Stu Smith
🚨 Ritchie Torres Challenger Says the Goal Is Not Just to “Remove” Him, but Build Socialism Inside and Outside Elections Andre Easton, a high school teacher and Party for Socialism and Liberation member running for Ritchie Torres’ seat in NY-15, said removing Torres would not be enough. Easton claimed that “349 members” of Congress received “direct funding from Israel,” appearing to recast AIPAC-linked American political spending as foreign funding from Israel. He then argued that removing politicians who support Israel only treats “a symptom” unless activists create a socialist system with “political and economic power” in the hands of the working class. “We understand that this has to be built in the election system, in the election cycle, and outside of the election cycle,” Easton said. He added that the goal is to move people from “hoping for better results” to becoming “active participants” and “active protagonists” working every day to build the world they want. That is the real story here. For Easton and the PSL, the campaign or winning the election is not the endpoint. It is infrastructure. The election is one vehicle for building socialist power, recruiting new cadre, and expanding influence outside the ballot box. Even when PSL candidates lose, the project can still succeed if they move the Overton window, normalize more radical demands, and turn campaign energy into disciplined organization.