DSA sent out a letter telling DSA candidates and elected officials to no longer work with Morris Katz or Fight Agency

[Quiet Em]

“We, the undersigned, call on DSA candidates and elected officials to no longer contract or work with Morris Katz or Fight Agency, his political consulting firm,” the letter reads.

“Morris Katz is one of the chief parties responsible for the catastrophic campaign of scandal-ridden Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner,” the letter says. “Billed as a top adviser to the campaign, Katz helped recruit Platner and supercharged his candidacy with slick video production, friendly media placements, and political connections.”

https://theintercept.com/2026/07/10/dsa-graham-platner-morris-katz-consultant/

I'm sorry but I'm getting very concerned that Platner is not going to withdraw, which will force Democrats to attempt a write-in campaign, the vote will be split and Collins will be the benefactor. **Update** Platner has withdrawn

update: Bluesky post with a link to letter included

if you're a dsa member, please sign this letter about morris katz and why dsa elected officials should no longer work with him

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

— rose (@breadnrosie.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T15:53:12.703Z

[TBF]

1. Katz also worked with Mamdani

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5581737-mamdani-campaign-strategy-agency/

[RandySF]

4. That is true.

But their conduct of the Platner campaign is a huge red flag.

[Skittles]

11. the red flags were EVERYWHERE

WTF

[Cha]

28. We were Deluged with Red Flags!

Swamped, inundated, overloaded...

And still he was supported until the kicker. What a surprise that was with all the red flags.

[Quiet Em]

6. Yeah, Mamdani needs to remove him from any advisor or staffing role Katz has

[yardwork]

22. Mamdani was a good candidate and ran a good campaign.

Maybe he didn't need Katz's help.

[RandySF]

2. Is this real?

Because Osbourne and El-Sayed are knee-deep.

[Quiet Em]

5. It appears to be real

and yeah, this association could harm both El-Sayed and Osbourne's campaigns.

[Quiet Em]

7. Bluesky post linking to letter

if you're a dsa member, please sign this letter about morris katz and why dsa elected officials should no longer work with him

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

— rose (@breadnrosie.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T15:53:12.703Z

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. AOC never endorsed Platner

Being an ex bartender Platner probably activated her spidey sense.

[TBF]

14. Good point. I bet she has excellent street skills/smarts. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. Bartender, attractive, presumably she has seen it all.

[betsuni]

27. She'd interned for Ted Kennedy and later worked for a presidential campaign before running, not new to politics.

Experience is actually good!

[Boo1]

3. Wow DSA

I'm impressed. Yes, blacklist these bastards.

[RandySF]

8. Looks like rank and file members.

I’d love to see AOC speak up. She was the only DSA elected to decline endorsing Platner.

[Celerity]

19. You said : 'I'd love to see AOC speak up. She was the only DSA elected to decline endorsing Platner.'

That is false.

The only elected US House member (and he is not even DSA) to officially endorse Platner was Ro Khanna.

The only elected DSA related member in either chamber to endorse Platner was Sanders.

Here is a snapshot of the Platner endorsements taken on June 29th, a week before the rape allegations dropped:

https://web.archive.org/web/20260629155337/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_election_in_Maine#Democratic_primary







here is a live link showing all those endorsements (including all that were rescinded)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_election_in_Maine

[Cha]

29. She also didn't endorse her former

campaign manager, Saikat Chakrabarti, who ran for Nancy Pelosi's seat.

[comradebillyboy]

31. A wise decision on her part.

[Cha]

32. Yes!

[lapucelle]

9. The DSA is nothing if not authoritarian.

At its biennial national convention in Chicago (August 8-10, 2025), the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), passed Resolution 22, titled “For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA,” with a vote tally of 675

The resolution mandates that DSA members and endorsed elected officials may face expulsion if they:
● Oppose the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
● Are affiliated with lobbying groups they deem to be Zionist (specifically mentioning. AIPAC, J Street, and the Democratic Majority for Israel).
● Express support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

======================

And DSA is not shy about imposing conditions on AOC.

