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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A NOTE ON THE WORKERS PARTY QUESTION- CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

COMMENTARY

TRADE UNIONISTS-NO PAC/COPE MONIES FOR CAPITALIST PARTY CANDIDATES

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

Let is get one thing straight as we enter the seemingly never-ending 2008 election cycle here in America-the question of a workers party to fight for the just and equitable needs of working people is a more pressing question than ever before. This writer has spent a good portion of his political life propagandizing for such a party so that it is no surprise that he feels this urgency. Nevertheless, he also is savvy enough to know that this question in this electoral cycle will continue to be a propaganda task. So be it. However not all political work on this issue has to be of a propaganda nature. And here is my point.

Trade unions- the organized expression of working class power and the organizational nucleus for any workers party, as almost every political person knows, have at least since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s second presidential campaign in 1936 poured vast monies, energies and human resources into supporting capitalist parties, mainly the Democratic Party. A shorthand expression for this policy by the trade union tops can be stated as rewarding the ‘friends of labor’.  As the state of the organized labor movement in this country demonstrates those ‘friends of labor’ have come up a little short on their end of the deal. As witnessed by the more than 50 million dollars spent in the 2006 election campaigns by organized labor and one may presume for the 2008 election cycle as well this policy continues in full force.  This is where trade union militants and their allies have a wedge issue. Here is my proposition for militants to fight around during this election cycle.

Labor organizations, like almost all political associations these days, give their monies, endorsements and make available human resources through Political Action Committees (PAC’s) or Committees on Political Education (COPE’s). I have witnessed this process first hand in my own union local. Basically, it works like this- some candidate, usually a Democrat, comes to the monthly union meeting, asks for support, smiles and after a perfunctory vote gets the support. Oh I forgot, he or she promises to be the best ‘friend of labor’ the movement ever had. Sometimes he or she doesn’t even go that far. And still gets the support. But you get the drift. This time let us say no to that business as usual.

Don’t get me wrong. I LIKE the idea of trade unions having the resources to support a service structure for its members and promote political ideas. Nobody wants to go back to the old days on this issue. What militants should fight for is to stop funding our enemies. And when the deal goes down that is what these capitalist politicians are. If you want a recent example just look at the December 2005 transit workers strike in New York City. Every politician from Hillary “Hawk”, Elliot Spitzer and Michael Bloomberg on down cried for blood. And in the end, got it. That, my friends, should be etched forever in every militant’s brain. Thus, every time one of these enemies comes knocking at the door, say no way. When the labor bureaucrats inevitably say- but what should we do with our resources? Here’s our answer- use the monies to fund organizing drives at Wal-Mart and in the South. Hell, those efforts need all the resources they can get.  If you want organized labor to have influence that is where OUR ‘friends of labor’ are. This is where a future workers party gets its start.

TRADE UNIONISTS-VOTE AGAINST YOUR UNION FUNDING CAPITALIST CANDIDATES. BRING MOTIONS TO PUT YOUR UNION ON RECORD ON THIS ISSUE. BRING ALTERNATIVE MOTIONS TO USE COPE FUNDS FOR ORGANIZING DRIVES AT WAL-MART AND IN THE SOUTH.