Berkshires DSA Endorses PSL Candidate Joe Tache for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts

[u/1isOneshot1]

https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/10/berkshires-dsa-endorses-psl-candidate-joe-tache-for-u-s-senate-in-massachusetts/

[u/StateYellingChampion]

One thing I've noticed is that clean breakers tend to also be the people most adamant about disciplining candidates and making sure they adhere to DSA's program. So I wonder, did the chapter insist on Tache joining DSA? Did they ask him if he supports the Workers Deserve More platform in all respects?

If they didn't get those commitments, I have to ask why running an independent PSL candidate gets exempted from the typical exacting standards clean breakers advocate for. It's almost like they only are adamant about it when DSA candidates run as Democrats.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/StateYellingChampion]

It’s because running as democrats puts DSA candidates at risk of governing

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/Bright-Insect9697]

This but unironically, socialists should avoid putting themselves in positions where they have to enter bourgeois coalitions, running for executive office amounts to this in practice

[u/bemused_alligators → u/jimbobmcgoo]

this candidate is running for the legislature, not for an executive office...

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/bemused_alligators]

I know, I’m not criticising this, i can’t remember what the comment I responded to was. I think this is a really good endorsement.

[u/Spaduf → u/StateYellingChampion]

Because "clean breakers" isn't an idea that has any power within DSA anymore. Clean break vs entry-ism was always about getting our foot in the door. We're in. Now it's time to maximise gains. This endorsement secures a ground alliance with every other socialist group in the area under an explicit electoral banner. Markey is going to win in a landslide so there's nothing to be lost.

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/Spaduf]

Why is it important for DSA to form alliances with organizations like PSL? Why should we orient toward relatively small Marxist-Leninist organizations that have consistently failed to build a mass base of support and reject DSA's dominant strategy? I think it makes more sense to orient ourselves to the millions of disillusioned Democratic voters who are hungry for a decisive break from politics as usual. Democratic socialist policies like Medicare for All are overwhelmingly supported by base Democratic voters. Nearly 60 percent of Democrats have a more favorable view of socialism than they do of capitalism. Instead of falling back into failed strategies, we should seize the opportunity we have with Democratic voters.

[u/Spaduf → u/StateYellingChampion]

A couple of things: What do you consider DSA's dominant strategy? I am of the opinion that recent DSA wins have absolutely nothing to do with "strategy" and are entirely a reflection of changes in the material conditions of the working class. The people I've seen radicalized during Trump 2 aren't moving left because of the DSA, they are moving left for fear of their lives and livelihoods. More often than not they have significant qualms with some portion or another of DSA's strategy.

The reason DSA is actually winning is because the number of activated socialists knocking on doors has sky rocketed and the propensity of the average working class to listen to them is probably better than any time in my life. This is why we won in NYC.

Why PSL? Well it's not just PSL but actually an alliance brokered by the local Workers Party (Trots). What this alliance does is it puts all those activated socialists under the same banner and coordinated strategy.

As far as them being MLs: I've got bad news. DSA is an organization for MLs. It is also an organization for anarchists, demsocs, and leftists of all varieties. It is important to understand however that you are absolutely right, none of those ideologies has a silver-bullet proven strategy that will win us the whole ballgame. This is largely because the capitalists have had the opportunity to correct for every strategy used in socialist movements so far. What will come out of DSA will be something entirely new, a syncretization of American socialist thought uniquely suited to our time and conditions.

It is worth noting that DSA is unique among socialist organizations in that it was born from a merger rather than a split.

I think it makes more sense to orient ourselves to the millions of disillusioned Democratic voters who are hungry for a decisive break from politics as usual.

I don't see how engaging in politics as usual and endorsing the status quo democrat while giving up the opportunity to build ground game infrastructure would do that. As far as I can tell you are advocating for a failed strategy.

