Democratic Socialists Of America Thank 'Comrade' Cori Bush For Helping Renters Stay In 'Their' Homes
The Democratic Socialists of America's national organization thanked Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) for her role in extending the federal government's eviction moratorium.The Democratic Socialists of America's national organization thanked Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) for her role in extending the federal government's eviction moratorium.
As The Daily Wire reported on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order barring landlords from evicting their tenants — a policy originally passed by the Trump administration under the guise of stopping the spread of COVID-19. According to the agency, a person violating the order "may be subject to a fine of no more than $100,000 or one year in jail, or both, if the violation does not result in a death, or a fine of no more than $250,000 or one year in jail, or both if the violation results in a death."Leadership in the Democratic Socialists of America — which seeks to build "progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics" — lauded Bush for the victory.
The group's statement reads:
The National Political Committee of DSA would like to congratulate Congresswoman Cori Bush on the pivotal role she played in ensuring that millions of people, covering 90% of those renting, can continue living in their homes. This expansion of the eviction moratorium, specifically targeting counties with higher COVID infection rates, is a necessary step for keeping our communities safe. We cannot effectively end the pandemic without ensuring that everyone has safe and stable housing. Despite her own traumatic experiences with being unhoused, Congresswoman Cori Bush slept outside on the steps of the Capitol building, using her position to move the Biden administration to do what they previously said they could not, all while $1 million in real estate money was funneled into the House Dems super PAC and Republicans continued their inaction.
There is no time for games: people's lives are at stake. As an organization that believes housing is a human right, we remain committed to our demands to cancel rent and will continue working to build out tenant unions and other local organizing. We are proud to call the Congresswoman a comrade and fellow DSA member and applaud her leadership.As some — including Campus Reform reporter and commentator Addison Smith — have noticed, the Democratic Socialists of America were incorrect in asserting that tenants own their landlords' property.
Nevertheless, Bush has also applied the phrase "their homes" to tenants rather than landlords. She argued in a Tuesday statement that "each day that passes without a federal moratorium is another day of evictions, uncertainty, and instability for millions of people who are at risk of being removed from their homes."