Once the Philly DSA voted to endorse Chris Rabb this past winter, the campaign that followed ramped up and gained enormous traction amongst young voters, families, and even blue blood liberals who decided a more radical approach was needed.
The seat had last been up for grabs for a new candidate 35 years ago.
But what makes this victory so different from others? A few things. For one, Rabb is outspoken about his beliefs on abolishing ICE and supporting Palestine. He opposes the outrageous amounts of money that Philadelphians give to Tel Aviv and ICE through our taxes. The voters of Philadelphia are seemingly so sick and tired of schools closing and having to drive on roads that aren’t functional that they decided a socialist-endorsed candidate was the most viable and realistic solution.
The signs are in front of our eyes: super PACs and anyone who is accepting their donations are not to be trusted because billionaires do not have our best interests at heart. AIPAC is not to be trusted because Israel does not have our best interests at heart. John Fetterman single handedly helped the MAGA agenda when he was unable to fulfill his promises to voters when he accepted money from AIPAC which bought out his values and quite frankly, him.
When confronted about ICE invasions in our communities and others, Chris Rabb sternly condemned ICE’s actions and called for the abolition of the entire system without apology.
Mayor Cherelle Parker endorsed Sharif Street, who never truly gave a clear answer on whether or not he was accepting monetary corporate contributions for his campaign. This is the same mayor who appointed a school board that voted to close 17 Philadelphia public schools. Not only was this atrocious vote made, but it was made in a closed meeting after protestors disrupted the school board meeting. It is a safe bet that educators, parents and public education advocates would not support the same candidate that Mayor Parker endorsed.
It can’t go without being said that the Working Families Party had an excellent Election Day, with six of their PA candidates winning competitive races, Rabb included.
A smear campaign was led against Rabb through anonymous text messages just two days before the election. Establishment democrats accepted unknown yet most likely significant amounts of money from corporate and Zionist donors. He was accused of misogyny from his opponent Dr. Ala Stanford in her reasoning for not participating in debate. But Rabb had working class people knocking on doors and talking to their friends about his policies and stances. Rabb had his integrity and honest morals that he stuck to. He refused big money. He couldn’t be bought. This isn’t the end but hopefully a gorgeous beginning.
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