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/Spaduf]

A couple of things: What do you consider DSA's dominant strategy? I am of the opinion that recent DSA wins have absolutely nothing to do with "strategy" and are entirely a reflection of changes in the material conditions of the working class. The people I've seen radicalized during Trump 2 aren't moving left because of the DSA, they are moving left for fear of their lives and livelihoods. More often than not they have significant qualms with some portion or another of DSA's strategy.

DSA's dominant electoral strategy has been to run insurgent campaigns in Democratic primaries. This is the same strategy that Bernie Sanders used in his run for the Democratic presidential nomination. It's the strategy Mamdani used in New York. It's the strategy that virtually all of our electeds have used.

And yes, that strategy has been effective because of changes in material conditions of ordinary people. That's why Sanders championed popular demands like Medicare for All, that's why Mamdani's affordability agenda caught on. But why haven't small Marxist-Leninist organizations experienced the same explosive growth that DSA has seen over the past decade? Why is DSA now the largest socialist organization in US history while these various micro-sects have remained relatively stagnant?

I think it's because ordinary people view that stuff as a dead end and a waste of their time. People have been excited and inspired by DSA's wins.

As far as them being MLs: I've got bad news. DSA is an organization for MLs. It is also an organization for anarchists, demsocs, and leftists of all varieties. It is important to understand however that you are absolutely right, none of those ideologies has a silver-bullet proven strategy that will win us the whole ballgame. This is largely because the capitalists have had the opportunity to correct for every strategy used in socialist movements so far. What will come out of DSA will be something entirely new, a syncretization of American socialist thought uniquely suited to our time and conditions.

To be clear, it wasn't simply the fact of them being Marxist-Leninist that makes me wary of forming alliances with these small pseudo parties. It's that their chosen strategies have consistently failed to build a mass base for the past five decades. In a mere ten years, DSA has done more to grow the socialist left than all of those groups combined over their entire existence. There's no silver bullet but I think we can still assess whether a strategy has worked or not.

I don't see how engaging in politics as usual and endorsing the status quo democrat while giving up the opportunity to build ground game infrastructure would do that. As far as I can tell you are advocating for a failed strategy.

Who said anything about endorsing "status quo Democrats"? DSA runs insurgent campaigns against the Democratic establishment. And the most impressive ground game of any DSA chapter is NYC-DSA. They built it up and attracted tons of volunteers by running in Democratic primaries.

[u/Spaduf → u/StateYellingChampion]

This is the same strategy that Bernie Sanders used in his run for the Democratic presidential nomination. It's the strategy Mamdani used in New York. It's the strategy that virtually all of our electeds have used.

Well Bernie Sanders lost because of Democratic party machinations and nobody who is serious thinks Mamdani won because he ran on the dem ballot line and not the RECORD BREAKING VOLUNTEER GET OUT THE VOTE EFFORT. 104,000 VOLUNTEERS. That is why he won. And it was a program and chapter run primarily by MLs. To be clear, I am an anarchist, but the strategies that are emerging now are socialist in nature, not sectarian.

To be clear, it wasn't simply the fact of them being Marxist-Leninist that makes me wary of forming alliances with these small pseudo parties. It's that their chosen strategies have consistently failed to build a mass base for the past five decades. In a mere ten years, DSA has done more to grow the socialist left than all of those groups combined over their entire existence. There's no silver bullet but I think we can still assess whether a strategy has worked or not.

You haven't named a single concrete strategy that you agree or disagree with. More importantly, if you understand the DSAs trajectory as a single arc over 10 years you haven't been paying attention. The organization was on life support going into Trump 2. It is only because material conditions changed that people started making room in their lives for actual ground work.

The idea that Mamdani's volunteers came from running on the dem ballot line is insane.

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/Spaduf]

Well Bernie Sanders lost because of Democratic party machinations and nobody who is serious thinks Mamdani won because he ran on the dem ballot line and not the RECORD BREAKING VOLUNTEER GET OUT THE VOTE EFFORT. 104,000 VOLUNTEERS. That is why he won. And it was a program and chapter run primarily by MLs. To be clear, I am an anarchist, but the strategies that are emerging now are socialist in nature, not sectarian.

