The Big Red Machine rides again: Local socialists planning Electoral Training Intensive THIS weekend; Socialists’ Maryland electoral operations set to ramp up; Murders in Minneapolis
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
The Big Red Machine rides again: Local socialists planning Electoral Training Intensive THIS weekend
Metro DC DSA is revving up the electoral machine to elect people’s candidates across the DMV — mobilized socialist forces have been the muscle behind DSA’s electoral power, enabling the local Left to take on and defeat organized capitalist cash. This weekend, on Saturday, January 31 (1:30 – 4:30pm) and Sunday, February 1 (2:30 – 5:30pm), the chapter will hold its Electoral Training Intensive to prepare socialist organizers for wide mobilization ahead of the Spring primary elections in Maryland and DC. The Saturday session is for experienced individuals who have led or launched a canvass in past cycles, and will be devoted to building leadership skills and strategic planning. The Sunday session is open to all and will be focused on teaching the core tactics and best practices that are turning DSA into an electoral juggernaut. The Sunday session is a great way to get plugged into current campaigns, answer questions about DSA's electoral strategy, and meet the architects of the chapter’s electoral infrastructure, including a DSA member who helped lead Zohran’s NYC campaign.
Socialists’ Maryland electoral operations set to ramp up — canvassing and phonebanking operations to begin on January 31, fundraiser planned for February 15
In early January, the local democratic socialists’ electoral gambit began in earnest, with socialists fanning out in the heart of DC and the hills of Prince George’s County in support of Raj’s bid for DC Council and Croom’s run for Prince George’s County Council. This weekend, socialist operations in Montgomery County to elect Josie Caballero (Montgomery County Council At-large), Gabriel Acevero (Maryland House of Delegates 39th District) and Zola Shaw (Montgomery County Council District 3) are set to launch.
Gabe will be holding canvasses on Saturday, January 31 at 10am and 1pm, at Strawberry Knoll Elementary (18820 Strawberry Knoll Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20879). In the event of inclement weather, Gabe’s canvasses will instead be virtual phonebanks — be sure to sign up for rapid response notices. Josie’s campaign will be holding a virtual phonebank Sunday, February 1 at 12pm. All events will provide training for those who need it. Members of Metro DC DSA who have questions or need additional support are directed to the #montgomery-county on Slack. All interested in supporting this effort are encouraged to sign up on the MDC DSA’s electoral volunteer interest form.
The Montgomery County branch of MDC DSA is also hosting a fundraiser at Clear Skies Meadery in Rockville at 6pm on Sunday, February 15 for Josie Caballero and Zola Shaw. Both Josie and Zola are campaigning for a more affordable and just Montgomery County and will need organized money and organized forces to counter attacks from big business, the real estate lobby, and landlords. RSVP for the fundraiser here. No donation is required to attend, but are highly encouraged.
Meanwhile, electoral operations in PG County are set to resume this weekend. Socialists will be launching a phonebanking operation for Crooms for Prince George's County Council District 9 from 12 – 3pm on January 31. Imara is running to fight for people-centric development, increased police accountability, and increased transit infrastructure in South County; to win, he will need mobilized forces to counteract the liberal establishment in the County. To get involved with Imara’s operations, fill out the PG branch's volunteer interest form or visit the #prince-georges-branch channel in the chapter Slack. No experience is necessary — training and materials will be provided.
Murders in Minneapolis — thousands stand in solidarity with those targeted by ICE and the carceral state
On Saturday, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent murdered Alex Pretti. A Minneapolis resident and ICU nurse, Pretti died a hero trying to lift up a woman who had been shoved to the ground by CBP brutes. His last words, “Are you ok?”, were met with overwhelming state violence. CPB thugs dragged Pretti through the ice and snow, beat him as he shielded himself on the street, and then fired ten rounds across his body. News has since come out that the agents might have targeted Pretti specifically after an incident over a week before the murder that left him with a broken rib.
Trump’s ICE and CBP have emerged as a standing mercenary army intent on destabilizing opponents of his corrupt regime. A proposed defense budget — passed with seven Democratic votes in the House, but currently stalled in the Senate — would outrageously inflate the Department of Homeland Security’s budget. In 2026 alone, eight people have been murdered either by masked agents in the streets or in immigration detention centers, which have begun to swell with working people swept up by these rogue mercenary forces. Scenes from inside these camps have produced grotesque images of cramped, deleterious conditions, including in Baltimore. Liam Conejo Ramos, the five year old boy detained and used as bait in Minneapolis, is currently being detained in South Texas Residential Center, where the conditions and neglect have made him sick. The tools of violence, extrajudicial force, and unbounded terror have been perfected by the forces of American imperialism for years — fanned by its vast military industrial complex that has launched regimes of terror across the globe. Now, the imperial boomerang returns.
