Dear Comrades,
The world is vast enough to avoid discussing the results in the United States. The reason I don’t bring them up is that there’s nothing new I can add that hasn’t already been said. However, we must organize and prepare ourselves psychologically for four years of hardship.
Social Democrats of America is a straightforward organization: we contribute ideas about what we believe Socialism should be, based on our experiences, and we discuss these ideas at a monthly Salon.
Beyond that, we must focus on organizing within the Democratic Party.
On Monday, December 2, 2024, we are meeting at Trump Tower. The agenda is available at https://www.mobilize.us/electionresponsecenter/event/743827.
Politics in the United States is layered over time, which can create the illusion of being rigged. This layering, combined with a flawed sense of what constitutes success, has left too many people confused.
We need to organize.
As of today, I’ve made contact with at least one person in counties across the United States to explain how SDA works. This network is composed of individuals who have reached out to me for various reasons.
The problem is that we’ve been conditioned with a sense of entitlement — the belief that “the customer is king” and that success means bending over backward to please everyone. Not at SDA! We are not a corporation selling a service.
Every SDA member is not a customer but a comrade, with both rights and obligations. Many American Social Democratic sympathizers complain about the lack of certain rights as a reason for not becoming members.
As an SDA member, you have the right to:
- Elect your secretaries (once every four years).
- Vote on the platform.
But you also have the obligation to:
- Participate in the life of SDA by organizing Philosophical Salons.
- Run for positions within the Democratic Party apparatus.
- Be part of a union.
- Run for political office on a Social Democratic platform if you have the means and the time.
To conclude, I’d like to share an interview with José “Pepe” Mujica, the former president of Uruguay, in which he states: “I dedicated myself to changing the world, and I didn’t change a damn thing.”
I hope the words of this Uruguayan president resonate with all of us and encourage us to take ourselves a bit less seriously when judging our fellow comrades.
The content of this newsletter
- The national Zoom meeting is on December 4th at 9 p.m. East / 6 p.m. West
- DNC Chairmanship
- The 59th congress of the Social Democrats of America
- The Socialist Festival
- Termirlan Sultanbekov trial in Kyrgyztan
- Party of Europeans Socialists meets with Democrats on US campaign trail
- Socialist Training Material
The national Zoom meeting is on December 4th at 9 p.m. East / 6 p.m. West.
Join us for our next salon. The information is on the PDF on the Agenda.
DNC Chairmanship
According to Politico, the chair election is scheduled for February 1st, and we will closely monitor the candidates’ commitment to our Social Democratic core values.
For us, the ideal candidate is one who fosters an inclusive Democratic Party that embraces all factions within the organization. This includes establishing State Democratic Socialists Caucuses and putting an end to the perpetuation of anti-socialism rhetoric that dates back to the era of Joseph McCarthy.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/25/democratic-national-committee-chair-election-00191510
The 59th Congress of the Social Democrats of America
The first deadline for the 59th Congress was November 13, 2024. This was the cutoff date for new memberships to be eligible to vote.
All information about the Congress calendar is available on our website at: https://socialists.us/direct/lvii/congress.
The Socialist Festival in New York
Various delegations have expressed interest in combining their international meetings with our festival and Congress. The idea is to invite every New York Democrat to engage with Socialists from around the world.
We have set aside May 26 and May 27 for worldwide Socialist organizations to organize their meetings in New York City, with the hope of drawing media attention to the presence of so many comrades in the city.
Many of these organizations will be meeting over the next two months to decide whether to accept our invitation and hold their statutory meetings in New York City during that week.
I have reached out to every political science dean across New York City but have yet to receive a response.
Temirlan Sultanbekov trial in Kyrgyzstan
Our comrade Temirlan Sultanbekov, leader of the Social Democrats of Kyrgyzstan, along with several colleagues, was arrested on charges of vote-buying and subsequently removed from the Bishkek City Council race.
Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe described the move as a threat to Central Asia’s “Island of Democracy” as Kyrgyz opposition continues to fade away:
I reached out to the President of the New York Democratic Club and the Vice President of the Socialist International, and they co-signed a letter in support of Temirlan Sultanbekov, addressed to the leader of the Queens Democratic Party.
This effort aims to bring attention to the case, which has also been raised by European Socialists in the European Parliament.
As of now, the trial, originally scheduled for January 2025, has been moved up to this Monday.
Party of European Socialists meets with Democrats on US campaign trail
For the past three years, I have been urging members of the Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance to notify us — the Socialist faction within the Democratic Party — when visiting the United States and engaging with Democrats.
However, during their most recent visit, our European comrades came to the United States without informing us. Instead, they met with liberal organizations and lobbyists, with the only elected representative they contacted being the senator from my Four Freedoms Democratic Club.
Since their inception, I’ve been diplomatic about their behavior. But it’s time to call out this pattern openly and urge our comrades to stop acting like colonialists in the United States. If we want the U.S. to cease behaving as a colonial power, perhaps it starts with others not treating our country as if it were still a colony.
When Socialists visit the United States, I demand that they show us the respect we deserve and support our efforts here.
In her campaign for Secretary General of the Socialist International, Benedicta Lasi promised to support all Social Democrats, including those in the United States.
Reading the European Socialist delegation’s report, I felt disrespected. I used the strongest language possible to make this clear :https://pes.eu/international/democratse-us-campaign-trail.
Socialist Training Material
I’ve been dubbing numerous videos explaining Social Democracy for our Socialist website.
I’ve included some of the short videos in this newsletter, but you can find the full collection here: https://www.socialists.us/d/explainer/history.
The videos include a mix of short and long formats from various sources. For example, the German-French channel Arte produces insightful content on topics like:
The origins of the terms “left” and “right” in politics.
The history of the DSOC and the Socialist International logo.
The inspiration for the Internationale song.
Additionally, I’ve included an article explaining how Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln influenced each other:
Since we know Trump will continue to attack us as “socialists” and “communists,” I’ve also included a response from our Danish comrades for reference.
In Solidarity,
Hasta la victoria, ¡siempre!
Theo