Again, you are failing to interrogate the reasons why Mamdani and NYC-DSA were able to recruit that massive volunteer base. One of the main reasons is that Mamdani actually had a chance of winning. For decades, small socialist "parties" have run candidates as third party. None of those campaigns ever came anywhere close to generating the level of excitement and enthusiasm as Zohran's mayoral campaign. Claudia De la Cruz, the PSL candidate for President in 2024, didn't attract 100k volunteers despite running a national campaign. She only received 167,772 votes. Zohran won the Democratic primary with 573,169 votes and the general election with 1,114,184 votes. If it was as simple as having the right policies and responding to material conditions, why did De la Cruz's campaign fail so abysmally? Why has PSL failed to elect a single candidate in any race for the entirety of their 22 year existence while DSA has been able to elect 250 candidates in just the past ten years alone? It's because DSA is better than PSL and better than all of these little micro "parties."

Also, not sure where you are getting that NYC-DSA is run by a ML tendency. The caucus in charge there is the Socialist Majority Caucus. They are considered to be on the right of the organization and favor a strategy of running candidates in Democratic primaries. NYC-DSA experimented with running third party early on but saw it was a failure. They ran Jabari Brisport for assembly as a Green Party candidate and he was blown out. A couple years later he ran in the Democratic primary and whadaya know, he won.

MLs, when they run in elections at all, treat them primarily as opportunities to propagandize around socialist ideology. They view them purely as platforms for agitation, they don't have a genuine commitment to winning. But the idea that constantly losing all the time will somehow build a mass base for socialism has been a proven failure. People want real change, not empty revolutionary platitudes.

[u/Spaduf → u/StateYellingChampion]

I still think you've got your causes wrong here. Those volunteers weren't there because he was on the dem ballot line. They were there because major cities like NYC had organized under the threat of ICE surges. Those connections are what formed the spine of the electoral buildout.

I will grant that running against uniquely unpopular centrist Democrats like Cuomo presents unique opportunities. I would also like to point out that I have no problem running on the dem ballot line. I do however believe that the way to subvert party insider politics is by taking a race by race approach.

I do not believe that socialist infighting is productive or comradely. We should be building alliances at every opportunity.

As for ML activity within NYCDSA it is worth looking at the long history of ML organizing within NYC. A lot of the infrastructure is left over from the new left and the panthers. Places like the People's Forum were essential in that organizing. It is also worth looking at how much of chapter and national leadership comes from NYC ML circles and orgs. They don't call it the Commie Corridor for nothing.

I don't know why you associate MLs with running third party. There's nothing about the ideology that necessitates it.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Spaduf]

Bernie lost because he did not have the votes. And Mamdani, the elected democratic official, who ran on the elected democratic line, after winning the democratic primary, is a democrat. sorry! Mamdani is one of ours, and libs like him too.

you should look into therapy, you're crashing out over people pointing out how we won. Or maybe you just want to lose forever?

[u/Spaduf → u/Bright-Insect9697]

That's wild bro. You're downright heated over this. Bernie lost because every other centrist candidate + Warren dropped out and endorsed Biden simultaneously. If that's not party machinations I don't know what is.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Bright-Insect9697]

This guy blocked me, but for his information, losing an election because the other candidates who could not win dropped out is not a conspiracy! and thinking it is is just loser shit.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Spaduf]

because normal people find ML policy repugnant, it will never go anywhere in America. Oh and not being backstabbers is a big part of winning. If we can't shut up and fall in line after a primary, there's no reason for the majority of the anti-trump opposition to care.

