Statements from chapter members in favor and against 2024-03-GR1: Resolution for MDC DSA to Endorse Uncommitted Vote in the Democratic Primary in Maryland will be posted in this thread.
IN FAVOR by IMARA C
Hello Comrades, I’m writing to ask for your support in ratifying the Steering Committe’s March 12 commitment to support the Maryland Uncommitted Campaign. Historically international relations can be a hard subject to organize around, and its terribly rare for us as Americans to have a chance to make our voices heard against the Washington consensus through electoralism. Across the nation the uncommitted movement is giving real pause to the Democratic Party in its ongoing support of Israel’s campaign of genocide. This effort is having an impact and MD is an excellent place to continue this effort. Please, help us to support our comrades across Maryland in saying that enough is enough.
I’ve included a few points below outlining why I think this is an important movement to support.
- This is not the first time the US has supported genocide, and it will not be the last, it is however a rare opportunity for us to join others across the country in forcefully saying “no”.
- Throughout history DSA has done a pretty solid job of being on the right side of contentious national issues, this is another opportunity to continue this trend. I view this as an issue of solidarity and humanitarianism, genocide is wrong, that shouldn’t be a hot take.
- Within DSA, National has chosen to endorse Uncommitted.
- Within our chapter, this is a Maryland-led effort. The MD branches of MetroDC DSA overwhelmingly support this campaign and DSA chapters across the state are pulling together to organize around it.
- From a practical point of view, this provides a great opportunity for MD DSA to engage with folks and provide a leftist alternative to the Democratic Party’s actions. This is a recruitment opportunity and an opportunity to show solidarity with like-minded allies.
- From a practical point of view, I’ve worked in a few coalition spaces for the MetroDC chapter, we are very welcome in the Uncommitted space, people want us here and see us as a group to organize with.
For all the above reasons, please I urge you to vote yes in supporting MD’s Uncommitted campaign.
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IN FAVOR by CLAIRE M
I encourage my fellow members to vote in favor of this resolution. The Biden Administration’s utter and complete failure to recognize the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the horrors being committed daily by the state of Israel with US weapons and tax dollars is immoral and unforgivable. Biden has continued to ignore the will of the people he claims to represent, ignoring the overwhelming calls for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and an end to the US military aid to Israel. This campaign is a strategic way to demonstrate this immoral position will not be tolerated. It is also an opportunity to further develop our already strong organizing in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County and collaborate with nearby DSA chapters, which will strengthen not only our chapter but DSA’s regional presence.
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IN FAVOR by TIM S
I am writing in support of the resolution for the whole chapter to ratify the Steering Committee’s decision to have the chapter support the Uncommitted Maryland campaign. This is a good campaign on the merits, and I’ve consistently been a big supporter of chapter support for good campaigns. We’ve seen Uncommitted campaigns elsewhere drive media attention to the Biden administration’s participation in genocide in Gaza, and the popular disgust with those policy choices, galvanize leftists and progressives who may otherwise have felt totally disempowered, and built up new volunteers, leaders, and structures. It’s tremendously unlikely that the campaign – no matter how well run it is – makes a significant dent in Biden’s 2020 margin, but coming, as this primary does, near the end of the cycle, it represents an important opportunity to get some additional earned media regarding Biden’s indefensible record on Palestine. Maryland is also one of the few primaries left with an actual Uncommitted option, which makes accomplishing this earned media strategy far easier than it is in e.g. DC, where it is instead necessary to coordinate a write in campaign.
Beyond being a good opportunity to effectively forward our politics, this campaign will build capacity and continue the extremely positive trend of DSA’s Palestine solidarity work unifying and cohering the organization. There are a lot of people really energized by Palestine solidarity work, both already in DSA and outside but potentially recruitable, and this is an opportunity to engage them in tangible work with political stakes, and to help them develop campaign and leadership in the best way we know how: by having them lead a campaign. The fact that the campaign clearly has significant buy in from not only Maryland chapters, but also the national organization, also presents a huge opportunity: we have a lot of resources in our chapter, and combining those resources with the presence MD chapters have outside of the DMV and with national resources makes all of them go much further. Big national campaigns have not always worked as intended, but the Uncommitted campaign has shown me what they can look like, and I’m proud to be voting for us to participate; I hope that you will join me in doing so.
