Is Sanders a Socialist? It Matters

Sanders and the (Marxist) Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are trying to taking over the Democratic Party. Here’s how.

1. Sanders has been tight with DSA for years.
2. DSA is truly socialist — Marxists who hate capitalism.
3. Sanders is a real, DSA-style, hates-capitalism socialist.
4. He’s hiding that in an attempt to take over the Democratic Party.

[This post is an overview of the key Sanders’ Socialism page.]

Sanders Is Tight with DSA

DSA backed Sanders’ first run for the Senate, so he gave the keynote address at their 2007 national convention. He got their blessing before he ran for president in 2015. 

He appointed DSA’s Honorary Chairman Cornell West to the Democratic Platform Committee in 2016. West defected to socialist Jill Stein to help her attack Clinton. When asked by MSNBC just before the election, Sanders would not say a word against voting for Stein and she took over a million votes from Clinton.

Now West is back in Bernie’s inner circle. Sander run pushed DSA’s membership from about 6,200 to about 56,000 today.

Is DSA truly socialist? Yes.

What’s true socialism? Karl Marx gave us socialism and its whole purpose is to put an end to capitalism. That means Apple, Chase, Amazon, etc. should (1) be owned by workers who vote on their own pay, or (2) owned and run by the government. Sanders now prefers #1.

Is DSA Marxist? They launched a new quarterly publication, Socialist Forum, with ten articles by influential members. DSA thinks Sanders’ programs are not socialist, but that they will trick people, cause class conflict and lead to real socialism. Here are some quotes.

Ben B: “[Sander’s policies] are insufficient for a political revolution. [but] DSA should work hard to elect Bernie Sanders.” 

Ben T: “Marxist theory is indispensable … The campaign for Medicare-for-All is currently the vanguard of this movement.”

Meagan: “Bernie Sanders has done a remarkably effective job in linking [Medicare-for-All] to the need for class struggle on a massive scale.” 

Mason: “The Russian Revolution … is a wellspring of political possibility to help guide organizing for revolution in the U.S.” 

Nathaniel: “The U.S. left must begin by subverting the [U.S.] economic base.  … Marx argued that …”

Dan: “these slogans of Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, … [are] a liberal program of capitalist reform, not a socialist program. … “This tends to miseducate our members … [this will not help] the anti-capitalist left [DSA].”

John: “Marx and Engels gave us the language and framework to understand the anti-democratic nature of capitalist economics.”

Two conclusions: (1) DSA is a Marxist, anti-capitalism organization. (2) Bernie’s program is not socialist, but his goal is socialism. His program is a trick to convert Bernie’s followers into Marxist, anti-capitalism socialists without them knowing where they’re headed.

3. Is Sanders a real, DSA-style socialist?

Sanders’ first political step (in 1960) was to join the youth wing of the Socialist Party. He moved to a socialist Kibbutz in Israel, then moved to Vermont where he took over the socialist Liberty Union Party. In 1979 he made a documentary promoting Eugene V. Debs, the Marxist founder (in 1901) of the Socialist Party of America.

In 1980 he worked with the Marxist Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) and spoke at some of the party’s campaign events in 1982 and 1984.

In October 1985 Sanders defined his brand of socialism as:

“a society where … human beings can own the means of production rather than having to work as semi-slaves to other people who can hire and fire.”

That’s standard Marxist socialism. So for at least 25 years, from 1960 through 1985 he was an openly Marxist socialist. That leaves only two options:

1. He’s still a socialist just as he says he is and just like he was for 25+ years.
2. He has secretly pulled the biggest-ever flip-flop and is now lying about being a socialist when he’s really a Warren-style capitalist.

Option 2 seems impossible.

• Sanders claims to have been super consistent in his political beliefs. So he must still be a Marxist Socialist.
• He’s a world-class expert on socialism so he’s not just confused.
• Right-wingers win by lying about Dems being socialist. Sanders wouldn’t want to make them look honest by claiming to be one if he’s not.
• If he’s no longer a real, Marxist socialist, why are his closest allies (DSA) Marxist socialist?

On February 7, 2006, at a joint press conference with Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez, Sanders announced a long-term oil deal for Vermont with the Marxist, “democratic” socialist regime of Hugo Chavez.

Taking over the Democratic Party

After the 2016 Democratic convention, instead of helping the Democrats defeat Trump, he launched his 501(c)(4), dark-money super PAC, Our Revolution, and began raising funds for it. Then he spent more than a month writing Our Revolution, the first third of which trashes Clinton. He was already preparing to run against her again.

In June 2017, The Nation, asked Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, “How will Our Revolution relate to the DNC?” She replied, “I don’t think it is our job to fit in. It’s their job to fit in with us.”

Then they asked: “And do you see Our Revolution working to bring some unity to factions in the party? Turner’s reply: “No, not really.”

A few months later, in the first article published in the DSA’s Socialist Forum, discussed above, Gayle McLaughlin stated, 

“I support the good fight within the Democratic Party that is happening today. There are people working within the Democratic Party who are seeking to take it over.”

In the 2018 Midterms, Our Revolution and two Berniecrat PACs did not help flip a single one of the 43 House seats that flipped from red to blue.

Just before the Nevada caucus, Sanders sent the following tweet implying Democrats and Republicans are equivalent, and only he can fix it.

It is now close to certain Sanders will seriously damage the Democratic Party one way or another. The sad part is, his program (as he admits) is just FDR’s 2nd Bill of Rights, which almost all Democrats believe in. But he calls it socialist in order to split the Democratic Party and lead a new generation blindly into Marxist socialism, which never has worked.