Seattle city council member, Kshama Sawant is the most prominent socialist in the United States. That’s why what she does and what her group, Socialist Alternative does, matters for the entire socialist movement. We carry below an open letter from a member of Socialist Alternative. The letter criticizes Kshama Sawant.“This is not what I joined Socialist Alternative for.”
Cornel West, is an activist who was forced to leave the Harvard and Princeton faculties for working more on his career as an entrepreneur, rap singer and money maker rather than educating students or writing about the issues. Similarly, Kshama Sawant has parlayed her admirable suport for the $15 Minimum Wage into a personal campaign to promote her own career, including buying an expensive house and spending part of her city salary on an upcoming biography entitled “The Most Dangerous Woman in America.”
Kshama is in the leadership of Socialist Alternative and she is the most famous “socialist” in America. Several of my fellow marxists have said that Sawant and SA have become like European Social Democrats. SA is no longer acting like a revolutionary socialist organization in my opinion.
I sent Kshama a private message regarding my concerns.
In the last few years I have had several political disagreements with Socialist Alternative. Nonetheless I have stayed in the organization because, despite the disagreements, SA seemed like the most viable left political party that had firm principles regarding the democratic party.
Kshama attending King County Council Member Larry Gossett’s fundraiser and her defense of him is a significant breach of principle. It just continues the pattern that I have observed, of SA leadership spending more time and energy trying to appeal to middle class voters and build relationships with union leadership and democratic party leadership than they do on building a base among workers, youth and the poor.
I know that Kshama is facing a fight to keep her seat on the city council. SA is thinking they must build coalitions with people like Gossett in order to do that. T=……. In my opinion it would be better to remain firm on the principle of not supporting Democratic candidates. SA could emphasize to Gossett’s supporters, “Look, Gossett should leave the democratic party if he really is so progressive. His party is running candidates against the only socialist, woman of color on the city council! “
Kshama Sawant is betraying our principles in an attempt to hold onto that city council seat. I have been told before by SA leadership that our political candidates are a reflection on our entire organization.
This is not what I joined SA for.
Today, more young adults think positively about socialism than do about capitalism. Sadly, socialism 
in general is lacking a public face. The one exception is Seattle city council member, Kshama Sawant, an open socialist. She’s the most prominent socialist in the United States. That’s why what she does and what her group, Socialist Alternative does, matters for the entire socialist movement. We carry below an open letter from a member of Socialist Alternative. The letter criticizes Kshama Sawant.
Larry Gossett
Several weeks ago, socialist city council member Kshama Sawant was confronted by pickets at a fund raiser for liberal Democratic city council member Larry Gossett. The pickets were there because Gossett had supported a new youth prison. Sawant, however,
had come to support Gossett. She engaged in a debate with the pickets, in which she said that Gossett is not really a part of “the establishment” and that he’s been fighting for working class people for years. (Note: the debate was caught on video, but for some reason it has since been taken down from youtube.)
In fact, the liberal wing of the Democrats is in some ways the more dangerous wing. They are the ones who serve as the bait for the trap, the ones who lure the workers movement into the corporate-controlled Democratic Party, thereby preventing the workers’ movement from developing its own party and its own, working class position on the different issues.
Union Leadership
This confusion around the liberal Democrats is directly connected with Socialist Alternative’s refusal to have any sort of break with the union leadership. On the one side, this leadership brings the views of the employers into the union, with the leadership’s support for the idea that the workers and the employers are on the same “team” and that the union has to look out for the profits of the employers. This was the position of the leadership of the hotel workers’ union at the 2014 15 Now national conference. There, this leadership argued that the employers could not pay a minimum of $15/hour and continue to pay full health benefits too. Unfortunately, the SA leadership, including Sawant, agreed with them. On the other hand, these same leaders represent the Democratic Party inside the unions.
Inevitably, the support for the union leadership’s team concept has led Socialist Alternative to support individual Democrats too. The damage that is done is shown by the letter below from Socialist Alternative member Sarah Morken. Sarah should be congratulated for her honesty and integrity. She writes:
Letter from Socialist Alternative member
Last week I almost talked myself into attending a fundraiser for a local Democratic party political candidate.
I almost justified this to myself, even though Socialist Alternative stands for breaking with the Two Parties of Big Business. I have been a dues paying member of SA Tacoma for 3 years. I am firmly and openly critical of the Democratic party to anyone who will listen. If I almost broke with those principles, I wonder how many other SA members/socialists/progressives were influenced by the latest move by Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant? How many other people will say, “well this democrat might help me with …… if I support their campaign,” “quietly attending their fundraiser as their friend won’t hurt anything,” “attending a fundraiser doesn’t mean I’m endorsing them.”
From “What We Stand For” in SA newspaper: “Unions and social movement organizations should stop funding and supporting the Democratic and Republican Parties and instead organize independent left wing, anti-corporate candidates and coalitions as a first step toward building a workers’ party.”
Guess why I almost justified going to this democratic party candidate’s fundraiser?
A new political party recently started by some activists who I know. I was going to ask them what their orientation will be towards the Democratic Party. I am 99% sure of what their orientation will be, based on what I know about the people who created the new political party.
But, then I thought, “do I really want to go there right now?” Do I really have a leg to stand on considering that Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant recently attended a fund raiser for one of Democratic party’s “progressive” gatekeepers? She was caught on camera defensively justifying it? I did watch the video myself, but it has since been removed from the internet.
Kshama is in the leadership of Socialist Alternative and she is the most famous “socialist” in America. Several of my fellow marxists have said that Sawant and SA have become like European Social Democrats. SA is no longer acting like a revolutionary socialist organization in my opinion.
I sent Kshama a private message regarding my concerns.
In the last few years I have had several political disagreements with Socialist Alternative. Nonetheless I have stayed in the organization because, despite the disagreements, SA seemed like the most viable left political party that had firm principles regarding the democratic party.
Kshama attending King County Council Member Larry Gossett’s fundraiser and her defense of him is a significant breach of principle. It just continue’s the pattern that I have observed, of SA leadership spending more time and energy trying to appeal to middle class voters and build relationships with union leadership and democratic party leadership than they do on building a base among workers, youth and the poor.
This is not what I joined SA for.