Progressive Democrats of America Forum: Sanders, Socialism, and the Electoral Arena

A Discussion of Goals, Short Range and Long Range
When he introduced the ideas of democratic socialism to last year’s presidential election, the Bernie Sanders campaign didn’t just drag American politics into the twenty-first century. We might say that it brought them into the twentieth century, since every other major industrialized nation has had a substantial socialist movement for quite some time.
Socialism is a word that can mean many different things to many different people. Clearly it is broad, long-range goal extending far beyond any single election. At the same time, electoral activity is central to most views of democratic socialism.
How are we to think about our 2018 and 2020 goals – and our 2050 dreams?

Speakers:
Claire Lau, Chair, San Francisco Berniecrats.
The Berniecrats were established as a political club to channel the energy from Sanders campaign into local political organizing.
Darby Thomas, Co-chair, San Francisco chapter, Democratic Socialists of America.
In existence since 1982, after the Sanders campaign, DSA’s national organization grew from 5,000 to over 32,000 .
Tom Gallagher, Chair, San Francisco Progressive Democrats of America.
An outgrowth of the Dennis Kucinich presidential campaign, PDA lobbied and organized for Sanders to run in the Democratic presidential primaries for a year prior to their start.

Co-sponsored by San Francisco Berniecrats and San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America