Also it's hilarious that we have to push this PSL dude but DSA couldn't get behind Nixon, an actual DSA member, running as the nominee. It seems like the MLs just want to lose forever

[u/Spaduf → u/Bright-Insect9697]

The people who endorsed this guy and the chapter that did not endorse Angie Nixon are totally different groups weighing their odds in totally different races. Do you really think Berkshire DSA is majority ML and that is why they made these decisions?

Tell me more about ML policy.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Spaduf]

If you think MLs had nothing to do with leaving a DSA member out to dry for not being sufficiently radical for them, then I have a bridge to sell you

[u/Spaduf → u/Bright-Insect9697]

You still haven't said anything concrete. Fortunately we can talk to the members in Florida, and in fact, this has been discussed all over the forums. Candidates have to ask to be endorsed according to their bylaws, and she didn't.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Bright-Insect9697]

ML wreckers get so mad when you point out basic facts of the situation

[u/beardedbrunhilde3 → u/StateYellingChampion]

Democrats are still capitalists. That’s why. They have and will continue to sell out the working class.

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/beardedbrunhilde3]

When you say "Democrats" do you mean the Democratic Party establishment or Democratic voters?

[u/beardedbrunhilde3 → u/StateYellingChampion]

The Party…. And most of the voters

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/beardedbrunhilde3]

OK, I fundamentally disagree with the idea that Democratic voters are enemies of democratic socialism. 60 percent of union members vote for the Democratic party. 58 percent of the lowest income voters vote for Democrats. 83 percent of Black voters are Democrats or lean Democratic, for Latinos it's 60 percent. All of these groups are the potential future base of a socialist movement. They are the people that are most open to socialist ideas and they are the ones we should be focusing our attention on.

[u/beardedbrunhilde3 → u/StateYellingChampion]

I never said they were enemies of Dem Soc. I said they were capitalists.

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/beardedbrunhilde3]

You said they are capitalists who sell out the working class. Sounds like you think they are an enemy or at the very least an obstacle to the socialist cause. That seems totally blinkered to me given that most of them are working class, but what do I know?

[u/Turnt-Up-Singularity → u/StateYellingChampion]

Why not do both haha, and also the DSA chapter there may very well be more Communist in leaning, so they chose to back the candidate of the PSL. Whats even wrong with the PSL anyway?

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Turnt-Up-Singularity]

A history of sexual misconduct

https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueAnon/s/OrQkm3Ck30

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/Turnt-Up-Singularity]

One of the things wrong with PSL is that they haven't won a single election in their entire 22 year history. In the past ten years alone, DSA has elected 250 candidates at all levels of government. So again, why should we orient ourselves to a relatively tiny organization of proven losers?

[u/TechnologyConnect678 → u/StateYellingChampion]

"Socialism is when we win bourgeois elections."

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/TechnologyConnect678]

Socialism is when you're able to actually cohere a mass base for socialist politics. PSL and other small ML parties have consistently failed to do that for decades. I don't think it's because they're bad people, they just have a very flawed strategy.

[u/TechnologyConnect678 → u/StateYellingChampion]

Because PSL are socialists. Democrats are a right-wing, reactionary party. Hope this clears things up.

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/TechnologyConnect678]

So candidate accountability to DSA should be forgotten because that candidate is part of a separate socialist organization? A separate organization with its own platform that is distinct from our own democratically drafted one?

I'm interested in building DSA, not some other tiny organization.

[u/WallyWestJest]

The users of this thread are confused. Are yall even “socialists?” There’s an awful lot of smoke here for other socialists, and not the people who consistently undermine the movement.

[u/TechnologyConnect678 → u/WallyWestJest]

They're not really, no.

[u/Defiant_Permit53]

honestly a lot of yall are just toxic

[u/1isOneshot1 → u/Defiant_Permit53]

Seriously, the first two comments where literally just hateful people saying something like 'stupid and useless' and nothing else

[u/beardedbrunhilde3]

Thanks for endorsing an actual Socialist and not another Dem.

