Obama Not Just Playing Socialist on TV

Confirmed! Obama Won His State Senate Seat as a Member of and Endorsed by The Democratic Socialists of America

This is the same Senate seat in which he launched his political career from William Ayers' [unrepentant self admitted domestic terrorist] home. Being introduced to the local political establishment by William Ayers must be some heavy street cred in socialist neighborhoods.

Andy McCarthy reports,

Larry Johnson, formerly of the CIA, can be spectacularly wrong on occasion. He does, however, seem to have nailed down that Obama was an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America, the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International. His post, with lots of corroborating links, is here.

Andy convincingly clarifies why he asserts Obama was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

UPDATE: A number of readers object to my use of the word "member" because the links "merely" show that Obama participated in meetings, sought the nomination, and used the nomination. I'm not striking it because I think it's an abundantly fair description. See, e.g., this (my italics):

The NP's [NP stands for the New Party, which was formed by the Democratic Socialists of America] political strategy is to support progressive candidates in elections only if they have a concrete chance to "win". This has resulted in a winning ratio of 77 of 110 elections. Candidates must be approved via a NP political committee. Once approved, candidates must sign a contract with the NP. The contract mandates that they must have a visible and active relationship with the NP. The political entourage included Alderman Michael Chandler, William Delgado, chief of staff for State Rep Miguel del Valle, and spokespersons for State Sen. Alice Palmer, Sonya Sanchez, chief of staff for State Sen. Jesse Garcia, who is running for State Rep in Garcia's District; and Barack Obama, chief of staff for State Sen. Alice Palmer. Obama is running for Palmer's vacant seat.

And this:

The NP's '96 Political Program has been enormously successful with 3 of 4 endorsed candidates winning electoral primaries. All four candidates attended the NP membership meeting on April 11th to express their gratitude. Danny Davis, winner in the 7th Congressional District, invited NPers to join his Campaign Steering Committee. Patricia Martin, who won the race for Judge in 7th Subcircuit Court, explained that due to the NP she was able to network and get experienced advice from progressives like Davis. Barack Obama, victor in the 13th State Senate District, encouraged NPers to join in his task forces on Voter Education and Voter Registration.

ME: This has been a pet peeve of mine since I used to prosecute organized crime cases and had to deal with murderers and drug dealers who would argue that they weren't really "members" of a mafia family just because the fellas hadn't held that ceremony with the pricked fingers and burning saint cards. Whether one is a "member" of some association is a function of our observation of his conduct; the niceties that the association in question imposes are relevant, but they're not dispositive. For all it appears, Obama may very well have been a card-carrying member, but his degree of participation makes that question academic.

Update Andy McCarthy has more info on the subject.

I raised this topic in a post yesterday morning based on some information that he been unearthed on Larry Johnson's website. Now, John Hinderaker at Powerline points to this report from a site called "Politically Drunk on Power." The report provides what appears to be documentary evidence that Obama was a member of the Chicago New Party, a creation of the Democratic Socialists of America — and adds that there has been a determined effort to purge the paper-trail. Another report has since been added, here, which adds (a) another New Party document claiming Obama as a member, and (b) evidence that Obama appeared in 1996 at a Youth Democratic Socialists townhall meeting.

As John concludes: "it appears clear that as of 1996, the New Party and its parent organization the Democratic Socialists of America considered Barack Obama to be their guy — one of a handful of avowed socialists running for office at any level in the United States. It strikes me that Obama has some explaining to do."