In my opinion we have to be careful we don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater” when it comes to the Democratic Party because there are people who don’t understand how movements for real change develops… this is a response I wrote to an article being widely circulated which needs further discussion and clarification:
David,
This article is not at all like what New Broom has done--- no suggestion here of working with right-wing elements like the racist John Birch Society and its supporters like Rand and Ron Paul and the "End the Fed" group that is a front for the John Birch Society based upon the most conservative and reactionary .
New Broom has probably destroyed its credibility with people of color and Jewish people with its association with the groups cited above.
Second; this article is quite good; however, there are two problems that I see:
1. The suggestion there be a complete break from the Democratic Party; in fact, there are many good people who work inside the Democratic Party and/or use the Democratic Party as a vehicle to try to make very good progressive change.
2. While it is very important to note the phonies and fakes claiming to be liberals, progressives and leftists (and these people should be named to provide examples: Tom Hayden, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Carl Davidson, Sam Webb, Erwin Marquit, Robert Borosage, Roger Hickey, Al Franken, Matt Entenza and labor "leaders" like Richard Trumka, Shar Knutson who talk about "jobs, jobs, jobs" but conveniently ignore the need to enforce affirmative action, etc.) what really needs to be explained is what real progressives are because in explaining the word "progressive" we begin to understand who the honest liberals and leftists really are. Progressives are created when social/economic problems become so severe liberals and leftists decide they have to work together towards common solutions to their common problems... at this point they become progressives and it is "the people's front," the great progressive coalition of the people which results which includes anyone and everyone willing to work and struggle for the agreed upon agenda. An example would be: People coming together understanding these dirty imperialist wars are wrong and need to be ended with the money saved going to finance real healthcare reform/s thus creating millions of new, good jobs in the process with the enforcement of affirmative action.
3. There is no basis for unity with the right-wing racist and anti-Semitic elements like Ron Paul and Rand Paul and their John Birch Society or other hate organizations because such people drive away the very core of any progressive coalition, the people suffering the most--- people of color, women and the handicapped. These right-wing elements who foster hate are never supportive of ending racism--- be it ideological, systemic and/or institutional--- by using affirmative action in hiring which is embodied in legislation won through tremendous and great struggles of the people resulting in the only real lever that government has to "create a level playing field" which is a requirement for ending systemic and institutionalized racism which chips away at ideological racism as every racist obstacle to equality crumbles.
4. This essay, as good as it is--- as far as it goes, pushes the idea that many different political parties are welcome and needed--- in a democracy certainly all political parties are welcome; however, only one political party is needed to speak for "the people's front."
I always find it interesting when "the people's front" is omitted from these kinds of discussions because it has been the politics, tactics and strategy associated with "the people's front" which has been responsible for wining every single major and minor reform making life better for ALL people. We need only point to Social Security, minimum wage legislation, public housing, affirmative action (Executive Order #11246), school lunches and so on.
I also find it of interest that seldom is the old, real Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party's history never mentioned as the best example ever in the United States of people building a political party as part of "the people's front."
What we need in this country right now is greater unity of all people being hurt by big-business interests looking to profit from the poverty and misery of the people--- not all kinds of splintered organizations whose members are at each other's throats.
I hope New Broom can salvage some of what it set out to accomplish in the way of political reform here in Minnesota though I think there are now a number of other campaigns taking place inside and outside the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party providing better examples... there are the Rukavina and Dayton campaigns both making some contributions towards liberal and progressive politics; there is a political independent challenging to run as a Democrat against Michelle Bachman making inroads against the well-heeled Democratic Party machine, there are the campaigns--- two DFL and one independent--- up here in northern Minnesota and there are many progressives running for county commission seats and local offices across the state--- some inside the Democratic Party and some challenging from outside of it; but, the real question is not whether people are working in the Democratic Party or outside of it--- the question is what kind of programs and policies are being advocated because we want to encourage people to engage in healthy progressive politics that brings together people working for peace, pro-labor and for civil rights and human rights and these people for the most part will be liberal, progressive and left.
Thanks for passing this article along because it provides a lot of "food for thought."
