General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I was sobered to see some of the details of the revised DSA platform. [View all]QueerDuck
(2,304 posts)There is an enormous difference between legal, regulated cross-border commerce... and the literal abolition of border enforcement. Nobody is arguing against business travel or people seeking a better life through the legal immigration system.
But trying to rebrand DSA's "open borders" as just normal daily traffic completely ignores the actual text of the platform we are discussing. The official DSA platform doesn't call for smooth business travel. In reality, it explicitly calls for the total abolition of ICE and CBP, the decriminalization of unauthorized crossings, and the removal of physical border infrastructure.
That isn't a "utopia for realists." That is an electoral gift-wrap for Republican attack ads in the exact red and purple frontline districts Democrats must win to hold a majority.
Centrists point this out not to be difficult, but because we look at the hard math of competitive districts. If a frontline candidate is forced to spend their entire campaign explaining away a platform that advocates for dismantling border enforcement, they are losing.