REFLECTIONS ON MEMORIAL DAY

COMMENTARY

HONOR THE FALLEN-GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ-AND BREAK WITH THE DEMOCRATS

FORGET DONKEYS, ELEPHANTS AND GREENS- BUILD A WORKERS PARTY THAT FIGHTS FOR SOCIALISM!


This has not been a good week for the parliamentary anti-war forces, mainly Democrats. They, despite their bluster, have hoisted the white flag over any effective parliamentary opposition to the Bush Administration’s fervent desire to keep the Iraq War going until the end of time- George Bush’s time. There has been much gnashing of teeth over this by those in the anti-war movement, like MoveOn.org, whose whole strategy was based on hoodwinking the Democrats into ending the war by doing something serious on the question of the Iraq war budget. Those of us who understand that this fight, if it is to be successful, must ultimately be won in the streets and elsewhere now have a tiny opening to get our point of view across. In any case, on this Memorial Day when it is appropriate to honor the fallen even if we cannot honor the cause they fell for, we can reemphasize our demand. Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan! Break with the Democrats! Build a Workers Party Now!

With that last slogan in mind it is also time to turn to the presidential election campaigns. As I have noted elsewhere the tempo of the campaigns has shifted dramatically now that most of the important primaries and caucuses are being pushed up to the early part of 2008. Usually on Memorial Day of the year before the elections we are treated to not much of anything but internal campaign maneuverings but this year the outlines of the campaign season are already becoming clear. Nothing that I see on the political horizon makes me think that we are in for anything but a brutal no-holds barred fight that will have even the most hardened political junkie screaming in his or her sleep before Christmas. To wit.

I have previously commented on the recent Republican debate in South Carolina that the field of ten (for now) did nothing to make me change my view that the 2008 presidential election is the Democrats to lose. Apparently the Republicans think so themselves as the field may get larger with the addition of ex-Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson. Thompson, currently an actor on the television series Law and Order,
has been hemming and hawing but will probably test the waters. By all accounts he is a viable candidate. Jesus, when you get down to actors (remember the late, unlamented Ronald Reagan) you know your party is in trouble. And we are too.

Not to be outdone the Democrats have had some tempests in teapots themselves. A couple of “unauthorized” campaign biographies have come out on one ex-First Lady and current New York Senator Hillary Clinton. I have only read reviews on the books but seemingly they are as the Clinton campaign has argued they are- old news, or no news. The only important point to note is that it is obvious that Ms. Clinton has that same “fire in the belly” to be president that commentators, including myself, have noticed about the more successful candidates in presidential contests. Hillary is still 5/2 against the field in my book and now we are getting a better understanding of why. It is not pretty. And once again, as with the Republicans, we are in trouble.

Bourgeois candidates and their staffs tend to have short memories-and justifiably so with all the blather they put out. They are not long on the memory of past campaigns-except when they have an ax to grind. Long time Democratic “strategist” Robert Schrum is set to tell all about his role in the ill-fated 2004 Kerry campaign. Of course, he will put himself in the role of misunderstood ‘political genius’ whose advice was disregarded by Kerry and staff-to their sorrow. Let us get this straight though-this is the man who has been a key advisor and loser in eight Democratic presidential campaigns. Thus the best advice anyone could get from him is DON’T HIRE ME. If he comes to your door give him the boot. Or send him to the Whigs.

Finally, something that is really interesting in this misbegotten campaign season-a little sporting proposition. Although Hillary has the inside track I note that, like the Republicans, the Democrats have a field that does not jump out at you. One of the consequences, perhaps unintended, of the recent biographies on Ms. Clinton is that she is revealed as very much an establishment figure. I have long argued that Hillary and her parliamentary sisters stand for the proposition, despite the obvious gains of the women’s liberation movement, that bourgeois women candidates can be just as venal as the men. That said, this field is weak. And that brings up my sporting proposition. There is an elephant in the Democratic field (no pun intended). That “elephant” has a name- Al Gore. In an earlier blog I made a sporting proposition on a Jeb Bush candidacy. I now introduce one for Mr. Gore. Hell, he actually won the 2000 election. He is available. He has an Oscar. And more importantly, he (several years too late) has some kind of gravitas. As I noted above Hillary is 5/2 against the field. I would put the odds on Mr. Gore at about 15-1 against. Any takers?



THIS IS PART OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THE 2006-2008 ELECTION CYCLE UNDER THE HEADLINE- FORGET THE DONKEYS, ELEPHANTS, GREENS-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!