Shayla Adams-Stafford wins in PG County; updates and actions in the fight for trans liberation and bodily autonomy; Socialism 101 Night School; 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. Want to fight fascism from the heart of empire? Join DSA and fight to build socialism!
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
UP FRONT
Prince George’s County election results — socialists win local power in defiance of federal fascistic takeover
Metro DC DSA’s endorsed candidate for Prince George’s County District 5, Shayla Adams-Stafford, has announced that she is projected to win the special election. At the time of writing, Adams-Stafford holds a sizable lead, having won 50.16% of the vote (as of now, the closest runner up sits at 25.99%).
Metro DC DSA voted overwhelmingly in November 2024 to endorse Adams-Stafford, and members worked rapidly to develop a campaign infrastructure for the race. DSA mobilized 57 volunteers to knock on more than 7,400 doors. Socialists, joined by organized labor and progressive forces in Prince George’s, rallied District 5's tenants and workers in support of a new vision for the county. Inspired by Shayla’s strong record on labor, student rights, and tenant protections, socialists and allies braved freezing temperatures to rally the district around an agenda for the working class.
The victory tilts the balance of power in the county towards the left. It also marks an important victory; while fascists continue their assault on the already pitiful US welfare state and civil service, PG County voters chose a different path: real, tangible hope in the form of a platform that supports strong unions, tenant protections, social housing, and policies that address the root causes of harm and poverty.
The Adams-Stafford victory marks the first MDC DSA electoral win in Prince George’s County, and PGC members are aiming to leverage this milestone to build support for socialism in the county. If you’re a chapter member in Prince George’s, get involved by visiting the #prince-georges-branch channel in the chapter Slack. Members are also invited to join the Electoral Working Group's next meeting on March 11 at 7pm for a discussion on how the campaign went, what's next for the chapter's electoral program, and how they can get involved.
S9 Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 cloture vote blocked — more action needed to protect bodily autonomy
Last week, the Senate GOP leadership brought a cloture motion in an attempt to break the filibuster of the Senate bill that would have redefined sex and gender under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in order to ban trans women from participating in sports on all levels. The cloture vote Monday was roundly rejected with no Dems defecting on the vote. While this vote blocked progress on the bill, it did not kill the bill, and another cloture motion may be brought at any time. Metro DC DSA’s Bodily Autonomy Working Group (BAWG) will remain vigilant and will mobilize additional resistance as necessary. Readers can take action and continue sending letters via the campaign organized by our comrades in the Greater Baltimore chapter. BAWG also expressed thanks to all readers who took the time to call and write senators demanding they block the motion and prevent the bill from moving forward.
More action is needed to protect reproductive freedom. Earlier this year, GOP fascists in the House and Senate filed the No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025. This act would make the Hyde Amendment permanent and introduce a raft of additional restrictions on abortion care nationwide, with special onerous targeting of the District. Among other provisions, it would bar federal ACA plan subsidy funds from being used to pay for abortion care. The Bodily Autonomy Working Group is leading a nationwide letter campaign against these bills. Readers can send letters to reps and senators demanding they keep abortion legal and accessible.
Virtual Socialism 101 Night School — Thursday, March 13
Metro DC DSA is hosting an online Socialist Night School on Socialism 101 this coming Thursday, March 13 at 7:30pm — sign up now to join and get the link. The Night School will help attendees understand and define capitalism, socialism, and how the work of DSA can get us there. The meeting will conclude by helping all attendees connect better to the work of the chapter. While everyone is welcome, this session is designed for newer members and those who are relatively new to socialism. Make sure to register in advance.
BRIEFS
ATTN voting members of MDC DSA — ballots for Amendment to Resolution 2025-02-GR01 to close Sunday evening
A ballot for adoption of Amendment to Resolution 2025-02-GR01 went out to all eligible chapter members on Monday, March 3rd. This ballot will remain open until Sunday, March 9th at 11:59pm, after which results will be announced. Chapter members will then vote on Resolution 2025-02-GR01 in its original form or as amended. If you believe you are an eligible voting member of the chapter and have not received a ballot, please email [email protected] or post in #steering in the chapter Slack.
All members in good standing have the opportunity to submit a statement that will appear on the ballot either in favor or against the base resolution. You can submit ballot statements on Red Desk by selecting the Help Topic “Agenda Item / Submit Member Statement.” Fill out the information and enter the exact text of your statement or a link to a publicly accessible document with your text where prompted. Questions can be directed to [email protected] or posted in #steering in the chapter Slack.
