Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the largest socialist group in the U.S., has endorsed voting “uncommitted” in the remaining Democratic primaries nationwide as the Biden administration continues to provide diplomatic and military support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
On Sunday, the group posted on social media that the vote is an important way to force Joe Biden to wake up to voters’ concerns over the genocide. The group said that, if he fails to heed the passionate calls of voters wishing to stop Israel’s massacre, it will be Biden’s fault if loses the general election to Donald Trump this November.
“Today, DSA endorses ‘Uncommitted’ in the remaining Democratic presidential primaries. Until this administration ends its support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and delivers a permanent, lasting ceasefire, Joe Biden will bear the responsibility for another Trump presidency,” the group wrote.
“With over 100k people voting ‘Uncommitted’ in last Tuesday’s [Michigan] primary to demand a permanent ceasefire, Biden is on track to lose the election to Trump unless he chooses to listen to the working class of this country and change course,” the group continued. “Defeat is certain if he fails to do so.”
DSA has chapters in all 50 states across the U.S. and 92,000 members overall, according to the group’s website, with several members in Congress as well as a number of members in state and local elected positions. It joins progressive group Our Revolution in backing the “uncommitted” campaign, which originated in Michigan, where 13 percent of Democratic primary voters selected “uncommitted” in the state’s primary last week.
DSA and other groups are backing official campaigns for voting “uncommitted” in states like Minnesota, Colorado and Washington, with DSA launching phone and text banking campaigns in those states. A large number of other states and territories also provide voters with an “uncommitted” or similar option, while some states have write-in options that may or may not be counted based on the state’s primary rules.
With the vast majority of states have still yet to hold their primaries, the growth of the campaign could spell even more trouble for the Biden administration, which has already reportedly been sent scrambling by the Michigan campaign.
Last week, Politico reported that the Biden campaign is “freaking out about the uncommitted vote.” Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have both made statements in the last week pledging that the administration is seeking a “ceasefire” — when they are really talking about an existing “pause” deal that Palestinian and Israeli officials are negotiating, seemingly in an attempt to garner support from pro-Palestine advocates without pursuing substantial policy change.
The “uncommitted” campaign, however, is growing quickly. Our Revolution, which backed the Michigan drive, is also throwing its resources behind encouraging voters to select “uncommitted” in Washington. And the campaign picked up a major endorsement last week when Washington’s largest private-sector labor union, United Food and Commercial Workers 3000, with over 50,000 members, announced its support for “uncommitted.” The union said that changing course on Gaza is Democrats’ best chance of keeping labor-hostile Trump out of office.
This growth can be attributed, perhaps, to the public’s growing discontent with Biden’s handling of Gaza and continued horror over the atrocities that Israel is committing in Gaza, with the backing of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
In an attack just on Thursday, Israel opened fire on over 100 Palestinians and injured 750 more waiting to receive a rare food shipment in northern Gaza in what advocates and Palestinians have dubbed the “flour massacre.” Since then, Israel has once again attacked food-seekers in Gaza, with Israeli forces attacking another aid distribution truck on Sunday in an alleged “safe zone,” with dozens wounded and killed, officials said.