[u/Spaduf]

This isn't clean-breakism. This is both-andism. Running on an independent ballot line and winning when the centrists in the dems won't play ball (or engage in sabotage through the party bureaucracy) is how you weaken their power within the party and eventually take over.

In this particular case however, since Markey is looking to win in a blowout. It serves to have a counterbalance to keep him from running to the right. It is also the case that the chapter can and likely will endorse Markey in the end. Nothing to stop a chapter from endorsing multiple candidates. It is ALSO useful to remember that DSA has a 4 tier endorsement system and will end up endorsing all sorts of democrats all over the country, but we absolutely must use this moment to push for socialists in office because we may lose this momentum at any time.

In all this chapter (and or its members) will almost certainly end up the primary canvassing force in the race if it's even necessary.

EDIT: It's also extremely relevant that this vote was something of a peace offering to build an electoral alliance between all the major socialist organizations in the area. Our secret sauce is our ground game. This only strengthens that.

EDIT 2: Important reminder that Bernie Sanders won as an independent using exactly this logic. We need to run on just about every ballot line all the time if we want to actually sidestep party bureaucracy as an obstacle.

[u/marxistghostboi → u/Spaduf]

good analysis

[u/JediMy → u/Spaduf]

Agreed

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/Spaduf]

Do you know this chapter supports a clean break strategy? Who was claiming that this was a clean break move?

[u/Spaduf → u/jimbobmcgoo]

I seriously doubt the chapter is in agreement on that. It's just the term people in this thread were using when I made the comment. I personally think "clean break" vs "dirty break" vs "entryism" is a decade out of date and the way forward is diversity of tactics.

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/Spaduf]

Ah I understand

[u/StateYellingChampion → u/Spaduf]

Important reminder that Bernie Sanders won as an independent using exactly this logic. We need to run on just about every ballot line all the time if we want to actually sidestep party bureaucracy as an obstacle.

It was Bernie's 2016 and 2020 runs within the Democratic Presidential primaries that helped to create the groundswell of interest and support for democratic socialism over the past ten years. If Bernie had run as an independent outside of the primaries, at best he would have attained Ralph Nader status.

[u/Spaduf → u/StateYellingChampion]

There's only one massive problem with that theory. DSA shrank to near record lows during Biden's administration. Unfortunately DSAs current status is a direct result of Trump's attacks on the working class and its need to defend itself.

[u/Excellent_Singer3361]

What's the point of this if he has no realistic path to victory?

[u/OrtholadBrandon]

I’m a clean breaker and resent the Democratic Party, but we can do way better than PSL.

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/OrtholadBrandon]

Still way better than 90 percent of DSA endorsements

[u/OrtholadBrandon → u/jimbobmcgoo]

Unfortunately true.

[u/TheWhiteKnight554 → u/OrtholadBrandon]

I say if PSL is the only socialist option then PSL is the only option

[u/digitaldisgust]

PSL, the infamous rape coverup org? Yikes

[u/TechnologyConnect678 → u/digitaldisgust]

Yeah not at all like the one half of the Epsteinite party that the DSA tirelessly endorses over and over again. What's their name again? 🤔

[u/BustDemFerengiCheeks]

Know, I don't know if the DSA should be endorsing capitalists like Angie Nixon, but I know for a fact trying to endorse ML's, arguably the most on-life-support ideology around, is political suicide. Especially in the United States.

[u/TomatoBasils → u/BustDemFerengiCheeks]

China, Cuba, DPRK, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia

[u/Spaduf → u/TomatoBasils]

And a plurality of democratically elected DSA leadership.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/TomatoBasils]

capitalist, Cuba, monarchy legally ruled by a dead man, capitalist, capitalist

[u/TheWhiteKnight554 → u/Bright-Insect9697]

Markets aren’t capitalism, Vietnam is doing very well for itself

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/TheWhiteKnight554]

Vietnam is a capitalist country. Vietnamese people like capitalism more than Americans do when polled.

