Last month, I wrote about how Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy was tied to the left-wing paper The Columbus Free Press, an organ for the Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio — itself an organ of the national Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). By that time, Kilroy had vanished from the Democratic Socialists of America’s membership list, but old articles remained to prove her one-time allegiance.
Not so with some other members of Congress, whose names are listed as card-carrying members of the DSA as recently as October 2009 by a DSA newsletter. In fact, according to the newsletter, no less than 70 members of Congress are affiliated with the DSA, including several in Ohio and Illinois. The relevant members are as follows:
1. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
2. Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
3. Danny Davis (IL-07)
4. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
5. Phil Hare (IL-17)
6. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
7. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9)
8. Bobby Rush (IL-01)
9. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Now, to be fair, the newsletter does cite the Congressional Progressive Caucus as a source, so it’s not entirely clear whether these people are simply members of that caucus or more. However, this part of the FAQ listed in the newsletter does seem to heavily imply that these people are, in fact, card-carrying members, and not just affiliated with an ideologically friendly caucus:
“Q: How many members of the U.S. Congress are also members of the DSA?
A: Seventy”