trust with outside organizations.
The idea the NPC presents that chapters should now be preparing to somehow parachute in to community groups and unions and then, somehow, consolidate these disparate groups under our own leadership comes off as very bizarre. How is such an approach even actionable for the overwhelming majority of chapters?
From the discussions I heard on the October 8th call, the issues chapters were struggling with were far more bread and butter than all that. How do we set up reliable communication between our members? How do we get the jump on mutual aid networks that can help support communities in crisis? How do we make sure our members and our communities are safe? Of course these are exactly the sorts of questions members should be asking and trying to work through in this crucial period, rather than how we can somehow consolidate the movement against Trump under our own leadership as civil warfare rips through the nation.
Let’s be really frank here. If the election breaks down into chaos, there is going to be very little DSA chapters will be able to do to influence events, even on a local level. In Metro DC we learned this from experiance. Over the summer when the George Floyd protests broke out, Trump used the opportunity to crack down on protesters and effectively invade Washington D.C.. He had basically a free hand to do this because D.C. is a territory and not a state and has been denied it’s basic rights to the same level of sovereignty principally for racist and political reasons.
When this happened, our chapter attempted to take very similar steps to what the NPC calls for here, even publishing a press release that called for an end of the occupation. As far as I’m aware it wasn’t really picked up by media, nor was it circulated much in the moment. We did indeed also attempt to reach out to and coordinate with local organizations such as Black Lives Matter DMV. The reality however was that though we had good pre-existing relationships with many of these groups, they were all being swarmed with requests and messages and their capacity to coordinate with groups like us was extremely limited, especially as their members—like our own—were taking to the streets to defend the movement for Black lives.
So instead we focused a great deal of our attention and effort on trying to ensure the safety of our members and establishing reliable communication within our own organization. The Steering Committee set up dedicated channels of trusted and vetted comrades, with some reporting from on the ground and other staying at home to monitor events from afar. We published daily updates on actions going on in the city, and made some effort to make recommendations to our members which ones they should attend by assessing the credibility of the organizations calling them and their projected safety. We developed a plan for jail support should any of our members get arrested and gave members guidelines on what to do if arrests took place and vetting any outside organizations we were directing them to beforehand. As our operations improved, we even made some effort organize safe houses in areas of the district should events turn to where we would need them.
It wasn’t until almost weeks later that we were actually in a place where we ourselves could call a rally around the demand to defund the police. Though we started discussing the idea of hosting an event very early, it was extremely difficult to tell if we were acting too quickly or too slowly in the moment. It seemed like every day at every public landmark in the city an action was being called, and we were consumed by the job of just making sure the information going around was credible and making sure our members were safe. And while we were able to forge longer-term partnerships with local organizations that we still maintain, the prospect of somehow “consolidating power and leadership on that local level” in that moment was a total fantasy.
The truth is that even though we had a lot going for us, we simply were not anchored enough to play the sort of commanding role the document calls for. It is very much our earnest ambition to become the sort of mass organization that can play such a role in events. But the path to doing so is to be sober, especially with one another, about the challenges on that path and seriously confronting them. We have to—to borrow the document’s quote of Amilcar Cabral—tell no lies and claim no easy victories. The same perhaps cannot be said for the strategy presented in the NPC’s document.
Protests will happen if it appears that Trump has any credible ability to hold on to power. But the most likely outcome in such an event isn’t that you as a DSA leader will be calling the shots. It’s far more likely that you will be in constant danger of losing control of the situation all together, as you are swarmed with emails, phone calls, and texts, both from members and other organizations. All of this can be compounded as you yourself are likely still trying to process what the fuck is even going on.
If a chapter prepares well, stays focused and disciplined, opportunities can open up to punch above our weight and act. But rather than barrel forward regardless of circumstances, we’d be better served to focus on organizing ourselves so we can even be prepared to act in the first place. And when, if, an opportunity presents itself, we should leap on it.
So how should chapters prepare for election day? I’ll suggest a few ideas for comrades to consider.
Prepare for what you can actually control. There’s nothing wrong with reaching out to partner organizations if you have those connections, but many chapters simply do not. In many places I would wager DSA is the beginning and the end of the left in their town, aside from a few conservative unions and an Indivisible chapter (no hate). Regardless, you should focus on what you can actually control when election day hits. For example, have a text tree in place. Make many, small, text groups that all have at least one steering designated coordinator and the rest being rank-and-file members. I say small because a group of 5-10 people is much more manageable than one of 100-200 random members, especially if chaos is breaking out. Then, have a separate core group of just the chapter leaders and other trusted coordinators so you can have a reliable central hub of information going at all times.
Make a plan for how you are going to stay in touch with members that decide they want to be poll watchers or go out to actions. Talk to the members who don’t feel safe going out about doing remote support, like monitoring social media for news about protesters and police activity, and making calls if jail support is needed. Have some sort of check-in system in place so you can know when all your members are home safe at the end of each day.
None of this precludes, by the way, the potential for DSA chapters to play some sort of galvanizing role in local events, especially if we have an action infrastructure in place that other organizations simply didn’t think about or aren’t built for. But I think we’re much more likely to assume that role by being the most disciplined and prepared people in the room, rather than simply painting the right slogan on a banner or sending the right email.
DSA100K, or course. At its core, DSA100K is an internal organizing campaign. It requires organization to get your members to sign the 100K pledge. It requires organization to train members how to ask people they know to join. It requires organization to follow up with pledge signers about following through. And it definitely requires organization to know what the hell to do with all these new people when all is set and done.
It challenges us, and requires us to be uncomfortable and uncertain and to try new things to get the job done. Its a rising tide that raises all ships when it comes to chapter work. That level of organization and skills are easily transferable to any area of work your chapter pursues. And the discipline and cohesion needed to carry it out will absolutely be necessary to get ready for any election day scenario were tight coordination will be needed. Better to find out now where your own organization is lacking than in the midst of large scale protest.
On a final note, the obvious should be stated. There is a 4th scenario which the NPC document does not mention, which is potentially staring us directly in the face: that the election gets called for Biden before 10:30 at night. That its an absolute blowout, and Trump has no credible means to call the election into question at all. That the sectors of the ruling class which see Trump and the far right as a dangerous destabilizing factor to the interests of capital act quickly to remove him as soon as the opportunity arises to credibly do so. This is—at the absolute bare minimum—as likely as any other scenario the NPC has laid out.
Its omission begs the question of whether DSA chapters are prepared for this outcome as well. That we could be dealing with —not a a feeling of counter-insurgency—but of of relief and jubilation and a hope that things can finally “return to normal”? Are DSA chapters prepared to act in a scenario where the order of the day is not for us to charge forward, but to use the moment to consolidate what we have for the work ahead? Is National prepared for that? In this context our approach will need to be somewhat different and require consideration of unique factors. Over the past 5 years DSA has been largely defined as being the pro-Bernie anti-Trump socialists, are we prepared to define ourselves as something different, perhaps something more?
Without question, chapter leaders should be thinking now about how they will respond in November and the opportunity the NPC has offered members to have these sorts of discussions is an important one. We should keep hold of a sober approach to these discussions and be prepared to push the boundaries of what is politically possible, no matter who is in the White House.