By JEFF MACKLER That the leading Republican Party presidential candidate, multi-billionaire Donald Trump, is a full-blown reactionary caricature of a capitalist politician is now the common parlance of most major media outlets. Even the relatively conservative Washington Post featured a Dec. 1 Dana Milibank column entitled, “Donald Trump Racist Bigot.” Milibank, reflecting the general unease … Continue reading ‘Lesser-evil’ politics from Trump to Sanders
Category: Elections
Women protest attacks on Planned Parenthood
By CHRISTINE MARIE On Tuesday, Sept. 29, women in at least 90 cities around the United States demonstrated in defense of the health provider Planned Parenthood. “Pink Out Day,” the organizers state, provided the opportunity to say: “Listen to over a million Americans who are sick and tired of the relentless attacks on reproductive health … Continue reading Women protest attacks on Planned Parenthood
How capitalism blunts social reforms
By JOE AUCIELLO Every four years the presidential election season sprouts another set of politicians singing songs of social reform, a chorus as predictable as carolers at Christmas. Winter voices ring with words of cheer: “Peace on earth, good will to men”—words as routine and meaningless as any campaign promise of “hope and change” or … Continue reading How capitalism blunts social reforms
Bernie Sanders & the labor movement
By ANN MONTAGUE Socialist Action has published several articles in recent issues exposing Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party. This included a look at past primary elections that were used to raise workers’ hopes that there would be a place for their aspirations within the Democratic Party. Another article looked at Sanders’ role in Congress … Continue reading Bernie Sanders & the labor movement
Is Sanders campaign a ‘new movement’?
By DANIEL ADAM Senator Bernie Sanders continues to draw large crowds to his presidental campaign rallies. Now, unfortunately, a growing wing of the socialist movement in the United States is seeking a way in. On July 29, Solidarity published a winding statement approved by its convention entitled, “Connecting Sanders’ Audience’s Aspirations to Clear Working Class … Continue reading Is Sanders campaign a ‘new movement’?
Whose Lives Matter?
By BILL ONASCH Netroots Nation bills its live body gatherings as the biggest conference of Progressives—by which they mean liberal Democrats. At their annual conclave, held in Phoenix in July, they featured a presidential candidate Town Hall Meeting that included the two top long-shot challengers to Hillary Clinton for the Donkey Party nod—Senator Bernie Sanders, … Continue reading Whose Lives Matter?
Jill Stein: ‘A Green New Deal’
By JOE AUCIELLO As Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign gains increasing public support and respectful media attention, physician and Green Party activist Dr. Jill Stein has announced her own candidacy for president. Speaking on “Democracy Now” on June 26, Stein, the Green Party candidate in 2012, vowed to run on a “Power to the People” platform … Continue reading Jill Stein: ‘A Green New Deal’
Bernie Sanders & oppositional criticism
By JOE AUCIELLO “… the oppositional criticism is nothing more than a safety valve for mass dissatisfaction, a condition of the stability of the social structure.” — Leon Trotsky in his preface to “The History of the Russian Revolution.” In early June, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told a conference organized by Service Employees International … Continue reading Bernie Sanders & oppositional criticism
Democrat tops combat Sawant re-election
By ANN MONTAGUE Kshama Sawant’s re-election campaign is in full swing. The Seattle Socialist Alternative candidate, who won a seat on the Seattle City Council two years ago, is mobilizing her supporters to win again. Since her election in 2013, Sawant fulfilled her campaign promise to make Seattle the first major city to pass a … Continue reading Democrat tops combat Sawant re-election
Sanders seeks nomination by Democrats
By DANIEL ADAM If history records any gains for working people in the coming electoral season, the term “sheepdog” might well appear at the top. Its author (or at least, its popularizer), Bruce Dixon, describes with it those leftish candidates who appear in presidential primaries to corral the radicalizing or disillusioned back to the flock … Continue reading Sanders seeks nomination by Democrats
Obama’s lame duck quackery
By BILL ONASCH The annual ritual of President Obama’s State of the Union address to Congress (SOTU), required by law and custom, comes without any mandate for action. It has evolved into Reality TV viewed by tens of millions—but with less lasting impact than the style decrees of Fashion Police. It is one component of … Continue reading Obama’s lame duck quackery
Unmasking the hype of capitalist economics
BY JEFF MACKLER The U.S. working class, the nation’s poor and oppressed, and the youth won a resounding victory on Election Day 2014 when they cast their “votes” for the most popular candidate of all—“None of the Above.” Indeed, “None of the Above” won the much-hyped midterm election “contest” hands down, when 64% of eligible … Continue reading Unmasking the hype of capitalist economics
The U.S. election charade
BY JEFF MACKLER The results are in: The Republican Party won at least seven more seats in the Senate, and now controls both houses of the U.S. Congress. Disaster is in the making! Right? The Democrats and Republicans spent an unprecedented mid-term, if not all-time, election total of $4 billion, roughly $2 billion each. The … Continue reading The U.S. election charade
NYC mayor hustles cuts for city workers
By MARTY GOODMAN New York’s self-proclaimed “progressive” mayor, Bill de Blasio, promised “respect” for the city’s 300,000 unionized public workers and has pledged to fight the city’s vast income inequality. What unions actually got was the same old hustle from the Democratic Party, as part of the city’s 1%. De Blasio, who took office in … Continue reading NYC mayor hustles cuts for city workers
Bush vs. Clinton in 2016?
