From The American Left History Blog Archives (2006) - On American Political Discourse

 

Markin comment:

In the period 2006-2008 I, in vain, attempted to put some energy into analyzing the blossoming American presidential campaign since it was to be, as advertised at least, a watershed election, for women, blacks, old white anglos, latinos, youth, etc. In the event I had to abandon the efforts in about May of 2008 when it became obvious, in my face obvious, that the election would be a watershed only for those who really believed that it would be a watershed election. The four years of the Obama presidency, the 2012 American presidential election campaign, and world politics have only confirmed in my eyes that that abandonment was essentially the right decision at the right time. In short, let the well- paid bourgeois commentators go on and on with their twitter. I, we, had (have) better things to do like fighting against the permanent wars, the permanent war economies, the struggle for more and better jobs, and for a workers party that fights for a workers government . More than enough to do, right? Still a look back at some of the stuff I wrote then does not a bad feel to it. Read on.

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VOTE FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL TICKET OF ASSATA SHAKUR/LYNNE STEWART IN NOVEMBER OF 2008

COMMENTARY

BY ALL MEANS LET US HAVE A WOMAN PRESIDENT BUT NOT “THAT” WOMAN

FORGET DONKEYS, ELEPHANTS AND GREENS- BUILD A WORKERS PARTY

Well the dust has finally settled on the broken down electoral campaign of 2006 and now we can get down to the really fun part of commenting on the endless campaign for president in 2008. And it ain’t going to be pretty. Let us face it any political system that can do no better than provide the perfecta of Bush-Clinton, their families, their near and distant relatives, their pets, etc. every four years deserves all the problems it gets. Talk about the modern day parliamentary equivalent of the War of the Roses this nonsense has got to stop. And this writer is just the, as always to provide a constructive alternative to the nastiness of bourgeois choices and politics. Here goes.  

For those unfamiliar with Lynne Stewart or her case the following is a note from the Partisan Defense Committee which supports the efforts to get her conviction overturned:

“On June 19, Lynne Stewart's counsel filed court papers seeking to discover if any warrantless or illegal electronic surveillance was conducted on her or anyone involved in her case. Then on July 5, Lynne's attorneys filed a Sentencing Memorandum on her behalf asking for a non-custodial sentence, i.e., one involving no jail time. As you are aware, Lynne Stewart was falsely convicted of material support for terrorism for her work representing an imprisoned client, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a direct attack on the right to an attorney and First Amendment rights for all. She is also recovering from surgery for breast cancer and subsequent radiation and hormone therapy. Currently she awaits sentencing on September 25 to be preceded by a rally at Riverside Church in New York on September 24. We say again her conviction and those of her co-defendants were an outrage. Hands Off Lynne Stewart, Mohamed Yousry and Ahmed Abdel Sattar!”

Since the above information was published in an earlier blog Ms. Stewart has received a 28 month sentence. Her co-defendant Mohamed Yoursy has received a sentence of 20 months. Her other co-defendant Ahmed Sattar has received an outrageous sentence of 24 years. For further information contact the PDC, P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013-0099, The Lynne Stewart Defense Fund or see my blog, dated June 13, 2006. 

Assata Shakur, Tupac’s “Auntie”, is a revolutionary black fighter for justice who was convicted for murder in the 1970’s and later escaped to Cuba where she now resides in political asylum. Over the past year the United States Justice Department has increased its bounty on her up to one million dollars. To this writer’s mind that makes her quality presidential material in these times.

Let me motive these candidacies a little further. I will merely freshen up some of the material I used in earlier blogs (see November 2006 archives) to motivate a write in vote for Lynne Stewart in the United States Senate race in New York against Hillary Clinton. Some will say Ms. Stewart and Ms. Shaker have been convicted of serious felonies. Grow up! If we counted all the indicted felons, unindicted co-conspirators, and those waiting for or in fear of indictment hanging around Washington the Congressional pages would be the only ones left to run the government. Hell, maybe, they are? Besides, think about this- imagine the respect Ms. Stewart and Ms. Shakur would get from those federal district court judges and appeals court judges if they had the power to vote on their nominations and impeachments.

Hillary “Hawk”, Assata Shakur and Lynne Stewart are women.  Moreover, Ms. Shakur is a black woman. I did not want to incur the wrath of my feminist friends by proposing a man for president. After all we need women to break down the doors to the historic men’s club atmosphere of the United States Presidency. True enough, but as I have pointed out before in regard to Senator Clinton, she, and in this she is not alone, stands for the proposition that for all the virtues of the fight for the equality of women over the past decades women can have politics just as ugly as men. Some victory.

But, some will argue, Hillary is a progressive and we do not want to divide the progressive forces, etc., etc. Get over it! Yes, Hillary was a “progressive”, or what passed for such at Wellesley when she got uppity in her valedictorian speech. But, hell that was a long, long time ago. Since that time she has adhered to classic Clintonian Democratic Party centrism. Translation- she stays as close as close to the Republicans as possible without wearing an elephant on her lapel. Unfortunately for her the Republican Party these days is to the right of Genghis Khan (although that may be a slander on Mr. Khan because, as recently reported on the occasion of the 800^th anniversary of his birth, the Mongolian nationalists are currently touting his progressive nature for the times-talk about revisionism). But, let’s get to the bottom line- Hillary is operating in the coin of the realm of bourgeois politics- looking out for the main chance. Lynne and Assata have spent their careers on behalf of the voiceless and unrepresented- looking to give people a fighting chance. More, much more on this issue later.

DISCLAIMER: FOR ALL INTERESTED PARTIES- IN ORDER NOT TO BE ACCCUSED OF GIVING MATERIAL AID TO THOSE WHO GAVE MATERIAL AID TO THOSE WHO GAVE MATERIAL AID, ETC. THIS WRITER STATES THAT THIS ENDORSEMENT OF MS. STEWART AND MS. SHAKUR IS UNSOLICITED. I DO NOT KNOW MS. STEWART OR MS. SHAKUR PERSONALLY AND HAVE NOT COMMUNICATED WITH THEM ABOUT THESE CANDIDACIES. WE BREATH THE SAME POLITICAL AIR- AND BELIEVE ME THAT ACCRUES ALL TO MY BENEFIT.