What Is To Be Done?
Harlei Morency argues DSA should center the demand for a democratic constitution and adopt the People's Petition.
The 2024 presidential election has passed, and Donald Trump has once again shocked the political world by retaking the White House. Just as in 2016, the broad opposition to Trump is shell-shocked and scrambling for a cohesive response. DSA is one of many groups currently mulling how best to prepare for a second Trump administration that promises to be as cruel, cronyistic, and incompetent as the first. This statement is my contribution to the ongoing discussion about what needs to be done.
Kamala Harris attempted to define her campaign in opposition to Trump. However, she did not couple this opposition with a positive vision. We must avoid making the same mistake. We need an alternative vision that looks to reshape American society so that figures like Donald Trump never again emerge. With a clear plan in hand, we can drag ourselves from the depths of despair toward a better tomorrow.
Our alternative vision must include a critique of the undemocratic Constitution. I propose the publication of the People’s Petition. This document would call for a democratically elected constituent assembly with the mandate to draft a democratic constitution that entrusts all legislative powers to a unicameral legislature. The constituent assembly would be elected by proportional representation and universal and equal suffrage for all adult residents and citizens of the U.S. The future unicameral legislature would be elected in the same way.
My proposal is not at odds with DSA’s principles; it is simply the logical conclusion of our deeply held democratic values. The preamble to DSA’s Workers Deserve More program already calls for a democratic constitution and a unicameral legislature elected by proportional representation. However, the program’s subsequent demands do not follow through on the preamble’s bold proclamation. The program calls for abolishing the Senate filibuster but not the Senate itself. It calls for limiting the Supreme Court’s judicial review powers but not for repealing judicial review altogether. Most importantly, the program’s Democracy section does not call for a democratically elected constituent assembly to draft a democratic constitution.
The Workers Deserve More program contains a massive contradiction. The preamble calls for a democratic constitution, while the rest of the program’s demands leave the Constitution largely intact. This contradiction reflects DSA’s blinkered perspective towards the U.S. Constitution, a problem we must fix quickly.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the president has immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office and presumptive immunity for all his “official acts.” This ruling shreds Article II of the Constitution. Two months before Trump’s inauguration, reports have surfaced that he is exploring the possibility of adjourning both houses of Congress and making recess appointments to his Cabinet. We will almost certainly face a serious constitutional crisis in Trump's second term. We must be prepared to seize the opportunity; the People’s Petition is how we will do that.