Kathie Obradovich

kobradov@dmreg.com

Democratic socialism is a movement most often associated with former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. In Iowa, however, chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America are attracting not only former Bernie-or-Bust voters but also some former supporters of Hillary Clinton.

Three new Democratic Socialist groups have formed in Iowa since the election, said Chris Lammer-Heindel, a professor of Loras College in Dubuque. He’s one of the leaders of the Dubuque County DSA, which just gained chapter status from the national organization. A central Iowa group is close to chapter status as well, and a third group is organizing in the Quad Cities.

The action organization, which is not a political party, could become another way to re-engage progressives. But it also may pose some challenges to the Iowa Democratic Party, which on the state level is still trying to figure out where it went wrong in 2016.

Joe Ellerbroek of Urbandale, an organizer for the central Iowa group, said it’s attractive in part because members can decide whether to operate inside or outside of a political party. Some members are Democrats, others Green Party, others independent or part of another alternative party.

“I think the flexibility is attractive because we are definitely in strange times, and it feels like there’s no clear-cut solution,” Ellerbroek said. “Something clever about the DSA is its inside-outside approach to the Democratic Party.”

The DSA isn’t attracting enormous crowds at this stage. Lammer-Heindel and Ellerbroek each say they have between 30 and 40 dues-paying members. More are showing up at events, however, and putting their names on email lists.

There’s room for them to grow. A Des Moines Register/Bloomberg News Iowa Poll found in January 2016 that 43 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers consider themselves socialists. That’s fertile ground for people like Lammer-Heindel who think the Democratic Party has lost its way.

“This is why I joined the DSA. I think we need collective, working-class solidarity. And whether the Democratic Party can do that, I don’t know,” he said.

He said the core DSA organizers in Dubuque County were “really dissatisfied” with the Democratic Party strategy on issues ranging from health care to the minimum wage. He said Democrats marginalized advocates of a single-payer health care system and didn’t fight for a $15 per hour minimum wage.

He said Democrats, including President Barack Obama, tried to find reasonable, moderate positions that a majority could support. But, he said it’s a mistake to use that as a starting point for negotiations. “The right just drags them further and further to the right,” he said. “... When you start further left, you might get better policy as an outcome of this sort of contentious political system.”

Lammer-Heindel said he’s been a Democrat since he was in high school. Until recently, he was the faculty adviser for the Loras College Democrats. “My wife and I had decided early on that we would work to get Clinton elected, but there was no enthusiasm there. I disagree with her on so many things,” he said. The other co-chair of the organizing committee is a Green Party member.

Democratic elected officials I talked to weren’t raising alarms about DSA and some suggested they welcomed another outlet for progressive activism.

“I think it’s important that we draw everyone into this, as many people as we possibly can, because after all, we are Democrats,” said Congressman Dave Loebsack. “And we do have a big tent, there’s no question about that.”

He said people may disagree on how to work toward goals, but they share a priority to help middle-income earners and those who aspire to be.

Some of the Dubuque County members of the Democratic Socialists, including Craig Reber, are interested in working from the inside to reshape the local Democratic Party. Reber, 65, a retired journalist, said he also worked to help elect Clinton and he’s also a former member of the county Democratic central committee.

He said there are still DSA members on the county central committee, and a few others are trying to get elected.

“I was under the assumption, being a member of the central committee of Dubuque County that I would be involved in decision-making and that kind of thing, which really, I wasn’t,” Reber said.

He said the Democratic Socialists offered an opportunity for him to not only be more active but also to have a voice. “It gives those who were dissatisfied with the election results last year another option and that’s how I see it. And you can take it or leave it. As a Democrat, I’m taking it, and I like what I see so far,” Reber said.

Learn more:

Online: DubuqueDemocraticSocialists.org

Facebook: Dubuque Democratic Socialists, Quad Cities Democratic Socialists of America, Central Iowa DSA

Twitter: @dsm_dsa