I agree here. In fact, it is the only reason I suggest DSA. They are going to be generally the least concerned about sectarian divides and more concerned about coalition building and community engagement.
If a different socialist org like ISO or SAlt is doing better things, it is far better joining them than trying to engage w/ DSA.
DSA in fact has people very involved in SAlt in paid positions for them, if that gives a good gauge of how open they are.
Surprisingly SAlt is only around 900. They manage to get sometimes massive crowds behind their events and are obviously well known, but I assume that they just don't focus that much on membership or just have difficulty gaining due-paying members.
ISO and to a lesser extent SAlt are more interested in building cadre, and they are quite good at it. However, I'm not sure at this time that is where the priority should be. socialistworker.org remains pretty great and SAlt still does good work, though.
They have a problem with being too white and occasionally too male, so the identity groups mostly focus on how DSA can better reach out and recruit w/these people. Also what issues DSA should be working on there.
Worth saying though I and DSA leadership generally agree that:
Bernie did better within Dems as open "socialist" than Green Party/Third Parties have ever done. He used the Dems strategically to his advantage since the conditions were right. We can do the same. See Seth Ackerman's piece of building a worker's party in the latest Jacobin issue.
This is just sectarian nonsense. DSA does not see their future transforming the Dem Party. Days of Harrington are long gone. Not many resources were put into the realignment strategy and even the very SocDem leaning in DSA leadership knows it has failed.
The whole point of joining DSA is that it will not splinter any time soon. The only time this would be possible is when the socialist left becomes large enough and powerful enough that a divide would be meaningful and required to usher in the next steps towards revolution.
DSA's focus is not even on national electoral politics right now, but when they will engage in it, the logic they use is use Greens when it makes sense, run independently when it works in context, or run openly as a democratic socialist in a Dem primary where the other options are bleak. Again, Bernie did more for socialism within the Dem party than third parties have done for quite a while.
Also DSA does not have official caucuses yet, so there wouldn't be much info on the Left Caucus. The only way to officially join is if you find them/their email list through networking. You do have a point that a lot of left-liberals are pouring in since Sanders. But DSA is going to try and focus on internal marxist/radical education internally as they keep getting more members.
I agree with
DSA leadership and members understand the need for a mass socialist party. The problem is, right now it is not feasible. Spending a ton of time and resources on trying to break the impossibly strict laws that maintain the two party system would be a dead end right now. While DSA and all socialist orgs are not putting electoral politics as their number one focus, when engaging in electoral politics, what is the solution other than the Dems (assuming an independent run would not be feasible)?
See: jacobinmag.com/2016/11/bernie-sanders-democratic-labor-party-ackerman/
DSA's priority was never on electoral politics, that is why in their bios everywhere they stress they are an activist organization and not a political party. Post-Harrington, the only time their national agenda had to do with electoral politics was this year, when their official national priority was electing Bernie Sanders.
Try to find 2 or 3 other people and submit an application through the website. They have full-time paid staff for this stuff, so you should get a reply fast and they will guide you through the process. You start as an organizing committee then eventually become a fully recognized chapter and I assume you then receive some funds. If you can't find people, email someone at DSA and they might be able to connect you with others who were trying to start a chapter.
Is there no SAlt/ISO/IWW presence where you are?