Status of DSA National Endorsement for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
July 10, 2024

On Sunday, June 23rd, the DSA National Political Committee (NPC) voted to endorse Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) so long as she fulfills the following conditions:

https://www.dsausa.org/statements/status-of-dsa-national-endorsement-for-rep-ocasio-cortez/

[yardwork]

23. The DSA is proud to be authoritarian.

Like other authoritarian movements they believe the ends justify the means. History shows what always happens.

[orthoclad]

25. Having a position makes them authoritarian?

Gotcha.

[lapucelle]

30. Sorry, that doesn't work on me.

You are perfectly free to think that dictating terms and backing them up with threats is best described as *having a position*, but Merriam Webster disagrees:

authoritarian (adj)

1: of, relating to, or favoring blind submission to authority
2: favoring strict rules over individual freedom
3: displaying a domineering or dictatorial manner

Glad you've got it!

[orthoclad]

34. Oh. "Communist"

Classic right-wing talking point.

Doing Trump's work.

[Cha]

35. Bullfeathers. It's not doing PEDO's work for him

Last edited Fri Jul 10, 2026, 11:39 PM - Edit history (1)

to cite the Dictionary's definition of authoritarianism.

Stop insulting our DU members, she's right.

[lapucelle]

36. I guess it burned more than a little bit.

Like I said, that doesn't work on me.

[Celerity]

12. you said : 'I'm sorry but I'm getting very concerned that Platner is not going to withdraw'

He has officially withdrawn now.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221366369

https://www.wmtw.com/article/graham-platner-withdraws-us-senate-race/71899666

[Quiet Em]

13. I saw.

Thank you

[Celerity]

16. yw

[rollin74]

17. this is good to hear

[Deminpenn]

18. Here's the bottom line, regardless of your opinion of Katz, he's a strategist

with a winning message.

My sense is that much of the angst is centered around the growing opposition by Americans, especially young Americans, to the ongoing Israeli military action in Gaza, or war if you prefer. Not to mention Israeli involvement in Lebanon and Iran.

Just a reminder that Speaker Pelosi was just fine with Democratic candidates running against her because her priority was winning. And if Dem candidates could win by running away from her, so be it.

[Quiet Em]

20. He received a lot of credit for Mamdani, but it was Tish James, AOC and Mamdani himself

that created the enthusiastic and winning campaign, not Katz

[lapucelle]

38. Morris Katz reminds me of David Axlerod and the God Save podcast guys

who thought that they were the magic behind Barack Obama.

[yardwork]

24. Lots of people have a winning message.

It sounds like Katz is good at packaging campaigns but somebody was very poor at vetting this candidate. I don't know if the fault lies with Katz or others.

The progressive message is not going away. We need to be more careful at picking candidates. There must be millions of potential candidates who have progressive platforms, are charismatic, and don't have Nazi tattoos, cringey texts, or sexual assault allegations in their past.

[DinahMoeHum]

26. Potential progressive candidates should go. . .

to Run For Something, instead of charlatans like Katz, Moraff and Fan

https://runforsomething.net/

[intheflow]

21. He was also Team Fetterman and helped get him elected.

He’s a mixed bag, for sure.

[scipan]

33. What about Moraff? Not looking for a bloodbath, just the person most responsible for vetting. nt

[lapucelle]

37. Apparently the argument is that Justice Democrats PAC already iced out Moraff

in 2022 after Summer Lee's campaign reported that there were three sexual misconduct complaints against him, so that tie was cut, and, because Moraff is no longer a member of DSA, they were already not working *directly* with him, so there are no punitive measures to take.

Katz was essentially the "clean partner" of a dirty scheme and Moraff was heavily reliant on Katz’s mainstream credibility to secure clients. By demanding that elected officials completely cut ties with Fight Agency and Morris Katz, the DSA targetted the financial engine of the operation. This ensured that, because Katz could no longer profit from his grift, Moraff will no longer get his cut.

With the Platner campaign, Katz and Kompany were skimming 15% of the campaign donations as "consultant fees", exploitive capitalism at its worst.

There's speculation that the ploy of demanding that Platner have a say in his replacement was, in fact, Katz / Fight Agency's attempt to secure the replacement as a client so they could continue to profit off this debacle.