Still, there are signs of resistance among the working-people of the United States. Across the nation, people have protested, rallied, and held vigils. In DC, socialists joined locals on Saturday night at an emergency march and rally in front of ICE headquarters to demand an end to state-sanctioned violence as well as the federal occupation of the District. On Wednesday, the DMV hub of the Federal Unionists Network held a vigil for Pretti outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs echoing the same demands.
Locals also honed community outrage at local incidents of imperial violence. On Thursday there was another rally inside the Wilson Building to demand that the Homeland Security Investigators who shot DC resident Phillip Brown on October 17 during a traffic stop on Benning Road be held accountable. Brown’s mother spoke at the rally — the first time anyone from his family has spoken publicly about the violence — and sat down with At-Large Councilmember Robert White to discuss the ongoing case. CM White worked with Families Not Feds to deliver a letter to Mayor Bowser’s office demanding a release of the body camera footage and accountability for the HSI officers’ violence.
Metro DC DSA to consider additional endorsements in DC mayoral and PG council races — member statements due TONIGHT at 11:59pm
At Metro DC DSA’s last General Body Meeting on Sunday, January 25, members heard reportbacks from active campaigns and formations and hosted debate on two potential endorsements for upcoming local races — Shayla Adams-Stafford, running for Prince George’s Council District 5 and Janeese Lewis George, running for DC mayor. Member statements are now being accepted for both potential endorsements until 11:59pm TONIGHT. Statements can be submitted via Red Desk under “Agenda Item / Submit Member Statement.” Voting for both will be done via OpaVote from February 1 until February 5 at 11:59pm. Members in good standing that do not receive a ballot on February 1 (and have also checked their spam folder) should reach out in #steering for assistance.
Socialist Night School: Abolition 101 — Tuesday, February 3 at 6pm
The Metro DC DSA Abolition and Political Education Working Groups are hosting a hybrid Socialist Night School focused on police abolition at the MLK Library on February 3. Participants will learn how policing and prisons fail to make communities safe, what abolition looks like in today’s world, and why abolition is necessary for a truly socialist future. RSVP for Abolition 101 here.
Metro DC DSA Street Team virtual monthly meeting — Wednesday, February 4 at 8pm
Join the Metro DC DSA Street Team virtually at its next monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 4, from 8 to 9:30pm to learn how to build power and visibility for the chapter’s working groups at community events in the DMV. Organizers of all experience levels are welcome to discuss topics ranging from event coordination to talking about socialism and connecting prospective members to the chapter. The working group’s mission is to expand the chapter’s base and build a more democratic society by listening to residents talk about what’s going on in their everyday lives and connecting them to DSA. RSVP here for the Street Team’s meeting.
Power bills are bankrupting DC residents, but there’s a path to affordability for all
As households and residents buckle under Pepco’s high utility fees, We Power DC is organizing for a better energy future — strict oversight, financial transparency, greener energy, and eventually, an electric utility that the local government of DC could own and manage in the interest of the people. Ecosocialists that want to get involved with We Power DC’s campaigns are encouraged to:
Share their personal experiences with Pepco by filling out We Power DC’s Testimonials survey. The DC Council, Public Service Commission (PSC), Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) members, and journalists often ask about the experiences that DC families, residents, and business owners have when interacting with Pepco. We Power DC wants them to hear directly from residents.
Save the Date to testify on Feb 27. DC Council will be holding an oversight hearing for the PSC and its (lackluster) performance. DC residents can testify in person or virtually on how utility bills have skyrocketed, reliability has declined, and life in the District has gotten more unaffordable. RSVP and ActionNetwork coming soon as a collaboration with Chesapeake Climate Action Network and others.
We Power DC was also covered in Common Dreams on the campaign for public power in the District (see Essential Perspectives below).
INFO ACCESS
Militarism-fueled fascist sycophants continue to infest an already capitalism-riddled US society — and invade their sovereign neighbors. Just the battle we need. Want to fight fascism from the heart of the empire? Join DSA and fight to build socialism! We’re the alternative that works for people, not profiteers and their captive politicians. MDC DSA’s chapter spans NoVA, DC, and the big Maryland suburbs. There’s organizational info on our Metro DC chapter — DMV branches, working groups, campaigns, current activities, and enduring values — right here. Attend “Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation” either in person on Wednesday, February 11 from 7 – 8pm or virtually on Wednesday, February 18, also from 7 – 8pm. What grounds our activism? See the rich archive of our acclaimed Socialist Night School. Details? Join an MDC DSA Reading Group. Members are encouraged to join our Slack for real-time info on working group and campaign events, strategy/tactic exchange, and inspiration. Email [email protected] with your most recent DSA dues receipt to get access.
