Organize in the face of election results; locals brace for fascists' return to DC; DMV-area election reportback and more ...
This is the weekly newsletter of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA), which is produced by local members of the chapter's Publications Working Group. The Weekly Update publishes every Friday at 9am.
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
UP FRONT
Fight the right, build the left: MDC DSA statement on election results
On November 6, Metro DC DSA issued the following statement on the presidential election results:
“In the face of rising fascism and the looming Donald Trump presidency, we must continue to build an organized, working-class movement to fight back.
The next four years will be difficult. We face an unprecedented era as Trump plans to install MAGA loyalists in the federal government, strip away abortion, trans rights, and bodily autonomy, round up and deport millions of immigrants, imprison political enemies, gut labor rights, fuel climate chaos, and push forward policies that continue bloating the billionaire class. In the Metro DC area, we face unique threats with attacks on federal labor unions and federal employees, attacks on DC’s already-restricted local government, increased surveillance of DC residents, and more.
The Democratic establishment and consultant class have failed us, abandoning their base and leaning towards billionaire donors and conservative rhetoric trying to pit marginalized communities against each other. We must respond with solidarity and provide an alternative to these two visions. We will continue the fight to build working-class power at the state and local level and win the world we deserve.
We have a moral obligation to be relentless. We have a duty to be effective.”
NOW IS THE TIME TO GET ORGANIZED:On November 16 from 1 to 3pm, the chapter plans to unpack and reflect on these results, discuss the impact the incoming Trump administration will have on the DMV area and DSA in general, and learn about specific campaigns you can get involved with. A campaigns fair will follow the discussion, where attendees can chat with different organizers about how to get involved and continue the fight to organize a multiracial working-class movement. Members and non-members alike are invited to attend.Register here.
Trump wins presidential race — fascists plot return to Washington as locals brace for impact
Unpleasant overseas prognosis reported by The Economist: “Fascism has won,” wrote Nontobeko Hlela in the Mail & Guardian, aSouth Africannewspaper. It is “what Americans want. ... Let Trump help the US reach rock bottom,” Hlela implored, “let the insidious infection that is everything that Trump stands for be given free rein, then perhaps the disease will run its course and the cloud will lift.”
Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States. By narrow margins, Trump was able to sweep all seven swing states in play. The culprit appears to be lackluster Democratic turnout, so fragile that some typically safe Democratic states — such as New Jersey, New Mexico and Virginia — were, at least briefly, too close to call on election night. Trump is on a path to receive less votes this year than he did in 2020. However, the numbers (at time of writing) show that Democrats failed to turn out the millions of votes that provided the party healthy margins in the 2020 presidential race, giving a Republican the chance to win the popular vote for the first time in decades.
VP Harris’s 2024 campaign chose to center neocons, warhawks and celebrity billionaires, seeming to craft a message designed for right-leaning suburbanites. But Harris underperformed 2020 margins in nearly every state, even as some socialists and progressive ballot measures ran up higher margins. That included in deep-red states: Voters in Alaska and Missouri approved ballot measures that will raise minimum wages to $15 an hour and require employers to let workers accrue at least five sick days. Nebraska voters voted to require employers to provide workers with earned paid sick leave, and Arizona voters rejected a business-backed measure that would have lowered base wages for employees who earn tips.
Political conditions are still fuzzy. Assuming Republicans don’t excise the filibuster, the Senate will still need 60 votes for significant moves. Control of the House is still in the air at time of writing and will be close (could be a one-seat margin); it’s likely to come down to too-close-to call races in California and Arizona. Final results are expected over the weekend, but locals are wasting no time in preparing a defense against Trump rule. Last night in DC, hundreds of District residents convened the Defend DC Coalition, which is planning to resist Trump’s authoritarian rule and defend DC from any threats to self-determination. Future updates will cover the evolution of this local coalition. Stay tuned, stay tough.
DC, Maryland and Virginia side with Democrats in federal races despite depressed turnout
DC, Maryland and Virginia all swung confidently for Harris/Walz, as Trump’s fascist surge largely failed to upend Democrats in other races downballot.
