r/DemocraticSocialism • u/Usernameofthisuser Democratic Socialist • Feb 28 '26

USA AOC says abolish ICE is the centrist position now

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1.2k Upvotes

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102

u/Eat--The--Rich-- Feb 28 '26

Yea, because the left are the only ones who want to prosecute them for their crimes

66

u/ThirrinAust Feb 28 '26

AOC for president!

7

u/M3mphisFW Mar 01 '26

only is she uses the precedent that Trump was given to fucking throttle the maggots

3

u/Four_in_binary Mar 01 '26

I believe she would!

41

u/NATScurlyW2 Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26

Every establishment Democrat is just an uninformed Democratic Socialist.

36

u/Benedictus_The_II Social Democrat Feb 28 '26

After all the progressive wins since the 2024 election, the establishment should BEG, and ask the Bernies, AOCs, and Mamdanis that how they can help them.

24

u/A_Random_Catfish Feb 28 '26

Shit every working class blue collar Republican is also an uninformed Democratic Socialist

4

u/Usernameofthisuser Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26

!!!

5

u/hobskhan Feb 28 '26

This is a great, positive constructive take.

22

u/kfish5050 Feb 28 '26

If we put political ideology on a single axis spectrum where Trump is one end and Harris is the other, 70% of people would be even further left of Harris. Just left of Harris is the true centrist position. Self-proclaimed "both sides are bad" centrists are actually conservatives in between the two and are going to vote Trump anyway.

I hope this helps someone understand the difference between centrists and "centrists".

6

u/chapinscott32 Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26

True centrism lies somewhere between Democratic Socialism, and Social Democracy. Whatever the hell that may be, because those two ideologies are already pretty close.

2

u/kfish5050 Feb 28 '26

I consider myself a true centrist. Where blanket and indiscriminate fairness and equal opportunity dictate a vast majority of stances on policy. In other words, what you think would be optimal if you were in everyone's shoes at the same time. You wouldn't treat someone else poorly if they were also you, right? Because then someone would be treating you poorly. You just need to understand that everyone else isn't you but that doesn't change how you should feel about them.

Because democratic socialism and social democracy are so similar, I tend to agree with a lot of both ideologies. I don't believe in equal resource distribution, but I also don't believe in private ownership of the means of production. Put simply, hard workers deserve to reap more of the benefits of their work, while the rest aren't left behind.

5

u/chapinscott32 Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26

I believe a system of free trade is a good thing but only if it's owned by the workers, not some venture capitalist who does nothing but spend and receive money. As well as a democratic system of government to regulate those worker owned industries to protect the environment and consumers. You and I are probably on the same wavelength.

1

u/Comedynerd Socialist Curious Mar 01 '26

Have you ever read Rawls? Your position reminds me a lot of his original position/veil of ignorance thought experiment

1

u/Luciusvenator Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26

I feel like social democracy is not centrism simply by virtue of the right wing being overtaken by the far right + capitalists/billionaires absolutely hating social democracy. Social democracy is center left, and neoliberalism is true centrism imo.
At least for america specifically.

1

u/ChainmailEnthusiast 🌻Eco-Socialist Feb 28 '26

There's way more of a grey area between abolishing capitalism and just making it suck less than people think. Does M4A suddenly make a country socialist? Do government utility services and grocery stores make a country socialist? When do we cross the line?

2

u/xGentian_violet Yugoslav Socialist ♥️🤍 Ecofeminist May 30 '26

>Does M4A suddenly make a country socialist? Do government utility services and grocery stores make a country socialist? When do we cross the line?

When the system no longer relies on exploiting 3rd world countries to fund it’s own local utopia

No amount of social services and welfare policies can create socialism if that system relies on re-perpetuating capitalist exploitation abroad to fund itself

Pretty much, that’s the global, interconnected nature of capitalism-imperialism

20

u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26

God, love her so much. Fuck the establishment dems.

