Socialists of Detroit Work With Bonior and other Macomb County Democrats

Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich), the former Democratic Whip in the House, shares a stage with Detroit Democratic Socialists of America Chair David Green (right).(Photo courtesy of David Green )



Mobilized in Motor City -- In These Times

The link above is an article detailing the association between Dave Bonior and the Democratic Socialists of Americas' Detroit Chapter/


Features » December 25, 2009
Mobilized in Motor City

How Detroit DSA works in the Democratic Party to effect change.

By Seth A. Maxon


In 1998, thanks partly to the work of Detroit DSA, a living-wage ordinance passed on the ballot in Detroit with 80 percent support. Since then, the group has led other successful campaigns to establish a living wage in the cities of Warren, Eastpointe and Ferndale, and in the counties of Wayne and Macomb. Tags activists politics SHARE THIS ARTICLE Democratic socialists in southeastern Michigan can do something most of their counterparts across the nation cannot: they can boast of electoral victories. Moreover, they possess a level of influence within the Michigan Democratic Party of which many American leftists dream. And they’ve done it all without compromising their beliefs or values.

Their success has come from working with, instead of against, local Democrats.

“It starts out with relationships,” says David Green, the chair of the Detroit chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the organization that is a descendent of the Socialist Party of Eugene Victor Debs. He continues, “Mark Brewer, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, has a very good relationship with us. He’s spoken to our local several times. The chairs of the county parties, several of them are close friends as well.”

Since 1998, Detroit DSA, with about 250 members, has successfully partnered with local county chairs and other Democratic Party officials to promote and elect several progressive candidates to the Michigan state legislature. One of these candidates, State Rep. John Espinoza, was even elected in the heavily conservative “Thumb” region of the state. In 2004, with the backing of Detroit DSA, Espinoza became the first Democrat and the first Latino ever elected to represent Michigan’s 83rd District.

The secret to their success, says Green, is thinking strategically.

“As a small organization, how can we make a difference? We leverage our forces. We put our efforts towards a progressive Democrat challenging a Republican, or a progressive Democrat challenging a centrist Democrat [in a primary]. “

“We don’t pick symbolic victories,” Green says, “We pick things we can win.”

After deciding whom to support, Detroit DSA carefully chooses tactics that will have the greatest impact, all of which are based on the leftist tradition of on-the-ground, grassroots action.

Green holds initial fundraisers for progressive Democratic candidates in his own home, where he invites friends and allies to come meet the candidates and contribute to their campaigns. These fundraisers bring in several thousand dollars, which, according to Green, is more than enough to get a fledgling statehouse race off the ground, providing crucial support to underfunded progressive candidates entering politics for the first time.

To build on the initial fundraising push, a core of Detroit DSA goes door-to-door to distribute literature and answer questions about their candidates. These activists also participate in phone banking and email campaigns. As part of this effort, Green instructs his members not to identify themselves as DSA members, to avoid the knee-jerk reaction many still have toward people who self-identify as “socialists.”

Indeed, Detroit DSA has come under fire from Republicans and Democrats for being a “socialist” organization. Earlier this year, the pro-free-market, Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy asked the question, “Are socialists deciding close state house races?” In addition, in previous elections, Detroit DSA candidates have been “red-baited” by both Republican opponents and mainstream newspapers. Detroit DSA’s support became an issue in another statehouse race, in which the Republican candidate commissioned robo calls that accused her opponent, Democrat Vicki Barnett, of being a socialist.

Such red-baiting, though unsuccessful (both Barnett and Brown went on to win their elections, the former by a landslide), has prevented Detroit DSA from getting involved in higher profile races. The group offered to support progressive Democratic candidates in two congressional races in 2008: Gary Peters (9th district) and Mark Schauer (7th district), both of whom went on to victory. Green says that the candidates themselves were happy to have Detroit DSA’s involvement, but that “handlers” from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) refused the support, for fear that the candidates would be red-baited or branded as socialists.

