Democratic Socialists Line Up To Pitch AOC for President on Anti-Israel Platform

President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? The Democratic Socialists of America have a new blueprint to make that happen and agenda item No. 1 is an embargo on selling any weapons to Israel.The DSA strategy, co-authored by a Caliornia-based member of the organization’s National Political Committee, Abdullah Farooq, proposes making an arms embargo against Israel the centerpiece of its “AOC-for-President” campaign. It also seeks to tap progressive anger over the war in Gaza to invigorate the Palestinian solidarity movement — along with union members and the larger labor movement — to build an “army of organizers – of doorknockers, phonebankers, fundraisers, houseparty hosts, and political artists.”“We are the supermajority,” reads the strategy, known as the Carnation Program. “We get to choose how we campaign for AOC. … We can talk to our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers about how we can put an end to our money being used to bomb hospitals and schools abroad instead of building and fully funding them here.”Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has vocally affirmed her opposition to offensive and defensive weapons sales to Israel, saying in April that Israel was “well able to fund the Iron Dome system” and vowing to vote against sending both taxpayer dollars and military aid to Israel.The congresswoman has shrugged off speculation about a presidential bid or a primary run for the U.S. Senate against Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.“What’s funny about (the speculation) is that they assume my ambition is positional; they assume my ambition is a title or a seat,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said in May during a talk with President Obama’s former adviser, David Axelrod. “And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.”The strategy, first published Monday on Substack, says no other known candidate thinking of tossing a hat in the 2028 ring both supports an arms embargo and has the support of a majority of DSA members. “U.S. military aid is the decisive variable that enables Israel’s genocide against Palestinians and its regional war of annexation and regime change in pursuit of Greater Israel,” the document continues.The Democratic Socialists have become increasingly visible in national politics since Senator Bernie Sanders’ darkhorse bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. It has fielded several successful candidates since then, including Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In the 2026 primary season, several Democratic Socialists have succeeded in overthrowing the Democrats’ status quo, including 29-year-old Melat Kiros, who defeated incumbent Diana DeGette in Colorado and is expected to win the general election, and five-term state Representative Chris Rabb, who was endorsed by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez for Pennsylvania’s open third congressional district seat. Two of Mr. Mamdani’s endorsed Democratic Socialist candidates, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, are also positioning themselves for November victories in the seventh and 13th congressional districts of New York, respectively.. With victories at hand, the DSA is seeking to expand its roughly 120,000-person membership to 200,000 ahead of the presidential election cycle. The four-year initiative aims to increase the DSA’s national influence and boost recruiting for the 2026 midterm and 2028 presidential elections. The strategy also invites DSA members and those interested in the movement to envision a longer-term plan to take the party through the 2030 midterm elections. “Politics begins when we orient toward the millions of Americans who know that we need an alternative political system,” the blueprint reads. In addition to banning arms sales for Israel, the blueprint also focuses on bringing down the cost of living, fighting political corruption, backing Medicare for All, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to the DSA, those issues are squarely in the wheelhouse of the Democratic Socialist congresswoman from Queens who is currently serving her fourth term in the House of Representatives. Some DSA members are arguing the organization should strike while the iron is hot and make its presidential endorsement earlier than its regularly scheduled national convention, currently set for summer of 2027. Waiting until next year, they say, will deny Ms. Ocasio-Cortez months of precious campaign time. The plan envisions lining up potential DSA surrogates to campaign on behalf of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s behalf, including Ms. Valdez, currently an assemblywoman representing Queens. Valdez has publicly opposed the sale of both offensive and defensive weapons to Israel.Also named as a potential surrogate is DSA congressional candidate Oliver Larkin, who faces a battle in the August 18 Democratic primary for Florida’s 25th congressional district. Mr. Larkin is challenging Congressman Jared Moskowitz, who is seeking a third term.Ms. Ocasio-Cortez will be 39 years old on Inauguration Day 2029. If elected, she would be not only the nation’s first female commander-in-chief but also the youngest president in American history, edging out Theodore Roosevelt, who was 42 when he assumed the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley.

Democratic Socialists Line Up To Pitch AOC for President on Anti-Israel Platform

Democratic Socialists Line Up To Pitch AOC for President on Anti-Israel Platform

More from the New York Sun

Trump Cuts Back on American-South Korean War Games in Retaliation for Seoul’s Refusal To Support War Against Iran

Ferrari’s Controversial Electric Luce Fetches $40 Million At Auction

The True Tragedy of the Death of Jason Arday

America’s Richest Rip Khanna After Congressman Pitches Government Loans for Wealth Tax Payments

Europe’s Record Drought Is Pulling Ancient Secrets From the Danube

Indonesia Quake Tests Nation’s Preparedness Upgrades Since 2004 Aceh Disaster

Midwest Primary Results Could Foretell Rise of a DSA-Backed Presidential Nominee in 2028

Chautauqua, Which Once Launched a Grand National Idea, Charts a Course Back to the Political Center

More from the New York Sun

Trump Cuts Back on American-South Korean War Games in Retaliation for Seoul’s Refusal To Support War Against Iran

Ferrari’s Controversial Electric Luce Fetches $40 Million At Auction

The True Tragedy of the Death of Jason Arday

America’s Richest Rip Khanna After Congressman Pitches Government Loans for Wealth Tax Payments

Europe’s Record Drought Is Pulling Ancient Secrets From the Danube

Indonesia Quake Tests Nation’s Preparedness Upgrades Since 2004 Aceh Disaster

Midwest Primary Results Could Foretell Rise of a DSA-Backed Presidential Nominee in 2028

Chautauqua, Which Once Launched a Grand National Idea, Charts a Course Back to the Political Center