In DC, DSA-endorsed Councilmember and chapter member Janeese Lewis George was reelected to represent Ward 4 on the DC Council, winning over 96% of the vote. District residents also voted overwhelmingly for ballot Initiative 83 (72-27), which directs the DC Council to adopt a ranked-choice voting and open-primary system for local elections in DC. (This will still have to be funded and implemented by the Council.) District voters produced no significant upsets — all standing members of the DC Council were reelected with broad margins. Voters did elect a new shadow senator in Ankit Jain, who has vowed to lead a progressive and aggressive defense of DC’s right to self-governance.
In Maryland, along with six other states, abortion access won. (However, The Guardian reports Americans stockpile abortion pills and hormones ahead of ‘reproductive apocalypse’ under Trump — healthcare providers report unprecedented demand for reproductive and gender-affirming medications: “We’ve never seen this before.”) Angela Alsobrooks (D) won against former Governor Larry Hogan in a Senate race that was far closer than anticipated (52-45). There were few surprises out of Montgomery County, although residents voted in favor (68-32) of imposing term-limits on the Montgomery County executive. The Initiative was backed by local GOP and developer networks as a way to constrain popular County Executive Marc Elrich, a close ally of tenants and workers in Montgomery County.
In Northern Virginia, the Democrats’ liberal coalition largely held but at margins far tighter than expected. Harris clinched by a much narrower margin (51-46) this year than Biden did in 2020. Depressed turnout in Northern Virginia stemming from Democrats’ support for Israel was clear (the area includes one of the densest populations of progressives, socialists, immigrants and Muslims in the state). Liberal incumbent Tim Kaine, however, beat out his Republican opponent by a larger margin. In local Northern Virginia elections, boilerplate liberals confidently held their ground against conservatives and suburban populists. Some good news from Richmond: Richmond DSA made their first electoral breakthrough in electing socialist Kenya Gibson to the city council — unseating an incumbent in the process.
BRIEFS
History of Police Violence walking tour on November 17
What does “safety” mean in a city where selling food, being unhoused, wearing a mask during a pandemic or protesting police violence or genocide are met with violence from the very group that many believe is supposed to keep us safe? Join the Abolition Working Group on Sunday, November 17 at 1pm to explore downtown DC sites of historical and recent police violence, led by our incredible speakers Afeni Evans, Alec Karakatsanis, Derecka Purnell, Qiana Johnson, and Vendedores Unidos. Kicking off at Black Lives Matter Plaza, the walking tour will explore how police, prisons and carceral logic are used to put forward an idea of “safety” that in practice only makes life even harder for DC residents with the least access to resources. The tour will also dive into alternative visions for the abolition of police and prisons, to build the city we deserve where we keep ourselves and our neighbors truly safe. Sign up for the walking tour here.
Special meeting on Tuesday, November 19: PG County Council special election candidate Q&A and endorsement debate
Metro DC DSA has received a request for endorsement in the special election to fill an anticipated open PG County Council seat. School board member Shayla Adams-Stafford submitted her endorsement questionnaire to the chapter two weeks ago, and the resolution to endorse Shayla was introduced last week.
On Tuesday, November 19 (RSVP here), there will be another meeting to conduct a Q&A session with the candidate, hold the second read of the endorsement resolution and debate on endorsement. Chapter members can submit Q&A questions here or ask questions live. After this, there will be a period for members to submit statements for or against endorsement that will appear on the ballot, and then ballots will be emailed to membership.
Metro DC DSA Book Exchange and Street Team at Wangari Gardens Fall Fest — Saturday, November 9 at 12pm
The Metro DC DSA Book Exchange and Street Team will be tabling at the annual Wangari Gardens Fall Fest tomorrow, Saturday, November 9 from 12 to 3pm. Bring a book to swap, take chapter lit, make your own pinback buttons, chat about democratic socialism, and learn how to connect everyday issues to chapter campaigns. Books from After the Storm will also be available for purchase. All are welcome to attend this family-friendly community event featuring food, crafts, music, and games at the corner of Kenyon St and Park Pl NW.
Stop Project Pipes (again!) — submit a comment by November 20
We Power DC and the Stop Project Pipes coalition have been organizing for months to stop Washington Gas’s Project Pipes in its tracks. And it’s working: Last spring, almost 200 comments from DC residents and activists helped get the Washington Gas Project Pipes 3 proposal rejected by the Public Service Commission. Now, Washington Gas is back with a "new" plan … but it’s really the same as ever: jack up your gas bill to fund their $12 billion Project Pipes and lock the District into methane gas with new infrastructure we don’t need. Because the utility is trying to improve its image, the company renamed the proposal “District SAFE,” even though we know the gas in those pipes is anything but. Take 30 seconds to send a comment to the PSC now to stop Washington Gas’s shady tactics to charge DC gas customers even more. Tell DC regulators to say NO to the misleadingly named “District SAFE” plan.