Metro DC DSA Migrant Justice Subcommittee to host first interest meeting on March 8 at 3:15pm
Looking to get involved in the fight to defend migrants and immigrants from state harassment, racist policing, and dehumanizing immigration policies? Metro DC DSA’s newly reconstituted Migrant Justice Subcommittee will be hosting its first hybrid interest meeting on Saturday, March 8 at 3:15pm at MLK Library. This meeting will cover the purpose of the subcommittee, discuss potential campaign proposals, and brainstorm ideas about how the chapter can collaborate on migrant justice in the face of an increasingly hostile fascist administration. Work will be collaborative across all branches and working groups.
Organizers of this interest meeting are also looking for potential leaders to help bottom-line projects that come out of this committee, so please RSVP and talk to organizers if interested. A Zoom link will be shared before the meeting — in-person attendees are asked to wear a mask. RSVP to the interest meeting here.
Rockville tenants organizing Rent Stabilization Community Forum on Saturday, March 15 — join outreach efforts this weekend
Join the Montgomery County branch of Metro DC DSA, Rockville Renters United, and Councilmember Izola Shaw on March 15th from 1 to 3pm for an important community forum on the fight to pass rent stabilization in Rockville. This event is a chance for residents to learn about the campaign, share their experiences, and take action together. RSVP here.
Metro DC DSA’s Montgomery County branch will be getting the word out about the event this weekend with renter canvasses on both Saturday and Sunday, plus a phone bank on Tuesday, to contact tenants that have been canvassed throughout the campaign and invite them to the community forum.
Social Housing Working Group holding meeting on fight against gentrification and real estate lobby — Sunday, March 9 at 2pm
The Metro DC DSA Social Housing Working Group is hosting a recruitment event and meet up from 2 to 4pm this Sunday, March 9 at the Shaw Library (1630 7th St NW). The Social Housing Working Group is working to create an alternative to the corporate model of real estate development and to bring deeply and permanently affordable housing to DC. The meeting will review what social housing is and the growth of the movement in the US and abroad. Attendees will also study the history of DC’s fight for social housing and learn ways to plug into the live campaign. It’s critical that the District turns a leaf on gentrification and displacement — and builds housing that actually serves working-class people. RSVP to the meet up to get involved. The meetup will be followed by a happy hour.
Democratic civil war underway as Trump mafia state prompts economic chaos
The war against the Orange Emperor’s mafia state continues on, although establishment Democrats appear completely unprepared. Taking an historical view, The Economist observes: “After any major loss, political parties often go through a warring-factions period.” Following Trump’s faux-State of the Union address this week, the Democrats tapped ex-CIA operative, current Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, to deliver a confusing address to the nation’s beleaguered democratic voters. In the demoralizing speech, Sen. Slotkin praised conservative presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in a bewildering embrace of their policies. It is difficult to imagine a worse message for Dems to broadcast, given that Trump benefited from the widespread belief that he is a different kind of Republican who wouldn’t cater to Wall Street, start wars, or cut social services — hallmark policies of the Reagan and Bush eras.
Response to Trump has set off a civil war within the Democratic Party — between its working-class/progressive base and centrist lobbyists who seek a party made in their image. As reported in POLITICO the morning after: “Democrats are now scrambling to rethink their strategy of using Republican town halls to oppose the plans. … Left-leaning organization Indivisible, which had been spearheading the efforts to disrupt constituent town halls, is calling on Democratic lawmakers to host their own town halls during the March recess or the group will do it for them, according to an email obtained by POLITICO.” (Those keeping an accounting know Indivisible is left-liberal leaning — hardly a socialist pole in the Democratic Party — but the group has been at odds with right-wing forces in the Democratic Party eager to dull calls for reform and policy change.)
Senator Bernie Sanders recently rejected James Carville’s idea that the Democrats should “wait and see.” Sanders said, “I don’t think you play dead. I think you stand up for the working class of this country and make the point that right now, the Trump administration is clearly an administration designed to represent the interests of the Musks of the world. Thirteen of the people that he nominated to head agencies are billionaires.” Now is indeed the time to stand up for the working class. With 60% of the American working class living paycheck to paycheck, and with Trump and his billionaire gangsters illegally destroying what few services and safety nets the US federal government offers, this is a moment to provide a concrete, left-wing vision that provides real hope for the working people abandoned by both parties.
There are plenty of ways to get involved. Metro DC DSA’s Labor Working Group is engaging with federal workers, both those still employed and those who have been forced out of a job, to support them and build resiliency. NoVA Mutual Aid Working Group is creating both solidarity and safety nets for community and chapter members alike, and the Internationalism Working Group is combating US imperialism from the heart of empire. If you’re represented by a progressive ally in Congress, consider calling your reps and telling them you support them hosting town halls in areas cowardly GOP electeds have abandoned.
Pleasure Activism: An Introduction to Finding Joy in Movement Work — Friday, March 7, 7pm
TONIGHT: Join fellow comrades for a discussion-based workshop inspired by Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown in a cozy and comfortable environment. Limit 15 attendees; food and drinks will be provided (vegan and gluten free options available). Ages 21+ as alcohol will be available. RSVP here; please use Action Network to contact host with any dietary needs / restrictions.