Commitment to social movements

Despite the organization’s involvement in electoral politics, Detroit DSA has not given up on its commitment to social movements.

Over the past decade, the group has successfully waged six local living-wage campaigns in southeastern Michigan, utilizing many of the same methods they use to get out the vote. In 1998, thanks partly to the work of Detroit DSA, a living-wage ordinance passed on the ballot in Detroit with 80 percent support. Since then, the group has led other successful campaigns to establish a living wage in the cities of Warren, Eastpointe and Ferndale, and in the counties of Wayne and Macomb.


In 2006, Detroit DSA also led a successful anti-sweatshop campaign at Wayne State University, which thanks to the group’s efforts, no longer sells merchandise made in sweatshops.

Green insists that the social movement activism is as important as Detroit DSA’s electoral work.

“If all we did was work on electing progressive Democrats, we’d be guilty of some of the accusations our opponents give us, that the DSA is just an appendage of the Democratic Party … that we’re political hacks. If all we do is movement work, that’s kind of naïve. The way change happens in this country is by winning elections. That’s how you gain power and make change. You have to have both.”

Looking to the future

Green is confident that the DNC’s rejection of his organization’s support will change. In the 2008 cycle, support from Detroit DSA helped to push progressive candidates over the top in close races, in traditionally Republican regions, and in races where their candidates were red-baited. They continue to lead living-wage campaigns and other social movements that mainstream Democrats can support without controversy.

The upcoming 2010 elections are particularly important for Detroit DSA. Three-quarters of Michigan’s state senators are up for re-election, and the new census numbers will mean the legislature (where Republicans in the senate have a thin majority) has to redistrict the state. With Detroit DSA’s support, Green says, the Democrats can help avoid Republican dominance and gerrymandering.

Through it all, though, he says, the democratic socialists will stick to their guns and stay committed to long-term progressive change.

“We have to continue to be progressive so people will say, you know, it’s worth working with these people. And we can handle any flack that comes from the right wing. That takes a little backbone, a little experience … and it doesn’t happen



More to come....

FR/ED's (Fred Miller/Ed Bruley) association with the same group. Ed Bruley is running to become a regent at for Wayne State (please see the refernce above to the campaigns the DSA admit they have conducted at Wayne State University.

Democrats Cite 2 New Pledges as They Press Health Bill - NYTimes.com

Democrats Cite 2 New Pledges as They Press Health Bill - NYTimes.com


Democrats Cite 2 New Pledges as They Press Health BillBy DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and JEFF ZELENY

Published: March 17, 2010

WASHINGTON — The drive by House Democrats to pass major health care legislation gained momentum on Wednesday, as Representative Dennis Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, announced that he would support the bill after previously opposing it, and Representative Dale E. Kildee, Democrat of Michigan, said the abortion restrictions were sufficient to win his vote.

House leadership aides said they expected to release the final legislative language for the measure on Wednesday afternoon, setting up the possibility of a decisive vote on Saturday. House Democratic leaders have said lawmakers would be given 72 hours to review the legislation before voting on it.

Even as Republicans stepped up their criticism of the bill, Democrats said they were making progress in securing the 216 votes needed to approve it.

Mr. Kucinich, at a news conference at the Capitol, said he still favored a fully government-run Medicare-for-all system, like those of many European nations. But after coming under intense pressure, including a visit on Monday by President Obama to his district outside Cleveland, Mr. Kucinich said he did not want his objections to stand in the way of the legislation.

“If my vote is to be counted, let it count now for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform,” he said. He added, “I believe health care is a civil right.”

He also said his vote was in part to further Mr. Obama’s top domestic priority, the health care legislation. He is the first lawmaker to publicly declare his intention to switch to voting yes from no.

Mr. Kildee voted for the House health care bill in November, after Representative Bart Stupak, also a Michigan Democrat, succeeded in winning passage of an amendment imposing tight restrictions on insurance coverage for abortions.

