The Democratic Socialists of America, which previously endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for the presidency, have declared they will not endorse the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We are not endorsing [Joe Biden],” the organization said in a tweet Sunday.
Sanders, however, endorsed Biden on Monday.
The DSA boasts among its approximately 56,000 members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. The organization, which backs socialist candidates in the Democratic Party, also was a supporter of Barack Obama early in his political career. And it endorsed Obama in his successful 2008 presidential run against Republican Sen. John McCain.
On its website last October, the DSA called it a “watershed moment for our movement for economic, environmental, racial, and social justice” when Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., endorsed Sanders for president.
“For decades, Bernie has taken on the wealthy and ruling elite with his call for a political revolution,” the DSA said.
“This call has inspired millions. Since his 2016 presidential campaign, we’ve witnessed the skyrocketing growth of DSA, a surge in the popularity of democratic socialism and policies like Medicare for All, a strike wave of teachers and other workers, and the groundbreaking electoral wins of democratic socialist Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib and allies like Rep. Omar.”
The DSA commended Sanders for contending “billionaires should not exist,” insisting they are “rich because the vast majority of society is poor.”
Ocasio-Cortez defended Sanders last fall after he made the statement.
“All of the Democratic candidates, except for Bernie, claim we can fix capitalism,” the DSA said. “But capitalism is working just as it is meant to: those who have the wealth, who own the companies and reap the profits, have all the power.”
Reaction to the DSA’s refusal to endorse Biden illustrated the divide in the Democratic Party, Fox News reported.
“Your endorsement would have hurt Biden,” Jon Cooper, the former head of the Democratic Coalition, tweeted. “Now that you’ve shown your true colors by effectively equating Biden with Trump (a REAL fascist), you can go back to being totally irrelevant.”
The DSA has said its long-term objective is to run candidates as socialists rather than under the Democratic Party banner.
Sanders tweeted his endorsement in a tweet.
“Today I am asking all Americans — I’m asking every Democrat, I’m asking every independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans – to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy which I endorse,” Sanders said.
#BREAKING: Sen. Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden: “Today I am asking all Americans — I’m asking every Democrat, I’m asking every independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans – to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy which I endorse.” pic.twitter.com/Ty1r9ligJx
— The Hill (@thehill) April 13, 2020
