Meanwhile, at Commie Con ...

The revolution is always funny until someone gets the keys.

Luis Gonzalez | August 20, 2026

Blue and orange hair. Facial piercings. Ink enough to qualify as cartography. Political buttons, tote bags, and protest signs everywhere.

It was the sort of gathering where the certainty of the attendees seemed inversely proportional to their experience with the consequences of their ideas.

No, this was not the premiere of a Japanese manga film; this was Chicago, where the Democratic Socialists of America gathered for its 2026 Democratic Socialists Summit and National Organizing Conference. The organization invited members to spend four days on political education, organizer development, skills training, and social activities. There were five principal tracks: Palestine Solidarity and Anti-War, Abolish ICE, Electoral, Labor, and General Organizing.

Welcome to Commie-Con, where the agenda was magnificent.

The DSA's national program, Workers Deserve More, calls for public ownership of major corporations and essential industries, abolition of the Electoral College and Senate, a multiparty political system, major changes to the executive and judicial branches, abolition of ICE, and, ultimately, the replacement of capitalism. That is a remarkable amount of civilization to redesign over a weekend, and one almost expects a vendor's booth selling commemorative hammers.

To be fair, the DSA does not hide the basic proposition. Its political language has been polished for contemporary ears, but the underlying idea remains recognizable: capitalism concentrates power in private hands, workers should control the economy, and the political system must be transformed accordingly.

It is, in short, Marxism with better branding.

There is nothing particularly mysterious about that. If you want socialism, say 'socialism.' If you want to abolish the Senate, say 'abolish the Senate.' If ICE must disappear, explain why. If major industries belong under public ownership, tell the voters what you intend to do with them. Political honesty has one enormous advantage: nobody has to guess.

Then the revolutionary becomes a candidate, and the candidate discovers the focus group.

Francesca Hong was one of the DSA's more prominent electoral experiments. In November 2020, shortly after winning election to the state Assembly, the........

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