Q: What is the Democratic Socialists of America [DSA]?
A: It is the largest socialist organization in the United States, and the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International. Their website is dsausa.org
Q: What are seven principles behind what the DSA's calls it's "Progressive Challenge?"
Dignified Work
Environmental Justice
Economic Redistribution
Democratic Participation
Community Empowerment
Global Non-Violence
Social Justice.
Never mind their soothing-sounding leftist doublespeak like 'Environmental Justice' (whatever that is supposed to mean) or the soft & fuzzy 'Global Non-Violence' (a euphemism for unilateral disarmament) — the DSA's self-declared principle of 'Economic Redistribution' clearly shows where these folks are coming from and exactly where they plan to take America.
Q: How many members of the U.S. Congress are also members of the DSA?
A: Seventy!
Q: How many of the DSA members sit on the Judiciary Committee?
A: Eleven: John Conyers [Chairman of the Judiciary Committee], Tammy Baldwin, Jerrold Nadler, Luis Gutierrez, Melvin Watt, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson, Steve Cohen, Barbara Lee, Robert Wexler, Linda Sanchez [there are 23 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee of which eleven, almost half, are now members of the DSA].
Q: Who are these members of Congress?
A: See the listing below
Co-Chairs
Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)
Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)
Vice Chairs
Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33)
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18)
Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Senate Members
Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)
House Members
Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)
Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)
Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)
Hon. Madeleine Bordallo (GU-AL)
Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01)
Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08)
Hon. André Carson (IN-07)
Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)
Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)
Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07)
Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07)
Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Rep. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)
Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17)
Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51)
Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04)
Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)
Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)
Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Hon. John Hall (NY-19)
Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)
Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)
Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)
Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)
Hon. John Lewis (GA-05)
Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02)
Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)
Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)
Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07)
Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Hon. James McGovern (MA-03)
Hon. George Miller (CA-07)
Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)
Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL)
Hon. John Olver (MA-01)
Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04)
Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15)
Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)
Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)
Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01)
Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-47)
Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Hon. José Serrano (NY-16)
Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)
Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13)
Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)
Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)
Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)
Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30)
Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL)
Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)
<!--[if supportMisalignedColumns]-->
Source: Congressional Progressive Caucus
[ The Progressive Caucus members don't go around calling themselves Democratic Socialists, but that's what they are. And the Progressive Caucus was established to be the Congressional arm of the DSA. ]
tysknews.com
-----------------------------------------------
Describing itself as "the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International," the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States. “We are socialists," reads the organization's boilerplate, "because we reject an international economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, race and gender discrimination, environmental destruction, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo.” "To achieve a more just society," adds DSA, "many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed. ... Democracy and socialism go hand in hand. All over the world, wherever the idea of democracy has taken root, the vision of socialism has taken root as well—everywhere but in the United States."
Formed in 1983 during the Cold War by merging splinter factions of the Socialist movement, DSA brought together what it calls “former Socialists and Communists, former old leftists and new leftists, and many who had never been leftists at all.” In its early years, DSA supported the Soviet-backed nuclear freeze program that would have consolidated Soviet nuclear superiority in Europe – under the banner of promoting “peace.”
DSA summarizes its philosophy as follows: "Today … [r]esources are used to make money for capitalists rather than to meet human needs. We believe that the workers and consumers who are affected by economic institutions should own and control them. Social ownership could take many forms, such as worker-owned cooperatives or publicly owned enterprises managed by workers and consumer representatives. Democratic Socialists favor as much decentralization as possible. ... While we believe that democratic planning can shape major social investments like mass transit, housing, and energy, market mechanisms are needed to determine the demand for many consumer goods."
DSA seeks to increase its political influence not by establishing its own party, but rather by working closely with the Democratic Party to promote leftist agendas. "Like our friends and allies in the feminist, labor, civil rights, religious, and community organizing movements, many of us have been active in the Democratic Party," says DSA. "We work with those movements to strengthen the party’s left wing, represented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. ... Maybe sometime in the future ... an alternative national party will be viable. For now, we will continue to support progressives who have a real chance at winning elections, which usually means left-wing Democrats."
Until 1999, DSA hosted the website of the Progressive Caucus. Following a subsequent expose of the link between the two entities, the Progressive Caucus established its own website under the auspices of Congress. But DSA and the Progressive Caucus remain intimately linked. All 58 Progressive Caucus members also belong to DSA. In addition to these members of Congress, other prominent DSA members include Noam Chomsky, Ed Asner, Gloria Steinem, and Cornel West, who serves as the organization's honorary Chair.