IN FAVOR by CARL R
Comrades, I urge you to vote FOR 2024-03-GR1: Resolution for MDC DSA to Endorse Uncommitted Vote in the Democratic Primary in Maryland. As chair of the chapter, I was happy to pass this as an urgent matter; uncommitted organizing has proven to move the administration on its support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Keeping the pressure up will be key if we aim to move from rhetorical shifts to policy shifts, and I believe we are well positioned, with the well thought out plan in this resolution, to play a key role in showing Biden, again, that voters want the genocide in Gaza to end. Please support this resolution and confirm that we as a chapter should organize to end our government’s support for one of the most heinous crimes against humanity in the 21st century.
IN FAVOR by MICHAEL M
Comrades, I urge you to vote IN FAVOR of the resolution ratifying the Steering Committee’s decision to endorse the Uncommitted campaign in Maryland. The Steering Committee passed this under the “urgent business” clause because the Maryland primary is rapidly approaching and local organizing efforts are already underway. Additionally, the Uncommitted campaign has already been endorsed by National DSA, and we’ve seen the impact it’s had in other swing states like Michigan — effectively putting pressure on the Biden campaign to reverse course on its complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. It is, of course, still important that we have buy-in from the general body on all of our chapter endorsements.
This campaign is strategically and morally sound: Maryland is one of the few primaries left with an option to choose “Uncommitted” on the ballot; this will likely earn some media attention to, hopefully, put more pressure on the Biden campaign to take seriously the disgust fomenting within his base on his position toward Palestine; and this will be a great opportunity to expand our base in the DMV. Both of the Maryland branches in our chapter, all of the other Maryland chapters, and National DSA are energetically supporting this campaign. Additionally, this will build on the local Palestine organizing efforts that have inspired a lot of people who would otherwise be disengaged from the 2024 Presidential Election.
For these reasons, I urge you to vote IN FAVOR of 2024-03-GR1 Resolution for MDC DSA to Endorse Uncommitted Vote in the Democratic Primary in Maryland.
IN FAVOR by APARNA R
I’m strongly in favor of endorsing the Uncommitted campaign in Maryland. It can feel demoralizing to try to move national politics but the Uncommitted campaign provides a strategic opportunity to do so amidst the ongoing genocide against Palestinians. In Michigan, the first Uncommitted campaign got 100,000 people to vote Uncommitted, enough to send delegates to the DNC and to send a message to Biden that he needs to take Palestine seriously. Similar Uncommitted campaigns have continued to gain traction in states like Minnesota and North Carolina.
In Maryland, we have the opportunity to show solidarity with Palestine and build our base. With a couple months before the MD primary and with support from National DSA, there is a real opportunity to hit the ground running with flyering, canvassing, and phonebanking, and convince a significant number of Democratic primary voters to vote for Uncommitted rather than Biden or another candidate. While Maryland isn’t a swing state, it is important as the genocide continues to show Biden that Democratic voters aren’t happy with him and will sit this election out unless he gives us a reason to vote for him. We have to try to move politics towards Palestinian liberation through every lever we can, and I believe that Uncommitted in MD is not just the morally right thing to do, but a strategic campaign where we can actually have a meaningful impact.
IN FAVOR by BEN D
The uncommitted campaign has been revelatory for DSA. It has actively changed the Biden Administration’s policy, and we must push it further, as far as we possibly can. It also builds DSA, both with our base and the communities we need to connect with and by training and empowering more organizers. I strongly support endorsing this campaign as a chapter.