{"id":2639849,"date":"2026-08-03T18:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dsa-founding-member-recalls-working-for-soviet-linked-party\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T18:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:14:27","slug":"dsa-founding-member-recalls-working-for-soviet-linked-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dsa-founding-member-recalls-working-for-soviet-linked-party\/","title":{"rendered":"DSA founding member recalls working for Soviet-linked party"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdsa-founding-member-recalls-working-for-soviet-linked-party%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2639849&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the historical and contemporary links between the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and communist organizations. It highlights a recent statement by Jay Schaffner, a former leader of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), who wrote about his past involvement with pro-Soviet communist groups and his subsequent role in founding the DSA in 1982. Schaffner emphasized the ideological continuity between past communist causes and current socialist movements and noted that the USSR was the first country to put a human in orbit, contrasting this with socialist Cuba&#8217;s proximity to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>The piece notes that the CPUSA was created by the Soviet Union in the 1920s to promote its geopolitical interests, and historical revelations about Stalin\u2019s oppression caused divisions within the party. Schaffner&#8217;s own background includes organizing trips to socialist countries and leaving the CPUSA after the USSR&#8217;s collapse in 1991. He now proudly affiliates with the larger, growing DSA, which has over 120,000 members and has elected socialists across various levels of government.<\/p>\n<p>The article also mentions that some scholars estimate that communism has caused the deaths of over 100 million people. It notes recent political activity involving DSA members, including a candidate who interned at a school linked to Hamas, and the election of DSA-supported candidates like Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York. the piece portrays the historical and ongoing connections between modern socialist organizations in the U.S. and their communist roots.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4657182\/dsa-endorsement-tracker-socialists-running-for-office-across-america\/\">Democratic Socialists of America<\/a> advertised writings on Tuesday by a former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/communist-party\/\">Communist Party<\/a> USA leader recounting his time in the pro-Soviet group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jay Schaffner <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260803192156\/https:\/\/democraticleft.dsausa.org\/2026\/07\/28\/looking-back-to-look-forward\/\">promised<\/a> to fill a \u201cgap in the historical record\u201d on the party in a post on the DSA\u2019s website foreshadowing \u201cRed Lives: Our Years in the U.S. Communist Party (1950\u20132000).\u201d The remarks further tie America\u2019s so-called <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4655374\/dsa-candidate-hamas-greenhouse-school-internship\/\">democratic socialists<\/a> of today with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thestustustudio\/status\/2072700648320008533\">explicitly communist causes<\/a> as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4663064\/gop-leans-anti-communist-messaging-dsa-surge\/\">Republicans accuse the DSA<\/a> of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/politics\/4635617\/socialism-communism-marxism-blue-scare\/\">promoting the ideology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4673210\/dsa-founding-member-soviet-linked-communist-party\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DSA founding member recalls working for Soviet-linked communist party<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4672781\/ohio-elections-jane-timken-wont-run-possible-max-miller-withdrawal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ohio state Sen. Jane Timken rules out bid to replace Max Miller if he withdraws<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4672963\/trump-let-families-sort-out-max-miller-allegations-ohio-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump says he\u2019ll \u2018let the families\u2019 sort out Max Miller allegations<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/soviet-union\/\">Soviet Union<\/a> created the CPUSA to advance its geopolitical interests by merging multiple communist groups in the 1920s, as noted by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Communist-Party-of-the-United-States-of-America\">scholars<\/a> and the party\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/XHmvm\">website<\/a>. Schaffner noted that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/history.state.gov\/milestones\/1953-1960\/khrushchev-20th-congress\">later revelations<\/a> about oppression under the late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin caused \u201cdivision\u201d within CPUSA.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGrowing up at this time, one would wonder what was happening in that part of the world where the economic, political, and social systems were entirely different from those in the United States,\u201d Schaffner said about the 1960s. \u201cIt was not a matter of agreeing with those countries, but rather of acknowledging that they were different from ours and offering an alternative. No matter what the Cold War threw at the Soviet Union, it remained. The USSR was the first country to put a human being in orbit. And then, as the 1960s began, there was a new and different country \u2014 socialist Cuba \u2014 just 90 miles from U.S. shores.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schaffner formerly led a CPUSA-affiliated travel agency that \u201corganized trips to the Soviet Union and other socialist countries,\u201d according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260803193607\/https:\/\/findingaids.library.nyu.edu\/tamwag\/tam_526\/\">New York University<\/a>. The activist became a founding member of the DSA in 1982 and left his role at CPUSA\u2019s National Committee in 1991 \u2014 the year the USSR collapsed, his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260803193501\/https:\/\/portside.org\/jay-schaffner\">profile<\/a> on the leftist website Portside shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToday, I am proud to be a member of the largest socialist organization that the United States has ever seen, an organization that is growing, that is part of today\u2019s movements for social change, and that is electing democratic socialists to city councils, county governments, state legislatures, and to the halls of Congress,\u201d Schaffner wrote. \u201cThat organization is Democratic Socialists of America, and it boasts more than a thousand members holding elective office from one end of the country to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4655374\/dsa-candidate-hamas-greenhouse-school-internship\/\"><strong>DSA CANDIDATE INTERNED AT HAMAS \u2018GREENHOUSE\u2019 SCHOOL INFAMOUS FOR TERRORIST RECRUITMENT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DSA <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4634623\/democratic-socialists-of-america-breaks-membership-records\/\">announced in July<\/a> that it reached an all-time membership record of more than 120,000, making it the country\u2019s largest socialist group. Schaffner is now a member of its New York chapter, which used <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/11\/05\/mamdani-socialists-seize-local-offices-across-us\/\">vast campaigning support resources<\/a> to elect New York City Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/zohran-mamdani\/\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some scholars estimate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/victimsofcommunism.org\/programs\/research-programs\/\">communism killed more than 100 million people<\/a>, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1619404\/hurtful-on-a-number-of-levels-victims-of-communism-memorial-among-those-defaced-during-rioting-in-dc\/\">Victims of Communism<\/a> Memorial Foundation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ex-CPUSA leader shares history in DSA post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1239,"featured_media":2639850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24356395923787.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[14436,74849,83630,38374,45959],"class_list":["post-2639849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-activism","tag-dsa","tag-founding-member","tag-political-history","tag-soviet-union"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24356395923787.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2639849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2639852,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639849\/revisions\/2639852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2639850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2639849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2639849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2639849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}