..........
discoverthenetworks.org
---------------------------------------------------
Congressional Progressive Caucus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions.[1]
The CPC was founded in 1991 and currently has more than 80 members. The Caucus is co-chaired by Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Of the 20 standing committees of the House, 10 are chaired by members of the CPC.
[edit] History
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) was established in 1991 by six members of the United States House of Representatives: Representatives Ron Dellums (D-CA), Lane Evans (D-IL), Thomas Andrews (D-ME), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Then-Representative Bernie Sanders was the convener and first chairman. The founding members were concerned about the economic hardship imposed by the deepening recession, and the growing inequality brought about by the timidity of the Democratic Party response at the time.
Additional House representatives joined soon, including Major Owens (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Patsy Mink (D-HI), George Miller (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), John Olver (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
The CPC's founding statement of purpose states that it was "organized around the principles of social and economic justice, a non-discriminatory society, and national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful". The founding members underscored that the Cold War was over, and that the nation's budget and overall priorities should reflect that. They called for cuts in outdated and unnecessary military spending, a more progressive tax system in which wealthy taxpayers and corporations contribute their fair share, a substantial increase in federal funding for social programs designed to meet the needs of low and middle-income American families, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of well-paying jobs and sound investment in America. They also expressed their belief that those policy goals could be achieved in concert with a commitment to long-term fiscal responsibility.
[edit] Ideology
According to its website, the CPC advocates "universal access to affordable, high quality healthcare," fair trade agreements, living wage laws, the right of all workers to organize into labor unions and engage in collective bargaining, the abolition of significant portions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the legalization of same-sex marriage, strict campaign finance reform laws, a complete pullout from the war in Iraq, a crackdown on corporate welfare and influence, an increase in income tax rates on the wealthy, tax cuts for the poor, and an increase in welfare spending by the federal government.
[edit] Supporting organizations
The non-profit organization most closely associated with the Congressional Progressive Caucus is the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation which works to connect the caucus to progressives outside the Congress.
In addition, an array of national liberal organizations work to support the efforts of the progressive caucus, including the Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation magazine, MoveOn.org, National Priorities Project, Jobs with Justice, Peace Action, Americans for Democratic Action, and Progressive Democrats of America. Also co-sponsoring the kickoff event were the NAACP, ACLU, Progressive Majority, League of United Latin American Citizens, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, National Council of La Raza, Hip Hop Caucus, Human Rights Campaign, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, and the National Hip Hop Political Convention.
[edit] House members
Map showing districts represented by House members of the CPC, excluding the Virgin Islands.All members are members of the Democratic Party or caucus with the Democratic Party. There are currently 82 total declared Progressives including 79 voting Representatives, 2 non-voting Delegates, and 3 Senators.
[edit] Arizona
Ed Pastor (AZ-4, Phoenix)
Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7, Tucson) - Co-Chair
[edit] California
Lynn Woolsey (CA-6, Santa Rosa) - Co-Chair
George Miller (CA-7, Richmond) - Chairman, House Education and Labor Committee
Barbara Lee (CA-9, Oakland) - Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus
Pete Stark (CA-13, Fremont)
Michael Honda (CA-15, San Jose)
Sam Farr (CA-17, Monterey)
Henry Waxman (CA-30, Los Angeles) - Chairman, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Xavier Becerra (CA-31, Los Angeles)
Judy Chu (CA-32, El Monte)
Diane Watson (CA-33, Los Angeles)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34, Los Angeles)
Maxine Waters (CA-35, Inglewood)
Laura Richardson (CA-37, Long Beach)
Linda Sánchez (CA-39, Lakewood)
Bob Filner (CA-51, San Diego) - Chairman, House Veterans Affairs Committee
[ 15 members from CA including Waxman, Maxine Waters, Pete Stark. Pelosi dropped from the caucus when she got a leadership position. ]
[edit] Colorado
Jared Polis (CO-02, Boulder)
[edit] Connecticut
Rosa DeLauro (CT-3, New Haven)
[edit] Florida
Corrine Brown (FL-3, Jacksonville)
Alan Grayson (FL-8, Orlando)
Alcee Hastings (FL-23, Fort Lauderdale)
[ Grayson - no surprise there. ]
[edit] Georgia
Hank Johnson (GA-4, Lithonia)
John Lewis (GA-5, Atlanta)
[edit] Hawaii
Mazie Hirono (HI-2, Honolulu)
[edit] Illinois
Bobby Rush (IL-1, Chicago)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2, Chicago Heights)
Luis Gutierrez (IL-4, Chicago)
Danny Davis (IL-7, Chicago)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-9, Chicago)
Phil Hare (IL-17, Rock Island)
[edit] Indiana
André Carson (IN-7, Indianapolis)
[edit] Iowa
Dave Loebsack (IA-2, Cedar Rapids)
[edit] Maine
Chellie Pingree (ME-1, North Haven)
[edit] Maryland
Donna Edwards (MD-4, Fort Washington)
Elijah Cummings (MD-7, Baltimore)
[edit] Massachusetts
John Olver (MA-1, Amherst)
Jim McGovern (MA-3, Worcester)
Barney Frank (MA-4, Newton) - Chairman, House Financial Services Committee
John Tierney (MA-6, Salem)
Ed Markey (MA-7, Malden)
Mike Capuano (MA-8, Boston)
Frank - another non-surprise.
