From The American Left History Blog Archives (2007)- 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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LABOR AND THE IRAQ WAR

COMMENTARY

LABOR-SUPPORT YOUR CLASS BROTHERS AND SISTERS-BUILD ANTI-WAR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS SOLIDARITY COMMITTEES-IMMEDIATE UNCONDITIONAL WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ!

As readers of this space are aware over the last year I have been running a propaganda campaign for the anti-war movement to change its focus and concentrate on winning over the rank and file troops that are fighting the bloody war in Iraq. Readers will also note that these commentaries are part of a byline dedicated to fighting for a workers party here in America. Recently I received a rather surprising communication from a young militant who in essence accused me of having a ‘military’ deviation on the war question. The basis for this comment is the notion that propaganda for a workers party- a political solution to the crisis of leadership in the American labor movement and thus ultimately the question of the war in Iraq-precludes my so-called ‘military’ solution. Needless to say this calls for some commentary, or rather clarification, on my part.

Politics, including left-wing propaganda politics, is about timing as much as any other factor. A realistic look at the political landscape of the organized labor movement today shows no particular movement at the base to defend itself against the onslaught of effective wage and benefit cuts. Nor is there a serious commitment to massively organize the working class into trade unions, particularly the critical Wal-Mart and Southern labor forces that would go a long way to reversing the decline in the power of the organized labor movement. Given those conditions, what is the likelihood today of galvanizing organized labor for meaningful political action in opposition to the Iraq war? While many unions and labor federations, including my union, have gone on record in ‘paper’ opposition to the war, it remains a paper position except for support to bourgeois , mainly Democratic Party,‘anti-war’ candidates. This abject support is the labor equivalent of those meaningless non-binding resolutions that the Congress is so fond of, and that require no heavy lifting.

A look at the general political scene is even more depressing, if not down right embarrassing to those in the anti-war movement who, unlike me, took the mid-term 2006 elections as good coin. After six years of getting hammered by the likes of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove one would think that those esteemed bourgeois politicians from Hillary “Hawk” to Obama the “Charma” would be able to ratchet up the courage to say no. No, not meaningless non-binding resolutions gently chiding President Bush for his ‘surge’ strategy. No, not trying to have one’s cake and eating it too by supporting the troops and opposing the war policy. The only meaningful anti-war parliamentary maneuver is to vote NO on the war budget. That proposition will come up for a vote (maybe) soon. Watch all the rats deserting ship on that one after the great political courage they summoned up to vote for the non-binding resolution. It will not be pretty and it is not recommended for the faint-hearted.

If one takes a look at the causality lists from the war or reads the seemingly endless local news profiles of those who have died or been severely wounded (a more difficult number to digest) it is plain as day that working people from the cities and small towns of America have taken the brunt of the beating in Iraq. While my appeals to form ant-war solidarity committees have been generic one thing is clear the class brothers and sisters of those soldiers and sailors have a very deep interest in getting their people the hell out of Iraq. Thus, the dragging out of the war, the average citizen’s frustrated desire to get out, the bourgeois political impasse, the anti-war leadership’s parliamentary cretinism strategy and labor’s unwillingness to take decisive action at this time makes it necessary to call for the troops to take action as the short way home. We must not let our anti-war class brothers and sisters in uniform stand alone. Yes, in a beautiful, politically conscious labor movement we should be calling for political strikes against the war and calling on dockworkers and others not handle military goods to Iraq but that is not the case right now (although it might be latter). Till then I can take the heat on my ‘military’ deviation-as long as we get those anti-war solidarity committees up and running.