By MARK T. HARRIS If mainstream politics is a petrified forest, there are signs of life at the grassroots. The way American politics works now, presidential election campaigns run on a perpetual cycle, beginning again almost as soon as they end. Yet despite the drawn-out nature of political campaigns, they increasingly resemble rote public relations … Continue reading Bush vs. Clinton in 2016?
Kshama Sawant’s inauguration speech
By KSHAMA SAWANT We reprint below the inauguration speech of Socialist Alternative member Kshama Sawant, who was elected Seattle’s first socialist city council member in over a century. Socialist Action hails her election as a victory for the entire socialist movement. My brothers and sisters, thank you for your presence here today. This city has … Continue reading Kshama Sawant’s inauguration speech
Socialist elected to Seattle city council
By ANN MONTAGUE On Nov. 16, eleven days after election night, the first socialist to be elected to the Seattle city council held her victory rally. The rally was at the headquarters of SEIU 775NW. This fact alone is significant since SEIU endorsed her opponent. By the time Socialist Alternative candidate Kshama Sawant spoke that … Continue reading Socialist elected to Seattle city council
Bill de Blasio — another Obama?
By MARTY GOODMAN — NEW YORK — Democrat Bill de Blasio was elected mayor on Nov. 5, garnering an impressive 73% of the vote, compared to Republican Joe Lhota’s 24%. The turnout was light, however; according to the New York Daily News, only 22%-25% of the city’s voters cast ballots. The article that follows appeared in Socialist … Continue reading Bill de Blasio — another Obama?
Ty Moore’s socialist campaign
By MIKE ROGGE Here in Minneapolis, students and professors have returned to class, the temperatures are plummeting, and the leaves on the trees are changing from green to red. That can only mean one thing, election season is here again, but this time around, it looks to be a lot more interesting. Ty Moore is … Continue reading Ty Moore’s socialist campaign
Obama: Corporate politics in disguise
BY JEFF MACKLER President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address on Jan. 21 represented a verbal departure from the record of corporate subservience that marked his first four years in office. His 2009 inaugural opened with, “I thank George Bush for his service to our nation,” a promise to the corporate elites who run the United States … Continue reading Obama: Corporate politics in disguise
Obama: The corporate choice
BY JEFF MACKLER The $6 billion U.S. election extravaganza—conducted virtually year round in the modern era to consciously dull the senses of capitalism’s working masses with an unending torrent of myths, half truths, and lies—is over. The mask of a progressive, humanistic, caring, environmentally concerned, if not antiwar president, Barak Obama, has been carefully fitted … Continue reading Obama: The corporate choice
VOTE SOCIALIST!
By ADAM RITSCHER With the U.S. presidential elections coming up again, a lot of workers and activists are eagerly discussing the campaigns, watching the debates, and even hitting the pavement to campaign for their candidates. We in Socialist Action commend people who take politics seriously and who are committed to fighting for what they believe … Continue reading VOTE SOCIALIST!
Presidential Debate: Where are the women?
By ALICE RICHARD On Oct. 3, President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney squared off in the first presidential debate, in which independent parties were prohibited from participating. The debate was focused on domestic policy, and the candidates primarily sparred on taxes, Social Security, and the federal deficit. Despite the White House’s assurances that … Continue reading Presidential Debate: Where are the women?
Democrats Defeated in Wisconsin
The Gov. Scott Walker victory in Wisconsin’s recall election last month should not surprise us. The Democrats are incapable of defeating the right. Don’t the last 30 years demonstrate that? Every vote for a Democrat has meant the success of the “Republican” agenda, based on the loyalty of both parties to the 1%. In fact, … Continue reading Democrats Defeated in Wisconsin
Elections USA: Paying your way
By MARTY GOODMAN“There are two things that are important in politics. The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.” — Mark Hanna, a 19th-century mining baron and Republican fundraiser.It was expected that the Democrats would beat the Republicans in fundraising. So far, Obama tops Romney in individual donations, about $300 … Continue reading Elections USA: Paying your way