Should the DSA Be Banned from Holding Public Office?

You can't "dismantle" and "defend" the Constitution at the same time.

Anyone elected to Congress today must, by federal law, take this oath of office: 

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Anyone can say the words, but the speaker must adhere to the oath's meaning. They must mean it when they say it. 

No oath, no office. That means no pay, and no privileges like introducing and voting on bills. 

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have been transparent about their intentions to "transform society: to win the battle for democracy, draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic." When a DSA-aligned person takes the oath of office, they are lying. Either they don't believe the DSA rhetoric coming out of their own mouth, or they're faking the oath. 

It's not possible to uphold the Constitution while holding that the framework of the United States must be dismantled. This leads to a controversial question: should DSA members be banned from serving in Congress?

Who Can Run? 

It's a thorny debate because in a representative republic the voting public chooses leaders. If we knock candidates out of the running before they get on a ballot, voters are cheated out of a choice. Recall the failed 2023 effort to disqualify President Donald Trump from the primary ballot in numerous states. We don't want that. The people should get to decide who makes the ballot, not political operatives with deep pockets and unscrupulous lawyers.

Congress is not, however, open to every candidate. The Constitution lists minimal criteria for congressional candidates. Those seeking a House seat must be at least 25 years old and have been a citizen of the U.S. for at least seven years. Senate candidates must be 30 and a citizen for at least nine years. In both chambers, the candidate must live in the state where they hope to serve.

Obviously, a candidate ought to believe in the Constitution too. The Founders probably didn't spell it out in the qualifications for office because the oath defines the job expectations. 

The original 1789 oath of office was brief and clear: "I, [name], do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States."

Anyone who doesn't want to do the work required of the oath should not apply. A cake decorator should not apply to be a surgeon. An anti-American socialist should not be given the keys to the country. 

The Communist Control Act of 1954 outlawed the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and prohibited members from serving as representatives.

"The Communist Party of the United States, although purportedly a political party, is in fact an instrumentality of a conspiracy to overthrow the Government of the United States," the act reads. 

This describes the actions of the DSA today to a T. DSA boldly tells America they want to overthrow the government—that is what rewriting the Constitution means. DSA states clearly it intends to "abolish the Electoral College [and] replace the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress." This would destroy our current checks and balances system made possible by three equal government branches that have served the United States since our founding.

DSA is attacking the United States from the inside out. We are fools to allow our enemies to gain seats of authority within our government. Recall that before leadership removed U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2023, she had access to sensitive information. Omar is not an official DSA member, but she is closely aligned with DSA, which often speaks on her behalf. Omar acts more favorably to her home country, Somalia, than the United States she is supposed to be serving. As more anti-Americans are elected to Congress, it becomes easier for them to implement the DSA platform. 

DSA aims to extend full voting rights to everyone living permanently in the U.S.—not just citizens. And DSA intends to overthrow businesses by establishing "public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability to the people. Enact aggressive wealth taxes on the richest individuals and corporations to spend on public goods and infrastructure." It means DSA wants the government to control health care, food, energy, and anything else they deem essential. These actions would further undermine the Constitution by violating the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. It is the same plan CPUSA had: overthrow the government and change everything about how the United States operates. The constitution just gets in the way of those statist dreams. That is not the job description for a congressional seat. It is an enemy attack with the potential to dismantle the United States as we know it. 

The Communist Control Act is still on the books. It is not enforced but it should be both enforced and expanded to include DSA. In addition to DSA, the CPUSA, which is separate from, but often partners with DSA, still runs candidates today. 

The DSA, like its CPUSA forebears, will moan about its supposed First Amendment protections, but the Constitution does not extend such protections to the actual enemies of the United States—foreign or domestic. 

Our nation has every right to reserve congressional seats only for people who want to serve within the sound framework the Founders painstakingly defined. We The People have not only the right, but the duty to bar those who don't qualify— especially considering DSA's desire to bring down the U.S. from within. Never mind the ever-growing mountain of evidence they've aligned with adversarial countries such as Cuba and China. 