Mr. Stupak and Mr. Kildee are viewed as close allies, and Mr. Stupak has said he would oppose the legislation because it now uses the Senate provisions on abortion, which he has called insufficient. Mr. Stupak also warned that as many as 11 other abortion opponents would join him in voting against the bill.

But in a statement, Mr. Kildee said he was satisfied that the provisions in the health care bill passed by the Senate would prevent the use of federal money for insurance coverage of abortions.

His announcement that he would support the legislation gave a big lift to House Democratic leaders who have been working to assure abortion opponents that a vote for the bill would not change existing federal policy, including the law known as the Hyde amendment, which bars the use of federal money for abortion in most cases.

"For those who know me, I have always respected and cherished the sanctity of human life,” Mr. Kildee said in his statement. “I spent six years studying to be a priest and was willing to devote my life to God. I came to Congress two years after the Hyde Amendment became law. And I have spent the last 34 years casting votes to protect the lives of the unborn.”

“I have stood up to many in my party to defend the right to life and have made no apologies for doing so,” he continued. “I now find myself disagreeing with some of the people and groups I have spent a lifetime working with. I have listened carefully to both sides, sought counsel from my priest, advice from family, friends and constituents and I have read the Senate abortion language more than a dozen times. I am convinced that the Senate language maintains the Hyde Amendment, which states that no federal money can be used for abortion.”

Mr. Kildee added that there were important reasons to support the measure. “We must not lose sight of what is at stake here — the lives of 31 million American children, adults, and seniors-who don’t have health insurance,” he said. “There is nothing more pro-life than protecting the lives of 31 million Americans.”

Mr. Stupak reiterated his intention to vote against the health care bill on Wednesday. But Democratic leaders no longer appear to be counting on his vote.

Mr. Kucinich became the first lawmaker to publicly declare his intention to switch to voting yes from no.

At his news conference, Mr. Kucinich said his vote was intended partly to protect Mr. Obama’s presidency. The health care legislation is Mr. Obama’s top domestic priority, and Republicans have made defeating it their top goal.

“In the past week it’s become clear that the vote on the final health bill will be very close,” Mr. Kucinich said. “I take this vote with the utmost seriousness. I’m quite aware of the historic fight, which has lasted the last century.”

He added, “The president’s visit to my district on Monday underscores the urgency of this vote.”

In a private conversation aboard Air Force One, traveling to Ohio on Monday, President Obama pressed Mr. Kucinich for his support for the bill. The White House did not know what the congressman had decided until earlier on Wednesday, when his aides advised administration officials and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of his plans.

While supporting the Senate bill, Mr. Kucinich said he did not like the procedure that might be used to pass it without an up-or-down vote in the House.

“I don’t like much of anything about this process,” Mr. Kucinich said.

Explaining factors he had considered in making his decision, Mr. Kucinich said, “We have to be very careful that the potential of President Obama’s presidency not be destroyed by this debate.”


Robert Pear contributed reporting.

Senate approves $17.6 billion job creation bill - Mar. 17, 2010

Senate approves $17.6 billion job creation bill - Mar. 17, 2010

Jobs bill on way to Obama for signature
By Tami Luhby, senior writerMarch 17, 2010: 11:43 AM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress put the final seal of approval on a $17.6 billion job creation bill on Wednesday.

The measure, which has gone through many twists and turns in the House and Senate in recent weeks, now heads to President Obama for his signature. It passed the Senate Wednesday by a 68 to 29 vote.

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The legislation will:

-- Exempt employers from Social Security payroll taxes on new hires who were unemployed.

-- Fund highway and transit programs through 2010.

-- Extend a tax break for business that spend money on capital investments, such as equipment purchases.

-- Expand the use of the Build America Bonds program, which helps states and municipalities fund capital construction projects.

