What Nader fails to understand

John Halle john.halle at yale.edu
Tue Feb 8 20:49:41 PST 2000



>
> Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 13:58:58 -0500
> From: "Chip Berlet" <cberlet at igc.org>
> Subject: Re: What Nader fails to understand
>
> >
> > Thanks for this. While it gives good arguments, both principled and
> > strategic, for why an alliance with a reform party led by Buchanan might
> > not be a good idea, it is a significant jump from this to the position
> > stated above, namely that "anti-elitism, anti-government critiques,
> > anti-repression arguments and anti-globalization arguments" should not be
> > a fundamental component of the progressive critique.
> >
>
> Wow, I certainly don't think I said that. These are core concepts of
> progressive populism. At least what I meant to say was that at a time when
> anti-elitism, anti-government critiques, anti-repression arguments and
> anti-globalization arguments are also coming from sectors of the hard right,
> as progressives we need to be careful not to form coalitions with these
> people in a way that maskes their union-busting, racism, homophobia,
> antisemitism and sexism.
>

OK, I'm glad you agree that these should be "core concepts." That was not apparent to me from your initial remark, at least in part because I'm not sure all progressives would agree that either opposition to government per se or opposition to globabalization should be a goal of progressive organizing. (Doug has made clear his disagreement with the latter, for example.)

In any case, I agreed with you that Nader is making a mistake if he is building the cozy relationship with the parade of right wing demagogues as you claim. However, the real tactical question here is whether denouncing these groups wholesale and avoiding any contact with them is the most productive strategy if one's real objective is not to make alliances with their leadership, but to reach and begin the slow process of educating their rank and file membership. If progressives simply write off this constituency as hopelessly tainted by "racism, homophobia, antisemitism and sexism" as you seem to be doing, you need to provide some idea of constituencies which progressives might succeed in reaching and mobilizing.

Do you, for example, also write off catholics because the church leadership has a history of "racism, homophobia, antisemitism and sexism?" Its not obvious to me that alliances with the catholic church are any less tainted that those with the right wing groups you mention. Any movement which, for whatever reason, writes off catholics, however, pretty much guarantees its own marginalization. In short, what price are you willing to pay for ideological purity?

John



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