How to stay current with MDC DSA: Weekly Updates, like the one you are reading, are sent every Friday — sign up here; current and past Updates are available anytime on our website. The MDC Dispatch is the chapter’s new video news series, published on the first and third Sunday of each month. Got chops and skills to bring to this latest video effort? Check in with the Publications Working Group (roles list here) or submit your Update or Dispatch suggestions (or DMV scandal tips) to our tip line. The Washington Socialist, published since the 1970s, offers in-depth analytical/opinion articles on a quarterly schedule; the two-part Winter issue is wholly in release. Anyone, MDC DSA member or not, interested in contributing to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions to [email protected]. Members, look in on us or join at #publications on Slack.
DMV LEFT COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Have an allied event, action, or resource we should know about? Share it with us by using our tip line.
Documentary Screening of March Against Baloch Genocide | Bol Coop
On February 3, 6pm at Bol Coop, watch a screening of the documentary March Against Baloch Genocide, which narrates the story of the long march organized two years ago by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee in Pakistan that aimed to highlight the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. A discussion with one of the founders of the Committee will follow the screening. RSVP for the screening here.
Punk Rock Karaoke for Ward 2 Mutual Aid
On February 6, 8pm at Black Cat, come out for an all-ages night of punk rock karaoke madness. Tickets benefit Ward 2 Mutual Aid. RSVP for Punk Rock Karaoke 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.
ICE has lowered standards to facilitate a massive hiring spree. Many of the new recruits are plainly unqualified. Are some also white supremacists or domestic terrorists? “More than doubling ICE’s ranks has meant cutting training from 13 weeks to six, raising the maximum age cap from 40 to none at all, scrapping the college degree requirement, and adding a $50,000 signing bonus. Now pretty much anyone can become an ICE agent. During Donald Trump’s first term… there were still guardrails that kept the president from assembling his own paramilitary force.” Not now. The Nation
With 300,000 employees gone and collective-bargaining rights eliminated, the administration has hobbled organized labor. Did it also start a movement? For a growing rank-and-file movement of mostly younger union members, which works across agencies and is known as the Federal Unionists Network (FUN), the shutdown presented an unusual opportunity. Like the progressive upstarts challenging the old-guard leadership of the Democratic Party, FUN is pushing the national unions to fight the Trump administration more vigorously. With the shutdown, FUN saw a chance to show that the fate of federal workers is inexorably bound up with the public’s welfare. NYT
Despite a wide-ranging outcry from the [D.C.] community, industry experts, and even landlords, the PSC in November 2024 largely approved Pepco’s latest proposed rate increase. Commissioner Richard Beverly wrote a blistering dissent in which he said the other two commissioners were essentially approving the case “because Pepco said so.” The effects of the rate increase were immediate and expected. Following a cold winter, the additional 5% bump on bills slammed DC residents, with some customers seeing their bills double or triple. Even in bleak times, the pursuit of profits by Pepco (and utilities like it) is relentless. The District is not an outlier: Regulatorsacrossthe country rubber-stamp requested rate increases, despite the lack of economic logic. Fortunately, there is an alternative for all of us. In towns and cities across the country, utilities are not controlled by shareholders—instead, they are governed by the communities that they serve and run on a not-for-profit basis. Public power is a proven model that altogether supplies electricity to about 55 million Americans. Common Dreams
Today's struggle against fascism and reaction can draw on past struggles in U.S. history. Rishi Awatramani in In These Times discusses the successes (and weaknesses) of the post Civil War Reconstruction effort to rebuild American society on a democratic basis rooted in racial justice; of the New Deal Coalition and the Communist Party's Popular Front strategy during the 1930s to overcome the Depression; and Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition with its challenge to emerging neo-liberalism and the reactionary offensive launched by the Reagan Administration.
Andrea Pitzer writes about the need to combat ICE and police dragnets not only by defending the innocent, but also defending those whom society would condemn — that is the way to challenge the entire ideological framework used to justify mass deportations, mass incarceration. See the "Innocence Trap: Survival should not require sainthood" in her Degenerate Art Substack post.
The [white-nationalist vilification] campaign against Good is different—because The Homeland takes particular and perverse interest in women deemed insufficiently reverent of hearth and home. In defending the undocumented, Good violated the sanctity of The Homeland, which is to say that she questioned the divine promise of American soil to a mythical and singular people. For The Homeland is not “The State” or even “The Country.” The Homeland is not defined by simple geography. It exists beyond laws and norms. It is unconcerned with traditional American concepts like “liberty,” “freedom” or “pluralism.” The Homeland is that piece of earth providentially deeded to The Volk. The Homeland’s borders are drawn in untainted blood, its sanctity exemplified in proper gender conduct and the fulfillment of gender roles. It is The Homeland that ICE venerates in its recruitment posts festooned with victorious white settlers and vanquished indigenous Americans. Ta-Nehisi Coates in Vanity Fair
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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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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