Category: Elections
Jeremy Scahill on Blackwater, McCain and Obama
Below is Jeremy Scahill speaking in Cleveland, OH at the National Assembly to End the Iraq War & Occupation.
The Story of Mouseland
Mouseland is a famous speech by a Tommy Douglas about Canada's labor party - the New Democratic Party. We think it contains a great message about working class political independence that is very applicable to the United States!Don't support Democrats or Republicans! Vote your class - vote Socialist!
Untangling the Election Madness: A Reply to Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn, in his column for “The Progressive” (March 2008), has written a political analysis that deplores the current “election frenzy.” In its place he offers a guide to action based on the understanding that presidential elections, in and of themselves, do very little to solve social problems. Unfortunately, his overall argument is flawed by … Continue reading Untangling the Election Madness: A Reply to Howard Zinn
The First Casualty
by Joe AucielloA good way to discover the truth is to compare the mis-truths and lies. Recently, the likely Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, let slip a prediction that the American military would remain in Iraq “for a hundred years.”The Democratic candidates and their supporters gleefully pounced on this unusually candid remark to prove … Continue reading The First Casualty
I Didn’t Support Democrats in ’68 and I Won’t in ’08
by Carl FinamoreSenators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are attracting thousands to their rallies and setting records for voter turnouts in the Democratic Party primaries. Reports abound that millions are infused with hope and optimism.This 2008 election reminds me of my generation of radicalizing youth being courted in 1968 by Democratic Party "peace and reform" … Continue reading I Didn’t Support Democrats in ’68 and I Won’t in ’08
Why Mass Action?
The broad outlines of Socialist Action's views on the centrality of mass mobilizations in building an irresistible antiwar movement have been published in previous issues of this newspaper (see Jeff Mackler's article in our November 2007 issue). But some additional elaboration can be helpful at a time when activists are today discussing concrete measures to … Continue reading Why Mass Action?
Chavez’s Defeat in the Referendum Opens Up Political Debate
[by Gerry Foley] The unexpected defeat of the constitutional changes backed by President Hugo Chavez in the Dec. 2 national referendum has provoked deep-going discussion in the Venezuelan left. Much of it is expressed on the website Aporrea, which is operated by a Venezuelan current of Trotskyist origin linked to the Movimiento Socialista de los … Continue reading Chavez’s Defeat in the Referendum Opens Up Political Debate
Should Activists Look to Democrats to End the War?
On Sept. 26 the Democrat-controlled Congress passed its second blank check for war in Iraq. Three days later in a debate between leading Democratic presidential candidates, Clinton, Obama, and Edwards were each asked to commit to withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq by 2013 if elected president. All said that they could not.Since the invasion … Continue reading Should Activists Look to Democrats to End the War?
The Iraq Quagmire and the 2006 Elections
by Jeff Mackler / December 2006 issue of Socialist Action Newspaper An ill-at-ease and hastily tutored President George W. Bush appeared before the nation’s major media on Nov. 8 to give his administration’s take on what Bush described as the “thumping” the Republican Party took on Election Day. Based on exit polls across the country … Continue reading The Iraq Quagmire and the 2006 Elections
What Can Labor Expect From the Democrats’ Victory?
by Andrew Pollack / December 2006 issue of Socialist Action newspaper In November, Democrats won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years. As always, big business contributed the most money but labor did their legwork. Hundreds of thousands of union volunteers from the AFL-CIO and Change to Win made … Continue reading What Can Labor Expect From the Democrats’ Victory?
