Where this was said
Abolish the Carceral State: The DSA's Hardest Sell
At 20:00 · chapter starts 19:03
This is the episode's sharpest exchange. Noel King pushes hard on the gap between DSA's economic appeal and its cultural positions — specifically the call to abolish the carceral state — noting that working-class voters in 2024 moved toward Donald Trump in part because they felt Democrats had become too culturally extreme [1] — Megan Rohmer "The DSA doesn't want to fire all police tomorrow. Their vision is eliminating crimes of poverty by providing free healthcare, childcare, an…" 19:03 . Rohmer's defense is substantive: the DSA's 'Care Not Cops' programs aren't about releasing murderers; they're about investing in free childcare, healthcare, and education on the theory that most crime is driven by poverty, and a society that has eliminated poverty-driven crime simply won't need the same carceral infrastructure. The problem, which Rohmer doesn't fully resolve, is political communication: voters hear 'abolish the carceral state' and stop listening. The long-term vision gets lost in the slogan.
The DSA doesn't want to fire all police tomorrow. Their vision is eliminating crimes of poverty by providing free healthcare, childcare, and education, making heavy policing unnecessary in the long run. The problem: voters hear 'abolish the carceral state' and don't stick around for the footnote.
New York DSA winner Daria-Liza Avila Chevalier had previously tweeted about wiping her hands on an American flag and suggesting white people shouldn't be in interracial relationships; she apologized and deleted her Twitter account.
DSA co-chair Megan Rohmer doesn't pretend the vetting problem doesn't exist. New York winner Daria-Liza Avila Chevalier tweeted about wiping her hands on an American flag and suggested white people shouldn't be in interracial relationships. Rohmer's defense: 'We're not forming candidates in a lab.'