DSA Works Against U.S. Interests

Here's the troubling truth: while DSA routinely announces plans that sound like sedition or treason, it faces no resistance as it systematically positions members inside the U.S. government. The DSA raises money to "support the struggle to dismantle [the] U.S. empire." Donations to DSA bring "international organizers to the U.S.," such as Palestinian activists.

Instead of protecting the U.S. from foreign enemies, DSA pays for them to enter our country. "We need YOU to help build a war chest to support these efforts," DSA pleads in its pitch for donations. This goes far beyond giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

One cannot simultaneously defend the Constitution and call for it to be rewritten as the DSA does. It aims to "transform society," by killing capitalism and creating a "democratic socialist republic" that no one asked for and will change everything we love about America.

DSA believes the U.S. has waged "economic warfare" against Communist Cuba—and it sides with Cuba. As detailed in a recent State Department report, DSA sends members to meet Cuban officials—while staying in luxury hotels. As Cubans starve, DSA visitors enjoy fine dining with their government hosts before returning to the U.S. touting Cuba-first policies.

🌹 One of the political objectives of our DSA delegation to Cuba was to establish formal channels of communication between various Cuban organizations, ministries and the DSA, as well as normalize relations with representatives of the Cuban government. 1/9 pic.twitter.com/KO2XzPOsKX

— DSA (@DemSocialists) November 13, 2023

We were grateful for the lively and frank exchange with Vice Foreign Minister @CarlosFdeCossio on bilateral US-Cuban relations. Through this discussion, we broached topics like immigration, the implications of the SSOT designation & relations with Cuban-Americans. 2/9 pic.twitter.com/vGfire3XT0

— DSA (@DemSocialists) November 13, 2023

The goal is to "normalize relations with representatives of the Cuban government," the DSA admits on social media. Without U.S. approval, DSA members appeared to represent the U.S. in meetings with high level Cuban officials, including the president. Communist Cuba, of course, has made its hatred of the U.S. clear.

"Since the 1960s, the regime has served as the beating heart of a new and distinct kind of Marxism, forged around an overriding resentment and fundamental hatred of the United States and the broader West," the State Department report says. "The Cubans devoted themselves to recruiting, cultivating and mobilizing a global coalition of activists, intellectuals, and political groups around this cause . . . . Today, that network continues to maintain ties to powerful leftist nonprofits, anti-ICE collectives, socialist groups, and Marxist militant organizations across the United States."

Incapable of Holding Office

DSA's eagerness to help Cuba looks like treason, described as someone who, "owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere." Anyone guilty of treason, according to U.S. Code, "shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

Surely DSA is "adhering to enemies" and "aiding" Cuba's goals by calling for the dismantling of U.S. government. 

Its actions also easily fall under the definition of sedition. Punishable by up to 20 years in prison, seditious conspiracy is when two or more people "conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States."

Every time the DSA organizes members to interfere with ICE operations, block traffic, or aid Cuba outside of U.S. interests, it engages in seditious conspiracy, rendering DSA members unfit for office. If we would not allow a Communist Cuban to hold a seat in Congress, why would we offer that seat to the Cuban-aligned DSA? 

We'll Have to Save Ourselves

DSA members and sympathizers cannot honestly take the oath of office, yet some already hold office. Others are campaigning for positions that will require them to make solemn promises they have no intention of keeping. We should not allow people who hate us to lead us. 

But how do we make such a change effective? If Congress bans DSA members from holding office, socialists—Communists—and other radicals will just lie about their intentions and run with a more acceptable label, like "Democrat."

DSA needn't worry. A Congress too wimpy to pass the SAVE act, supported by most Americans, is not going to do any heavy lifting to prevent DSA from taking over. The Democratic Party—so infected it is oozing DSA pus—already failed to free itself. Democrats must fumigate their "big tent" and eradicate the threat. 

We need a meaningful national conversation about how to combat real threats to the Constitution. If someone says they want to rewrite the Constitution, we can't expect them to also uphold it. We should believe what DSA says and prevent them obtaining positions that give them the authority to fundamentally change our society. 

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