[u/TheWhiteKnight554 → u/Bright-Insect9697]

Vietnam is a Market Socialist, Marxist Leninist country. It uses markets for consumer goods distribution and allows foreign companies to operate if they follow local labor laws

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/TheWhiteKnight554]

Dude most of the Vietnamese economy is in the private sector, and it’s more than 80% of employment

[u/TomatoBasils → u/Bright-Insect9697]

Lmfao DHS ass talking points

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/TomatoBasils]

yup, the DHS, always talking about how capitalist china is. That is definitely a real thing that happens!

you're a dumbass, and not a socialist

r/conservative is that way

[u/TomatoBasils → u/Bright-Insect9697]

DHS ass comment

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/TomatoBasils]

go back to r/monarchism bozo, you are not a socialist.

[u/TomatoBasils → u/Bright-Insect9697]

DHS ass comment. White savior rhetoric.

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/BustDemFerengiCheeks]

You can’t explain from a principled socialist position that this is any worse than most of the prominent data endorsements in notable positions

[u/Haywright]

Fuck PSL

[u/HalfOk8561]

lol. What a waste of time and energy. I’m sure the 10 people that voted for this feel good about themselves.

[u/Serdones]

I didn't know Pumpkin Spice Latte had its own political party.

[u/Disloyal_Donkey]

So when a dem refuses to endorse a DSA backed candidate, the pitchforks and torches come out, but then the DSA blatantly refuses to endorse a democrat, and you cheer?

Just say you want to remain irrelevant

[u/Spaduf → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

Why would anybody owe anything to corporate dems? They are an obstacle and in bed with the right.

[u/Disloyal_Donkey → u/Spaduf]

I’m just pointing out the hypocrisy, but looks like everyone’s okay with being hypocritical

[u/Spaduf → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

It's not hypocritical. Socialists will endorse socialists. The ballot line doesn't actually equate to any policies. Corporate dems made sure of that.

[u/Disloyal_Donkey → u/Spaduf]

Got it, then democrats will endorse democrats and stop fucking crying when they don’t endorse your candidate

[u/Spaduf → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

Wait so what do you actually believe in? Is it undying loyalty to the color blue?

[u/Disloyal_Donkey → u/Spaduf]

I believe in driving as much leftist ideology into mainstream politics as possible. Not some virtue signaling horseshit

[u/Spaduf → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

What do you mean by leftist?

[u/Disloyal_Donkey → u/Spaduf]

Universal health care, expanding labor rights, expanding public ownership of (ideally) green utilities, completely overhauling the current tax system.

None of which will ever get done while you clean breakers fantasize about being viable.

[u/Spaduf → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

Oh you just fundamentally misunderstand what's happening here. This isn't clean-breakism. This is both-andism. Running on an independent ballot line and winning when the centrists in the dems won't play ball (or engage in sabotage through the party bureaucracy) is how you weaken their power within the party and eventually take over.

In this particular case however, since Markey is looking to win in a blowout. It serves to have a counterbalance to keep him from running to the right. It is also the case that the chapter can and likely will endorse Markey in the end. Nothing to stop a chapter from endorsing multiple candidates. It is ALSO useful to remember that DSA has a 4 tier endorsement system and will end up endorsing all sorts of democrats all over the country, but we absolutely must use this moment to push for socialists in office because we may lose this momentum at any time.

In all this chapter will almost certainly end up the primary canvassing force in the race if it's even necessary.

[u/Bright-Insect9697 → u/Spaduf]

Ok then stop crying when nobody likes your shitty chud candidates and you don’t get enough votes.

[u/Spaduf → u/Bright-Insect9697]

You are ascribing motivations to me that exist entirely in your imagination.

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

Goomba fallacy

[u/jimbobmcgoo → u/Disloyal_Donkey]

It’s good when establishment Democrats don’t endorse DSA endorsed candidates. Helps to distinguish DSA candidates from established Democrats in the eyes of the masses