Alan
Alan L. Maki
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell Phone: 651-587-5541
E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
Please check out my blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: David Shove [mailto:shove001@tc.umn.edu]
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 10:21 AM
To: New Broom; unified-insurgent-candidates@googlegroups.com
Subject: Chicanery of Democratic Foxes
[An agenda very like that of New Broom. See "What we must do" at end]
http://www.blackcommentator.com/368/368_kir_democrat_party_foxes.php
CHICANERY OF DEMOCRATIC FOXES
by Larry Pinkney
BLACK COMMENTATOR Mar. 25, 2010
A rotten, poisonous, stinking pie is far worse than no pie at all. Yet, this is precisely what the corporate Democratic Party and corporate "news"
media have repeatedly forced down the throats of the 'American' people, cloaked in the deceptive rhetoric of "change" and "reform."
The Democratic Party foxes and the Republican Party wolves are not in the least bit interested in breaking their insidious feeding frenzy with the corporate Wall Street military industrial complex. However, at this stage in history, it is the Democratic Party foxes who have taken deception, authoritarianism, wars abroad, a de facto police state at home, and constant subterfuge to the lowest depths of political cynicism and manipulation yet to be experienced by this nation.
The authoritarian and discriminatory, so-called health care "reform" of Barack Obama and his confederate Democratic Party foxes is a horrible sham. It is a big, fat financial gift to the corporate elite, which is exactly why back in August of 2009, Barack Obama cut a back room deal with the lobbyists of the pharmaceutical, insurance, and hospital industry's to kill the "public option"; despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of people supported this option. In relative short order the hurting peoples of this nation may come to realize that they have once again been blind-sided and economically pimped by the systemic politicians and their scurvy media allies.
It is apparently not enough that everyday Black, Brown, Red, White, and Yellow people in this nation, as well as people in other nations, are being brutalized by the murderous and unjust U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and elsewhere. No! Corporate brand Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and his media cohorts cynically engaged in diverting the attention of the people from these horrors to a fake, one-sided monologue re alleged health care "reform" which was in fact never intended to include what the vast majority of people most need and want, i.e. the single payer universal health care public option. As is Obama's practice, using deception and rhetoric, he cynically utilizing the terrible pain of everyday people against everyday people themselves all in the fallacious name of "reform."
Moreover, it is apparently not enough that Barack Obama gave a big, fat bail-out gift [of trillions of dollars of the people's money] to the very corporate Wall Street barons who manipulated, blood-sucked, and brought about the financial melt down that is most impacting everyday Black, Brown, Red, White, and Yellow people who are simply trying to survive this economic horror. Think about it. Obama's "change" is more of the same only sneakier.
In this, the second year of the Obama/Biden/Rahm Emanuel travesty, even as the U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan rage on and economic conditions steadily worsen for everyday people right here at home, the Obama [so-called] Democrats intensify in engaging in meaningless rhetoric and political, smoke and mirror trickery. The people in those aforementioned nations continue to die, even as the body bags containing the remains of U.S. military personnel just keep on returning from the U.S. wars abroad. The sorry and pathetic corporate media, in fact, continues to be complicitous in beating the drums of war, while fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, and friends die, are wounded or are psychologically damaged scarred as the cannon fodder of corporate capitalism and deceit.
Led by Barack Obama, the Democratic Party foxes and the Republican Party wolves are busy revitalizing and retooling the extremely dangerous and unnecessary nuclear power plant industry in this nation. This is being done to further enrich the coffers of the corporate elite, not to protect or serve the everyday people throughout this nation. This course of action is utter insanity. Some conscientious serious, informed, and concerned environmentalists have sounded the alarm about this, but relatively few people thus far are aware of what the Republicrats [i.e. Democratic and Republican Party politicians] are up to in this arena. The only thing truly green about Barack Obama is money, his insatiable appetite for more of it, and his corporate envy. Once more, the everyday people be damned.
With the complicity of the corporate media Obama, via his current U.S.
Secretary for Education, stealthily goes about the business of privatizing public education and breaking the back of teacher's unions. This privatization of education negatively impacts economically poor people of all colors, but its most severe debilitating affect is upon Black, Brown, and Red students, not to mention teachers educators across the academic spectrum.
Rest assured that it is only a matter of time before Barack Obama, the Democratic and Republican Parties, and their corporate puppet masters set out to seriously dismantle and destroy Social Security, further negatively impacting the everyday people of this nation and most particularly disabled people and the poor. The recent authoritarian Obama Democratic Party sham health care "reform" package has in essence already begun this process. Once again, misleading & deceptive rhetoric and fear tactics will be vigorously employed by these cynical rascals, unless they are exposed and stopped.
