On January 27, 2023, TCDSA’s Political Education Committee hosted their first debate. A panel of five speakers debated the topic, “ What should be the Democratic Socialists of America’s relationship with the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party?” Each presented a unique position such as trying to take over the DFL, working within the DFL until we can establish our own party, remaining as a “disloyal opposition”, and making a clean and immediate break. After initial remarks, attendees discussed their thoughts at their tables and with each speaker as they rotated among the crowd.
Over fifty people attended this inaugural event. Given the solid turnout the Political Education Committee is immediately planning more debate nights. Watch for updates to the Twin Cities DSA events calendar as we are tentatively planning on holding another debate at the end of March. Based on our chapter’s goals and upcoming debates at the national DSA convention, we are leaning towards subjects that relate to electoral politics and labor issues. We are still selecting our next topic and speakers, and we welcome recommendations for both!
While we are thrilled with how the first debate went, we will be making improvements going forward. Our five speakers were each individually compelling, but having so many speakers limited the amount of audience discussion time. So, we will likely aim for fewer in the future. Lake Monster Brewing was a fun venue, but the provided sound system was insufficient in the noisy atmosphere of the bar. We will work with Tech Ops to set up a more robust sound system and set up a way to record the next debate so more people can be a part of the event. We are also looking into the possibility of providing food of some kind at the next debate. If you have other suggestions, let us know.
Ethan BF is the point of contact for the next debate event, and you can reach him via Slack with suggestions, feedback, and nominations for speakers.
By Ethan BF