The bill is a slimmed down version of an $85 billion bipartisan measure crafted by the Senate Finance Committee last month. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., stripped out these four measures and put them into a separate bill, saying he hoped lawmakers would pass it more quickly. The new bill passed the Senate on Feb. 24.

However, it then had to go to the House, which added two provisions to pay for the infrastructure spending and corporate tax breaks. Its amendments require foreign financial institutions to give the Internal Revenue Service more information to help it catch tax cheats, and delays a tax break for foreign interest payments. The House sent it back to the Senate in early March.

Job creation focus

The president and lawmakers have vowed to push measures that will spur job creation, as the economy continues to lose jobs and the unemployment rate stubbornly remains at 9.7%. But the initiatives are having a tough time getting through Congress.

Wednesday's measure has been criticized by some lawmakers and economists as having little bang for the buck.

The centerpiece of the legislation is a hiring tax credit crafted by Senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The bill spares businesses from paying Social Security taxes on new hires who had been unemployed for at least 60 days. This tax, which comes to 6.2%, could save companies a maximum of $6,621.

Companies who retain these new employees for a year can claim an additional credit of the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2 percent of the wages paid to the employee in 2010. The measure's estimated cost is $13 billion over 10 years.

Some economists say the credit will prompt the hiring of 300,000 workers, while others say it will only help at the margin because companies won't hire unless they see an increase in demand, regardless of tax incentives.

Additional initiatives being considered include giving more tax breaks to companies and funneling more money to the states, which are contemplating big spending cuts to balance their budgets. Others, however, are concerned that these measures will only add to the sky-high federal deficit. Democrats counterted that the legislation is fully paid for.

Meanwhile, the deadline to apply for extended unemployment benefits runs out in coming weeks. The House has to consider a roughly $140 billion bill that would push back the deadline until year end, extend a bevy of expired tax measures and send the states $25 billion to help fund its Medicaid obligations.

In the House, several jobs bills are forming, while Senate Democratic leaders say their next jobs initiative will be targeted at small businesses.

"This is just the first, certainly not the last, piece of legislation we will put forward," Schumer said.

Wal-Mart Announcer Tells All Black Customers TO Leave the Store

Wal-Mart investigating racist store announcement | detnews.com | The Detroit News


Last Updated: March 17. 2010


Associated Press

Washington Township, N.J. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. officials are reviewing security tapes to try to determine who used a southern New Jersey store's public-address system to tell "all black people" to leave.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday at the Washington Township store, a male voice calmly announced: "Attention Wal-Mart customers: All black people leave the store now."

Witnesses say customers and store employees looked stunned. Management later apologized.


Company spokeswoman Ashley Hardie says the incident was "unacceptable." The retailer is looking to prevent it from happening in the future.

Washington Township police and the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office also are investigating.

WHEN WILL THEY GET OVER IT?!?

Andrew M. Manis is associate professor of history at Macon State College in Georgia and wrote this for an editorial in the Macon Telegraph.


Andrew M. Manis: When Are WE Going to Get Over It?

For much of the last forty years, ever since America "fixed" its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, "When are African Americans finally going to get over it?

Now I want to ask:

"When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?
Recent reports that "Election Spurs Hundreds' of Race Threats, Crimes" should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in "Bombingham," Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than "talk the talk."

Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.


We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we're back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we've proven what conservatives are always saying -- that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president.

But instead we now hear that school children from Maine to California are talking about wanting to "assassinate Obama."
Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, "How long?"

How long before we white people realize we can't make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us?
How long until we white people can - once and for all - get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color?
How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior?
How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?

How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin?
How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we start "living out the true meaning" of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that "red and yellow, black and white" all are precious in God's sight?
Until this past November 4, I didn't believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don't believe I'll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem.

But here's my three-point plan:

First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I'm going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I'm going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

Third, I'm going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can "in spirit and in truth" sing of our damnable color prejudice,

"We HAVE overcome."
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It takes a Village to protect our President!!!