Join SOS to inform tenants of their rights in face of eviction — November 16
On Saturday, November 16 at 1:30pm, Metro DC DSA’s tenant organizing campaign, Stomp Out Slumlords, will be kicking off their monthly anti-eviction canvass. Every month, canvassing operations roll out to inform tenants facing eviction of their rights in court and legal options, and to solicit interest in organizing their building. The canvass will meet at L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station at the D Street exit at 1:30pm. All levels of experience are invited to attend: newer participants will have a quick training beforehand and be paired with someone more experienced for training. Following the canvass, the crew will meet at Sonny’s Pizza in Park View to debrief and socialize. RSVP here.
Chapter members holding town hall on anti-Zionism in the DSA — Sunday, November 10 at 2:30pm
As the chapter convention nears, the authors of resolution to be considered at local convention, “For an Anti-Zionist Metro DC DSA,” will be hosting a town hall on Sunday, November 10 at MLK Library at 2:30pm. Conveners will discuss the history of anti-Zionism in DSA, the specifics of this resolution and why they believe it is important. This town hall will be an opportunity for members to hear directly from the authors of the resolution and engage in debate and discussion around it — including support, doubts, concerns and opposition
Sign up here if you plan to attend; attendees are invited to bring other comrades to this discussion! All voices and perspectives are welcome.
Fundraising for Palestinian families and mutual aid — November 9 – 10
This weekend, MDC DSA members are joining with 200+ comrades around the world to fundraise for 100+ Palestinian families and 2 Palestinian-led mutual aid projects in Gaza. This fundraiser, which builds on a previous campaign that raised $106,000+ for 21 Palestinian families and a mutual aid project serving 3,500 members of a refugee camp, officially kicks off on Saturday, November 9 at 12pm, but you can donate early starting today via Venmo, PayPal or CashApp. For more details, visit comrade Elizabeth Tang’s Instagram or Twitter starting Saturday, November 9 at 12pm.
Tenants decry Rockville City’s so-called “housing stability” discussion — Monday, November 18 (wheatpasting TOMORROW, November 9)
Last summer, the Rockville City Council and mayor voted to end consideration of a rent stabilization policy for the city and instead hold a series of housing policy discussions. The final housing policy discussion on November 18 will focus on “housing stability” but will not include any consideration of rent stabilization. Rockville tenants and allies are decrying the council and mayor’s refusal to act on rent stabilization and plan to attend the hearing to make their disapproval known. RSVP for the session here.
In advance of the discussion, join the Montgomery County branch on November 9 (tomorrow) to wheatpaste around Rockville and get out the word about the hearing and the campaign; RSVP here. To learn more about this campaign, visit RockvilleRenters.org.
INFO ACCESS
Learn more about our local MDC DSA chapter — structure, campaigns and working groups, Night School, and reading groups — HERE. And live from our studio, Wednesday, November 20, 7 – 8pm, Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation (with Q&A). MDC DSA members: Join our all-member Slack for real-time info on working group and campaign events, convo, and inspiration. Email [email protected] with your most recent DSA dues receipt to get Slack access. Chapter members are also invited to read — and edit — MDC DSA’sinternal wiki. Email [email protected] to get set up, or ask in #helpdesk on Slack. Members are also invited to Steering’s recurring Ask Me Anything hours on Thursdays, including November 14, for instance.
MDC DSA Publications is information central for not only MDC DSA but the entire DMV left. #publications (our working group’s Slack channel) is always ready to onboard new socialist communicators. Weekly Updates like this one are scheduled and emailed on Fridays; current and past Updates are on the web here. Not subscribed? DSA member or not, sign up to get the Update here. Submit your Update suggestions or chapter political blog REDBUG tips to our tip line. The Washington Socialist, published since the 1970s, offers articles on a quarterly schedule; the Fall 2024 edition is now live and will be updated on a rolling basis. Check our archive to see what we write — and what you can write. Anyone, MDC DSA member or not, interested in contributing to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions to [email protected]. Get your socialist self on the record. Donate to our Comradery page if you would like to financially support socialist publishing in the DMV.
