When and where did Malcolm X say this. I am not disputing that he did but just want to look it up so that I can attempt to put the quote in some context.
As far as what the difference would be, my guess is that the difference would be that Owens and Dellums are loyal to the Democratic party and not to the black community. Malcolm X desired to develop an independent base of political (albeit in this case at least exclusively electoral) power. The thinking was that if this was in place then blacks could serve in elected positions and run for those positions without having to make deals with white political power brokers.
> If you want me to have the last word, then let's be clear. The domestic
> political program of Malcolm in his last year was an articulation of the
> electoral strategy pursued by the folks who would eventually create the
> Congressional Black Caucus. One of the reasons I like Malcolm in this
> last year is the broad pragmatic approach he had to building power,
> whether economic or political, which differed markedly from the
> ideological hairshirts of so many other activists in the 60s.
This is very true. While Malcolm seemed to be unsure about how to gain power, he made it clear that it black people in the U.S. did need to gain it.
> By Any Means Necessary might mean using the bullet in self-defense but it
> also meant for Malcolm full pragmatic engagement in the political process,
> without all the purity nonsense Louis promotes in what passes for his
> political strategy.
What I have always found interesting about Malcolm X was the searching which he went through. I have read many of his published speeches and some of the critical studies on him and the one issue that there seemed to be the most confusion on was the issue of power and political change. He often ridiculed those who believed in nonviolent revolution saying that there had been no such thing in history and that there never would be. Training with firearms and in the martial arts was not just for self-defense but also presumably for ... how should this be put ... more aggressive actions, if you will.
At the same time, however, Malcolm spoke of how blacks should be using electoral politics and suggested, seemingly out of the blue and against other things that he was saying, that if they did this effectively then blacks might not need a revolution. (And by "revolution" here I am referring to Malcolm X's definition of the term as being something involving violence and land. This definition was best laid out in the famous "Message to the Grass Roots," a speech given in Detroit shortly before he left the Nation of Islam but full of the political rhetoric and analysis that would be developed further after he left the NOI.) In order to achieve this, Malcolm X posited that it was essential for blacks not to become closely tied with either the Democrats or the GOP but stopped short of saying that independent political action was the only way forward.
That said I think that it is safe to assume that if Malcolm were still alive today, he would be calling for political action independent of the two major parties. This seems to me to be a much wiser bet than the predictions by some that he would have become more pro-socialist and have recognized the need for action by workers throughout the world, although it is not unreasonable to think that Malcolm might have turned to a working class perspective. Having said that though it is dishonest to use such conjectures as a way of justifying a position. It both shows a laziness in not making the argument on its own merits and it is not based on facts. What Malcolm would have done or thought had he lived is a very interesting topic to discuss but the conclusions drawn from such a discussion should not be used to make a political argument. That only things that should be considered for that purpose are what Malcolm X said and did. (Which as we have seen are themselves open to debate.)
Eric Hobsbawn had an excellent essay on the topic of the uses of historical conjecture in his book "On History." Do not remember what it is called but it should be in the first 100 pages as I have not gotten any farther than that:)
Micah