Socialist Senatorial Candidates in California Debate
by Mark Ostapiak / October issue of Socialist Action Newspaper SAN FRANCISCO—On Oct. 10, the Socialist Action Bookstore hosted a political debate with three candidates for the U.S. Senate seat in California. Matt Gonzalez, former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, moderated the exchange among Todd Chretien (Green Party), Marsha Feinland (Peace and … Continue reading Socialist Senatorial Candidates in California Debate
SA’s Senate Campaign in CA Wins New Support
y Mark Ostapiak / October 2006 issue of Socialist Action Newspaper "Heard your interview with WBAI in New York this morning. What a breath of fresh air! If only we could get 100 more candidates like you." That's what one radio listener wrote us after hearing Socialist Action Party's Jeff Mackler, a socialist candidate for … Continue reading SA’s Senate Campaign in CA Wins New Support
News From the Jeff Mackler for U.S. Senate Campaign
by Mark Ostapiak / September 2006 issue of Socialist Action Newspaper With the U.S. war machine and its heavily armed client regime in Israel center stage in the political arena, Jeff Mackler, Socialist Action write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in California, addressed a crowd of 5000 at the Aug. 12 antiwar rally in … Continue reading News From the Jeff Mackler for U.S. Senate Campaign
Socialist Elected to Douglas County Board
By Jeni Johnson / May 2006 issue of Socialist Action newspaper This April, a member of Socialist Action, Adam Ritscher, was elected as the District Six County Board Supervisor for the Douglas County Board in Superior, Wis. Ritscher’s victory is especially remarkable since he was not only the first openly socialist candidate in decades but … Continue reading Socialist Elected to Douglas County Board
French Voters Reject EU Constitution
by Gerry Foley / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action Although the French rulers pulled out all the stops to get a victory for the draft European constitution in the May 29 referendum, they suffered a stunning rebuff at the polls. With a turnout of over 70 percent, 55 percent of voters voted … Continue reading French Voters Reject EU Constitution
Northern Lights: News & Views From SA/Canada
by Barry Weisleder / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action 1. Federal Liberals rebound There will be no Canadian federal election—not for a few months any way. Prime Minister Paul Martin and his Liberal government narrowly escaped defeat in Parliament on May 19, with the help of millionaire Conservative Party defector … Continue reading Northern Lights: News & Views From SA/Canada
Mass Protest in Ecuador Force President to Flee
by Gerry Foley/ May 2005 issue of Socialist Action An estimated 30,000 people marched on the presidential palace in the Ecuadoran capital of Quito, demanding the resignation of the president, Lucio Gutierrez, AP reported April 20. The same day, an emergency meeting of legislators voted to remove the discredited demagogue from office. Subsequently, he … Continue reading Mass Protest in Ecuador Force President to Flee
Mexican Protests Halt ‘Preemptive Electoral Fraud’
by Roman Mungia Huato / May 2005 issue of Socialist Action Mexico protests halt ‘preemptive electoral fraud’ On April 28, the Mexican president, Vicente Fox, was forced by huge mass protests to retreat from the attempt to remove the most popular prospective candidate for next year’s presidential election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Fox … Continue reading Mexican Protests Halt ‘Preemptive Electoral Fraud’
Scandal Plagues Liberals in Canada
by Robbie Mahood / May 2005 issue of Socialist Action It might be argued that the frequent scandals that erupt during the tenure of bourgeois governments divert attention away from the real underlying class issues. But crimes and misdemeanors in high places can also be quite revealing of the fault lines in the … Continue reading Scandal Plagues Liberals in Canada
Iraq resistance set back by U.S. ‘democracy’ con game
by Gerry Foley – Feburary , 2005 The elections to the Iraqi transitional national assembly on Jan. 30 marked the first major political setback for the resistance to the U.S.-led occupation. None of the problems and political pitfalls that the United States faced before the elections have been solved, and in the long run … Continue reading Iraq resistance set back by U.S. ‘democracy’ con game
alestinian Voting Points to More Resistance & Debate
by Gerry Foley – February, 2005 As expected, the new president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), moved immediately after his election on Jan. 9 against the militants while making overtures to Israel. He had attempted to do this before, during his brief sojourn in the premiership of the PA, but … Continue reading alestinian Voting Points to More Resistance & Debate
Bush’s ‘State of the Union’ Rings Alarm Bells Around the World
Bush’s State of the Union address was largely a pep-rally speech for his chauvinistic lower-middle-class electoral base. (Some commentators were impressed by Bush’s lack of "bashfulness.") But its triumphalism alarmed international public opinion and apparently even the Bush regime’s closest international ally, the British government, which has good reason to fear being dragged by its … Continue reading Bush’s ‘State of the Union’ Rings Alarm Bells Around the World
Iraq elections offer no road out of quagmire for U.S. Rulers
by Gerry Foley Although the White House proclaims its determination to go through with the Iraqi elections scheduled for the end of January at any cost, it seems clear already that these elections will not achieve the objective for which they were designed. They will not produce a stable neocolonial government in Iraq able … Continue reading Iraq elections offer no road out of quagmire for U.S. Rulers