The Obama Democratic Party foxes have already overwhelmingly supported the trillion dollar criminal bail-out of the Wall Street corporate vampires at the expense of everyday people. They have already overwhelmingly supported the extension of the unconstitutional and police-state 'Patriot Act.' And they have overwhelmingly and shamelessly supported both the extension and broadening of illegal U.S. kidnapping and torture under the auspices of what is known as 'Rendition.' The everyday people of this nation are in serious trouble.
None of these dangerous and despicable things could have occurred without the complicity of liberals, fake progressives, and phony leftists. These politically-putrid, pontificating pundits of profundity are ushering in a bizarre form of 21st century authoritarianism/fascism whose clutches are already upon us. Indeed, as liberals, fake progressives, and phony leftists persist in being the willing, silent and/or groveling supporters of corporate brand Obama and his Democratic Party foxes it must be remembered that ultimately "the [proverbial] chickens will come home to roost." Increasing joblessness, homelessness, home foreclosures, ongoing U.S. wars abroad, coupled with the very real and growing police-state in this nation are reaching a boiling point - despite the corporate media's omissions, denials, and constant disinformation & rhetoric to everyday people.
WHAT WE MUST DO
The very first thing we must do is to mentally and in deed divorce ourselves totally from the death grip of both the Democratic Party foxes and the Republican Party wolves. We must stop falling for the rhetoric of these corporately controlled, blood-sucking conjurers.
We must boldly form, build, and invigorate third parties [plural] outside of and away from the foxes and wolves of the Democratic and Republican parties [the Republicrats]. We must not wait for a local or national election; we must begin this process in earnest NOW! We must disregard the claims of those who say that real change can only be brought about through the Democrat or Republican parties for they are in fact acting as the gate-keepers for this politically bankrupt and amoral system.
We must organize for fundamental systemic change that really serves the daily needs of everyday people. This means starting locally where we live and/or work.
We must educate ourselves and each other, always remembering the corporate controlled and/or corporate-sponsored media is unwilling and incapable of biting off the corporate hand that feeds it.
We must audaciously, and in the clear, down-to-earth, understandable language of everyday people, expose the lies and subterfuge of the Democrats and Republicans.
We must break the habit of relying, solely and without question, upon the corporate or corporate sponsored media for honest news and information. In breaking this habit we will not only feel better but we will think clearer. Give much credence to your common sense.
We must become our own media, disseminating first hand information to our community locally, and to persons of like mind nationally.
We must learn to encourage one another and to remind each other that every defeat and/or set-back that we experience can become a prelude to an important future people's victory in our community or indeed nation-wide.
We must be organized and serious, not haphazard and/or lethargic in this people's struggle.
We must expect subterfuge, agents, and/or agent provocateurs but never be deterred by them. Learn from the experience, make the necessary adjustments, and continue in the struggle. Remember that our actions (large or small), coupled with persistence and patience are revolutionary virtues and we must be creative revolutionaries.
We must believe in ourselves and each other and when or if we stumble, reach out to those who inspire and motivate us, as we do them.
We must develop, as Ernesto 'Che' Guevara put it, "the faith of the revolutionary," and actualize that faith by what we do.
The Democrat[ic] and Republican Parties have demonstrated time and time again that they are the enemies of the people - the enemies of real systemic change on behalf of the teeming masses of everyday people. The systemic terrorism and disinformation against everyday people will continue unless *we* collectively do something about it. We do not have to accept this rotten, poisonous, stinking systemic pie.
Each one teach one! There is much to be accomplished. Onward then sisters and brothers! Onward!!!....
BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board Member, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil/political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities in opposition to voter suppression, etc., Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS NewsHour, formerly known as The MacNeil/LehrerNewsHour. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn].
1 comment:
You make alot of sense in this article until you start calling Ron Paul a racist. You can't go around sucking up to your favorite lobby AIPAC (most of the world sees them as apartied - and for good reason) that pilfers our country dry and expect others to change their pilfering ways.
Wake up. AIPAC is a leading part of the Chicanery you are talking about.
Bob D
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