COMMUNITY BULLETIN
People v. Profit: Film about rent stabilization law in Prince George’s County and how it was won
The Monday, November 18 Reel & Meal film follows the affordable housing struggle in Prince George’s. People v. Profit is a 2024 documentary made by/with Councilmember Krystal Oriadha, who was a leader in the fight to secure control over landlord greed in the county’s law. Trailer is here. Film starts 7pm at the New Deal Cafe, 113 Centerway, Greenbelt, MD 20770; for remote attendance sign up here.
DC Guaranteed Income Coalition 4th Anniversary Celebration
On November 14, join the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition for a celebration of their fourth anniversary. They will have food, beverages, short films, reflections and storytelling. RSVP here.
Come Get Warm Workshop | Visionary Organizing Lab
The Visionary Organizing Lab is offering a free virtual workshop on November 13 from 6:30-8pm, designed to connect, reflect and process together in community. RSVP here.
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES are articles and opinion pieces of interest to DMV leftists but not, generally, appearing in local media. They should have links without paywalls. Readers are invited to submit candidates at our tip line.
Left-wing Dem/Independent leaders castigate party following election
Deeper analyses are still incoming, but left leaders are sharpening knives: socialist senator Bernie Sanders (I) castigated Democratic leadership in a widely shared post-election letter as DSA-backed Rep. AOC (D) took to Instagram live to share her frustration with a party captured by big donors. Individual analyses may differ, but the left appears united in realizing their faults in motivating a multi-racial working-class coalition to support the Harris ticket.
More analysis:
In Jacobin, historian Matt Karp reviews the deeper faults in the Democratic Party’s mainstream positioning: “Until Democrats can find a way to win back a large chunk of working-class voters, Donald Trump’s successors will be favored.”
Winning and We Don’t Know it? Bravely writing before Election Day, our comrade-ish, the social historian James Livingston, responds to questions about the apparent inversion of class position in the US and what it portends. In his Politics, Letters, Persons blog post “On Actually Existing Socialism” Livingston suggests clear wins for left ideas and policies across a surprisingly wide swath of the US, although muddied by cultural stances on both (maybe “all”) sides that bring on our current indecipherable conditions. “MAGA means it when its spokesmen and women invoke a ‘radical left’ and the specter of communism. Unlike the comrades, they recognize social democracy when they see it, and respond accordingly—also realistically—as if it's a mortal threat to their way of life.”
US Union Election Wins Surge in Fiscal Year 2024 Just released National Labor Relations Board data show a large increase in US union elections and wins, as a three-year labor movement surge continues. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) just announced that in the 2024 federal fiscal year (from October, 2023 to September, 2024) it received 3,286 union election petitions, up 27% since last year and more than double the petitions received in 2021. Medium via Portside
Unions to Democrats: Don’t Blame Us for Tuesday’s Losses Despite persistent fears that labor might break for former President Donald Trump, exit polling showed Vice President Kamala Harris winning voters in union households 55 to 43 percent. Democrats spent months hand-wringing about losing their grasp on rank-and-file union members. On Tuesday that was the least of their worries. Despite persistent fears that labor might break for former President Donald Trump, exit polling showed Vice President Kamala Harris winning voters in union households 55 to 43 percent, roughly on par with President Joe Biden’s performance in 2020. (A separate survey from NBC News had Harris up 10 points among union voters.) Union leaders were quick to take credit for holding the line, though they acknowledged they faced headwinds from Democrats’ overall economic messaging. POLITICO via Portside
The Manosphere Won Donald Trump owes at least part of his victory to the manosphere — the amorphous assortment of influencers who are mostly young, exclusively male, and increasingly the drivers of the remaining [though fragmented] online monoculture … “The list — plus Tucker Carlson — includes the four biggest podcasters on Spotify. Trump sat with all of them, often for hours, reaching millions of conservative or apolitical people, cementing his status as one of them, a sigma, a guy with clout, and the apex of a model of masculinity that prioritizes fame as a virtue unto itself.” WIRED
This is the weekly newsletter of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA), which is produced by local members of the chapter's Publications working group. The Weekly Update publishes every Friday at 9am.
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of its chains, shatters them and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vast and free horizon. - Virgilia D'Andrea
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