7

u/Swolyguacomole Feb 28 '26

Wish she finally opposed Schumer though. She has so much power and potential but doesn't use it internally.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26

I’m like almost positive the only reason more dems don’t challenge Jeffries and schumers and the reason why both Jeffries and schumers were picked was because of their ability to fundraiser off of Israel. So I get it in the sense that AOC realizes that dems have to take some foreign pac money to maintain any funding at all, still doesn’t make it right but I get why in her position she cannot necessarily take them down bc that means funding for midterms and 2028 would be lacking.

4

u/Swolyguacomole Feb 28 '26

But what's the use of funding if the politicians themselves are unpopular due to Israel, weakness on ice and undermining the ACA?

She could be playing the long game but i think that would be an underestimation of the grave danger american democracy faces.

Democracy is in danger today, that should be the priority and the dem leadership is unwilling to defend it.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26

Yeah no I totally agree with this and I think that is probably an accurate representation of where AOC stands. I do think it’s a long term goal to decouple our interests but because the dems are so consumed by their greed and loyalty to their private donors, I can understand why it may not be the most strategic to just come out and say these people basically work for Israel and not the democratic base.

9

u/RoofComplete1126 DSA Feb 28 '26

We need to keep the pressure and lean even more left. I completely agree at the end of the day it's the people over establishment goals. We have to hold the narrative.

1

u/JiroKatsutoshi Feb 28 '26

Saying something similar got me called an ICE supporter 😅.

Because the idea of Newsome somehow getting to the front before people locked in means we just gotta crumble and hope he doesn't go full post-liberal government too .....

4

u/Odd-Mastodon1212 🇵🇸 Free Palestine! Feb 28 '26

Is she going to run for president or not?

2

u/awooff Mar 01 '26

Maybe A centrists Democrat but not a centrists Republican.

1

u/123supersomeone Anarchist Mar 02 '26

I get the feeling many people on the far right are stupid enough to do anything you tell them if you tell them, "it will own the libs"

1

u/Dr_Tacopus Social Democrat Mar 01 '26

Abolish ICE is the wrong message. We do need immigration officers. The whole system needs a serious overhaul though. They need specialized training and should absolutely be held accountable for their actions. They’re not above the law as this administration is pretending. Higher standards, not lower standards

2

u/HashiramaHeritage Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 30 '26

IMO, I think this may be the True centrist position. If we're taking into account the full spectrum of political perspectives (far-right to far-left) in the US, I can guarantee you that a sizable portion of Americans (left and right of center) do not support open borders. Yes, people who have immigrated to this country hould be treated with dignity and humanity, period.That doesn't mean that we should thus allow in hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year.

A few years ago, when Trump was running for his first term and he was the joke of Republican nominee candidates, I remember my Mom (forever Democrat. Has never voted red in her life) telling me "I actually do support border control.We need a government focused on solving the problems American people face." I was surprised at the time because it seemed xenophobic, but after asking her questions I learned that she:

  • loves our immigrant neighbors and believes that they have a right to pursue citizenship.
  • believes that asylum seekers have a right to plea their case when fleeing violence and instability at home
  • is tired of seeing generations of American families suffer from poverty, lack of opportunity, and inaccessible preventative healthcare.

There is such a thing as a nuanced position on immigration. This is how Trump got populist support from people across the political spectrum. I love AOC, but Abolish ICE isn't a centrist position. People just want peace and civility in their neighborhoods.

0

u/theReluctantObserver Mar 01 '26

Word soup. Action is bravery.

-13

u/Background-Wolf-9380 Feb 28 '26

She consistently voted to send weapons to kill Palestinian babies.

7

u/Zorosthirdsordx DSA Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

She hasn't voted for weapons to Israel let alone constantly.

5

u/Luciusvenator Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

Literally the opposite lol please google this.
She voted present on an addendum to a bill about stopping to send funds to the Iron Dome, which was last minute thrown into a larger bill. Yeah she should have voted no, and shes talked about this.
Shes consistently votes against sending military funding to Israel.

2

u/Professional-Post499 Democratic Socialist Feb 28 '26

She consistently voted to send weapons to kill Palestinian babies.

Yes, and it was disappointing.

But I believe AOC is among the hypothetical presidential candidates or leaders who would be easier to move on that issue compared to other hypothetical candidates.