Comms comrades needed to support trans/queer liberation
The Trans/Queer Liberation Campaign is part of the Bodily Autonomy Working Group and the national DSA Trans Rights & Bodily Autonomy Campaign. The campaign is organizing and fighting to counter the reactionary assault on trans rights and the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, as well as demanding our full rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination. The campaign is especially in need of comrades with communications backgrounds/skills to help us build and maintain our internal and external communications at this critical time as we face an onslaught of attacks requiring rapid response mobilizing. Please email the BAWG coordinating committee at [email protected] or reach out to comrade LyraM on the chapter Slack (or LyraM.22 on Signal) if you can help build the BAWG comms team.
Members organize club for socialist parents — meet up on Sunday, April 6
Sign up and spread the word: the new Socialist Parents Club in Metro DC DSA is hosting its first meet up on Sunday, April 6 at 11am at Kalorama Park (1865 Kalorama Rd. NW, DC). This will be a place for parents in Metro DC DSA and their kids to connect with each other socially. Sit and hang out with comrades to chat about parenting bloopers, current events, and more while our kids work their energy out on the playgrounds, open space, and basketball courts. If you are raising kids as a socialist and are interested in joining this affinity group, make sure to fill out the sign up form (even if you can’t make it on April 6).
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.
MDC DSA Publications is information central not only for 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. TheWashington Socialist, published since the 1970s, offers articles on a quarterly schedule; the Winter 2025 edition is now live and will be updated on a rolling basis. Next quarterly issue now in editing; wait for it but don’t stop writing. 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.
DMV LEFT COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Mobilize to Save Healthcare on March 12 | DC Jobs With Justice
Join DC Jobs With Justice on Wednesday, March 12 for the Billionaires Are Killing Us – Mobilize to Save Healthcare — a rally and march on the US Capitol. Unelected billionaires and capitalist tyrants are attempting to take over our city and our country. It’s up to us — workers, tenants, allies, and community members — to stand up and fight back.
DC Budget Advocacy Training on March 15 | ATU Local 689 and Fair Budget Coalition
Want to know how the District budget works? Want to make sure that the programs you care about like transit, childcare, housing, and education are funded? Come and join ATU Local 689 for a training with the Fair Budget Coalition on DC Budget Advocacy, happening on March 15 at 12pm! All 689 members, retirees, and allies are welcome. RSVP here.
Writing Workshop on March 18: Decolonizing and Indigenizing | After The Storm
How might we begin to challenge colonial perspectives in our writing, and in the form of writing itself? What are some storytelling practices our community can share as we move towards indigenization? Join your comrades on Tuesday, March 18, from 6:30-8:30pm for this workshop on decolonizing and indigenizing writing and language to explore what answers to these questions can look like! 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.
One Elite, Two Elites, Red Elite, Blue Elite
A novella-length account of How We Got to Trump 2.0, unflinching in its dive into the urban-rural, cross-class entanglements of capitalist practices: “Everyone hates some of the elites. A lot of people are still just fine with wide swaths of the ruling class, and even more troublingly, with their reactionary cultural values—which are not merely odious in principle but in many cases an obstacle to true class solidarity, leading conservative workers to back the boss, for instance, when they take steps to make the lives of queer and trans employees more difficult. … The truth is that the class struggle in America today is anything but pure and simple. To get to a place where a politically unified working class is striving against the capitalist class, properly understood in its totality, would be an extraordinary achievement.” Class fractions, call your office. The Baffler
Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico will hit working Americans hard. Will they sour on his policies? Trump’s taxes on imports (tariffs) from Canada, Mexico, and China will, if/when they go into effect, cost people in the United States somewhere around $400 billion a year or around $3,000 a household. This is far larger than any tax increase we’ve seen in the last half-century, and unlike tax increases put in place by Clinton and Obama, it will primarily hit low and middle-income households. [In Tuesday’s endless speech, Trump scoffed “There will be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much.” Right, and COVID was just flu. Why should “we” worry?] Dean Baker, CEPR via Progressive Hub
DOGE threat: How government data would give an AI company extraordinary power
As DOGE taps into sensitive federal agency data repositories, many people fear what could happen to the data. One little-discussed but hugely consequential possibility: fueling Elon Musk’s xAI company. Many DOGE invaders are also SpaceX employees. The author, a political scientist with techspertise, argues “this potential transmission of government data to private companies presents far greater privacy and power implications than most reporting identifies. …dual employment creates a conduit for federal data to potentially be siphoned to Musk-owned enterprises, including xAI. The company’s latest Grok AI chatbot model conspicuously refuses to give a clear denial about using such data.” The Conversation
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.
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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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