Social Democrats USA

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Social Democrats USA
Founded	1973 (1973)
Headquarters	P.O. Box 5307, Johnstown, PA 15904-528
Ideology	Social democracy Liberal hawk
Political position	Fiscal: Center-left Social: Center-right
International affiliation	Socialist International (lapsed)
Official colors	Red
Website
http://www.socialdemocratsusa.org
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

Social Democrats USA (SD USA), one of the successors of the Socialist Party of America-Social Democratic Federation (SP-SDF), was a small coalition of democratic, anti-Communist intellectuals and trade unionists, whose active life lasted for about three decades after its foundation in 1973. It is now almost totally inactive.

SD USA was one of three organizations to emerge from a split of the SP-SDF in 1972-1973. In 1972, the leadership of the SP, around Max Shachtman, Tom Kahn, Paul Feldman, Penn Kemble and Joan Suall, opposed unilateral withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam and followed the lead of George Meany and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in adopting a policy of neutrality in the Presidential Election of 1972; they also opposed the anti-war New Politics movement around Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. In response, two groups, both demanding an explicit rejection of the Vietnam War and both opposed to Meany's policies within the labor movement, broke off: the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, which sought to work largely within the Democratic Party and liberal movements, and the Union for Democratic Socialism, which wanted to ally with peace and progressive forces outside the Democratic Party. (The DSOC later became the Democratic Socialists of America and the UDS later became the Socialist Party USA.)

At the same time, and contributing indirectly to the larger splits, the Socialist Party-Social Democratic Federation voted in 1972 to merge with the much smaller Democratic Socialist Federation (based largely on New York Jewish trade unions and fraternal organizations); in 1973 the merged "SP-DSF" changed its name to "Social Democrats USA."

Although most of SD USA's members were Democrats^{[citation needed]}, the organization maintained ties with both major political parties^{[citation needed]} and supported a strongly interventionist foreign policy.^[1] It was unwavering in its support for Israel, strongly supported the 2003 war in Iraq, and came to generally favor the international policies of the United States under George W. Bush^{[citation needed]}, a stance which was also at odds with the views of the Continental European social democratic parties.^[2]

Contents 1 Cold War 2 Influence on Neoconservative movement 3 History since 2005 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Cold War

In the 1970s and 1980s, members of SD USA were sometimes referred to as "State Department socialists", for example by journalist Michael Massing ^[3] due to their support of hard-line Cold War policies. Prominent SD USA members served in the Reagan Administration (e.g. Elliot Abrams^[3]), on the staff of the State Department, Labor Department and on Jeane Kirkpatrick's staff - one of SDUSA's leading figures, Carl Gershman, served as Kirkpatrick's aide when she was US Ambassador to the United Nations^[3]. SD USA members have long been prominent at the National Endowment for Democracy (Gershman is the NED's president^[3][4]) and Freedom House (SDUSA member Bruce McColm served as Freedom House's executive director^[3]).

[edit] Influence on Neoconservative movement

Although some former members had become neoconservatives,^[5], SD USA as an organization held many positions that were different from those of most neoconservatives^{[citation needed]}. For instance, they strongly supported workers' rights at home and overseas and opposed many of the Bush administration's domestic policies^{[citation needed]}. In the 1980s, the SD USA was perhaps best known for its support of Poland's Solidarity trade union.

One of its leading members, and its first National Chairman, was the late civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, though by the 1980s he was not active in the organization and focused most of his energies on the issue of gay rights^{[citation needed]}. Other notable members have included Ben Wattenberg^{[citation needed]}, Sandra Feldman^{[citation needed]}, and Ronald Radosh^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] History since 2005

There was much speculation^[6] that the death of the group's long time leader Penn Kemble would be SD USA's demise. This tone was strongly felt in the January 2006 reminiscences of SD veteran Joshua Muravchik in Commentary Magazine.^[5] The SD USA website has not been updated since 2005, in 2007 the organization's membership in the Socialist International lapsed,^[7] and the two telephone numbers and one fax number listed on the official website have been disconnected.

In 2008, a group centered around Pennsylvania members of SDUSA decided to re-launch the organization as the Social Democrats USA--Socialist Party, USA, reclaiming the right to use the name "Socialist" for local election activities, in defiance of the SPUSA, which they allege is illegitimately using the designation, as are SPUSA's allied groups.^[8] This organization has applied to the International for re-activation of SDUSA's membership, to be granted to SD/SP.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Social Democrats, USA (recently re-launched formation)
• Preliminary Inventory of the Social Democrats, USA Records, 1937-1994
• Letter advocating the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq
• Neocon Europe Social Democrats USA
• The Nicaraguan democratic struggle: our unfinished revolution A speech by Contra leader Alfonso Robelo made to the Social Democrats, USA