SF Democratic Socialist Supervisor Takes Congress to Task Over "Red-baiting" Congressional Resolution
SAN FRANCISCO — Democratic Socialist Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents District 5 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, is calling on his colleagues to condemn a congressional resolution introduced by Republican Maria Elvira Salazar (FL), entitled “Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism.” The Resolution was introduced in t he United States House of Representatives and passed on February 1, 2023, with bipartisan support-– including that of San Francisco Representative Nancy Pelosi.
The Republican Resolution includes clauses attributing atrocities to socialism and listing various “socialist ideologues” before claiming that socialism “has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders.” The Resolution concludes: “Congress denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.”
“This Resolution was such a blatant red-baiting overreach that it is astonishing that anyone who cares about social, economic, and racial justice voted for it,” stated Preston. “This kind of resolution is something one would expect from McCarthy-– not today’s Kevin McCarthy, but Senator Joseph McCarthy of the 1950s.”
The resolution is only the latest in Republican attacks against socialism and any policies remotely left-of-center. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump and his administration bemoaned Joe Biden and his policies as “socialist,” and repeatedly accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being a “left-wing extremist.” Red-baiting attacks have continued since Trump left office, with various Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene resorting to calling Democrats “communists.”
Yet, socialism and socialist policies have a long history in the United States and worldwide. Well-respected leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mother Jones, Dorothy Day, Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and Cesar Chavez were vocal about their socialist ideals and incorporated those ideals into their advocacy. Their work and ideas remain highly celebrated today.
Socialist ideas have also been implemented in the United States, including through Social Security, public housing, the United States Postal Service, fire departments, and government-funded roads and infrastructure. These policies remain highly popular across the nation.
“At a time when we should be championing visionary socialist policies– everything from those we have like Social Security to those we need like Medicare for all, social housing, and free public transit– it is disheartening to see so many Democrats joining Republicans to vilify, malign and undermine those on the left,” Preston said. The resolution introduced by Preston today seeks to put San Francisco on record condemning House Concurrent Resolution 9 and urging Congress not to engage in further red-baiting.
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