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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Obama-file 19 Obama '08 "All the Way With DSA"

Obama-file 18 here

If Barack Obama's campaign for the US presidency has an unofficial slogan, it should be "All the way with DSA".


The Marxists of Chicago Democratic Socialists of America helped launch Obama's political career and have supported him ever since.

DSA linked unions have endorsed Obama's campaign for the Deocratic nomination and DSA linked figures such as Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky and Barbara Lee have come out strongly for the Senator.

While the iron disciplined Communist Party USA has committed itself totally to the Obama cause, the looser DSA is less obvious about its support.

Traditionally DSA allows its members more freedom to back candidates of their choice, but several prominent DSA members have stood up for Obama in recent times.

These range from senior union officials, to street level supporters, to well known academics.

An interesting example of Obama/union/political solidarity occurred in Chicago on March 3rd 2007.

I quote from blog Public Affairs

Speaking in a vernacular and cadence that showed the Harvard Law School and Columbia University trained Barack Obama can connect with working class people, the third year U. S. Senator wowed and energized a mostly labor union crowd of about 1600supporters this morning...

The event attracted some of Labor’s big hitters to join Obama on the dais and speak, including John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO and Gerald McEntee, President of AFSCME. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky [D-Evanston, 9th CD], an early and big-time supporter of Obama’s in the 2004 Senate Primary and Senator Dick Durbin [D-IL] also spoke...

Eight other individuals spoke at the rally, including local labor leaders and health care workers, as well as a local favorite for liberals, Dr. Quentin Young.


Cong. Jan Schakowsky [D-Evanston, 9th CD]: … Employers can intimidate, fire, threaten to move people from the day shift to the graveyard...it is a new day in our nation’s capital, it’s a new day for Resurrection workers and their friends, it’s a new day for immigrant workers, it’s a new day for all our working Americans who dream of the justice that ONLY the Union Movement can deliver. And, to the doubters I say, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Just wait until we have a Labor Department under President Barack Obama.

Its a safe bet that Jan Schakowsky is angling to head the US Labor Department under President Obama.


John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO is the USA's most powerful labour leader. he is also a long time DSA member.

Gerald McEntee, the nation's top public sector unionist is a strong Sweeney ally. He is also allegedly a DSA member.

According to San Francisco DSA member Michael Pugliese;

BTW, for what it's worth McEntee, is one of the DSA notables in the labor bureaucrat column. As is John Sweeney.

Quentin Young is a well known Chicago DSA member and early Obama backer, who seems to have come back to the cause, after a period of disillusionment with his friend and neighbour.

Jan Schakowsky has close ties to DSA. Dick Durbin is a strong Obama backer and is regarded as one of the most far left members of the US Senate.


Illinois Senators Dick Durbin, Barack Obama

I found this interesting piece from the Young Democratic Socialists online magazine, the Activist.org

It even refers to yours truly!

It is true that Obama has delivered a lackluster performance in the Senate and that there are some bizarrely conservative people in his campaign. But Barack has some real left-wing street cred in Chicago. I will let this inaccurate right-wing attack on Obama (associating him with a certain organization near and dear to us) speak for itself: http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2008/01/obama-file-7-barack-obama-and.html . He is probably the only person running for president who could identify, say, Antonio Gramsci, and that should count for something shouldn’t it?

He has often attacked for being less outspoken than the Senior Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, but Obama actually takes his cues from Durbin who, along with DSA-friendly Jan Schakowsky, has been his main political sponsor.


A leading academic Obama backer is Princeton University professor of Religion and African American Studies, Cornel West.

An honorary chair of DSA, West was initially a Clinton backer and very cool towards Obama.



Now West is an unabashed Obamaphile.

Here Cornel West Introduces Barack Obama at the Apollo Theater, November 29th, 2007.

Note that West describes Obama as his "companion and comrade".



Further down the socialist/academic food chain is California State University, Sacramento, professor Duane Campbell.


A leader of DSA's Anti Racism and Latino Commissions, Campbell is an Obama zealot.

His blog Choosing Democracy focuses more on Obama than even mine does. He is a leading activist in the Sacramento area Obama campaign, including the Sacramento Obama Meetup group.

According to Cal State's The Hornet

Barack Obama's presidential campaign was brought to the attention of those who walked by a booth that was set up on the Library Quad today.

Bilingual and multicultural education professor Duane Campbell, who has been involved with political activities since the 70's, volunteers his time three days a week to educate students of the presidential candidate's campaign


DSA members certainly working hard to put their man in the White House.

Obama-file 20 here

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

How come you take more interest in Obama than the other candidates? I always figured something's "different" about him.

8:45 PM  
Blogger Trevor Loudon said...

Because I am interested in the activities of the left.

Hillary's leftist background is well documented, but until recently Obama has had a free pass on his radical background.

8:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As a DSA member, I can only say that I WISH that Obama were a socialist. Unfortunately, his program is pretty standard centrist fare with some rhetorical red meat for the left-wingers (and yes, we eat that shit up).

11:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

more black commies aii trev - blood natives not interesting enough? dont like the AIM?

2:44 PM  
Blogger Trevor Loudon said...

Anonymous DSA member.

Then why has DSA backed Mr Obama all these years?

What do they know that most US voters don't?

4:19 PM  

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