[edit] Michigan
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI-13, Detroit)
John Conyers (MI-14, Detroit) - Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
[edit] Minnesota
Keith Ellison (MN-5, Minneapolis)
[edit] Mississippi
Bennie Thompson (MS-2, Bolton) - Chairman, House Homeland Security Committee
[edit] Missouri
William Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO-1, St. Louis)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5, Kansas City)
[edit] New Jersey
Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
Donald Payne (NJ-10, Newark)
[edit] New Mexico
Ben R. Luján (NM-3, Santa Fe)
[edit] New York
Jerry Nadler (NY-8, Manhattan)
Yvette Clarke (NY-11, Brooklyn)
Nydia Velázquez (NY-12, Brooklyn) - Chairwoman, House Small Business Committee
Carolyn Maloney (NY-14, Manhattan)
Charles Rangel (NY-15, Harlem) - Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
José Serrano (NY-16, Bronx)
John Hall (NY-19, Dover Plains)
Maurice Hinchey (NY-22, Saugerties)
Louise Slaughter (NY-28, Rochester) - Chairwoman, House Rules Committee
[ Second biggest state delegation of the Progressive caucus. ]
[edit] North Carolina
Mel Watt (NC-12, Charlotte)
[edit] Ohio
Marcy Kaptur (OH-9, Toledo)
Dennis Kucinich (OH-10, Cleveland)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11, Warrensville Heights)
[edit] Oregon
Earl Blumenauer (OR-3, Portland)
Peter DeFazio (OR-4, Eugene)
[edit] Pennsylvania
Bob Brady (PA-1, Philadelphia) - Chairman, House Administration Committee
Chaka Fattah (PA-2, Philadelphia)
[edit] Tennessee
Steve Cohen (TN-9, Memphis)
[edit] Texas
Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18, Houston)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30, Dallas)
[edit] Virginia
Jim Moran (VA-8, Alexandria)
[edit] Vermont
Peter Welch (VT-At Large)
[edit] Washington
Jim McDermott (WA-7, Seattle)
[edit] Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin (WI-2, Madison)
Gwen Moore (WI-4, Milwaukee)
[edit] Non-voting
Donna M. Christensen (Virgin Islands)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
[edit] Senate members
Bernie Sanders (Vermont)
Tom Udall (New Mexico)[2]
Roland Burris (Illinois)
[edit] Former members
Sherrod Brown (OH-13) - Elected to Senate
Julia Carson (IN-07) - Died in December 2007
Lane Evans (IL-17) - Retired from Congress
Eric Massa (NY-29) - Resigned in March 2010
Cynthia McKinney (GA-4) - Lost Congressional seat to current caucus member Hank Johnson
Major Owens (NY-11) - Retired from Congress
Nancy Pelosi (CA-8) - Left Caucus when Elected House Minority Leader
Hilda Solis (CA-32) - Became Secretary of Labor in 2009
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH-11) - Died in 2008
Paul Wellstone (MN Senate) - Died in plane crash in 2002
Robert Wexler (FL-19) - Resigned in January 2010 to become President of the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation
en.wikipedia.org |
