Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 20:07:48 -0400 From: John Bachtell <jbachtell at cpusa.org>
Who wins in November does matter
By Sam Webb Public opinion polls suggest that the plums of national politics - the White House and control of Congress - are still up for grabs. Elections do not always go down to the wire, but this one looks like it will. Right now, there are no sure bets as to which party will win the big prizes on Nov. 7. This election is a dogfight.
Last year's optimism - that the extreme right had little chance of reversing its downward political slide in this year's election - has given way to more sober calculations. While labor and its allies strongly believe that the defeat of the far right is still very possible, no one now says that it will be easy. After all, Bush and his congressional friends enjoy the support of significant sections of the corporate America whose pockets are deep.
Furthermore, Bush has turned demagogy, thanks largely to the major news media, into an art form. Even sensible people on the left, including Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, make the claim that there are absolutely no differences between Bush and Gore.
Now, that's a looooooooong stretch. George W., much like Reagan and Gingrich, is a pinup boy of the super-wealthy, corporate class who, for the time being, is pulling in his extremist political horns in order extend his electoral appeal to broader sections of the American people.
If elected, however, he would waste no time in showing his horns and, make no mistake about it, politics would get very ugly. The terms of the debate and the parameters of the politically possible would shift to the right in and outside of the Beltway. The quality of the lives of the millions of people would be deeply affected. To claim otherwise strikes me as (and maybe this is too strong) irresponsible and disingenuous. There may be some good arguments for supporting Nader, but that is not one of them.
Compare for a moment what the political landscape will look like if Bush and his cronies win with what it will look like if they lose.
If Bush and his far right cronies win, we will be facing a frontal assault on public education in the form of school vouchers. If they don't win, the debate more likely will revolve around how many schools to build and teachers to hire.
If Bush and his right-wing plotters prevail, our nation's seniors will be staring the destruction of Social Security in the face. If they don't prevail, there is more than a ghost's chance of strengthening the Social Security System.
If Bush and the extreme right emerge victorious in November, women will face the real possibility that Roe versus Wade - which friend and foe alike saw at the time and even now as a watershed victory of the movement for women's equality - will be dismantled.
If Bush and his cronies lose, women's right to choose will be protected and fresh initiatives for equality can be considered.
If Bush and his right-wing gang triumph, no one should expect an executive order against racial profiling. Indeed, more likely is a green light from our nation's capitol to police brutality and hate crimes - not to mention a new sweeping assault, like brother Jeb's in Florida on affirmative action. If Bush and his cronies come out on the losing end, the struggle against racism in all its forms will be contested on more favorable ground.
If Bush and far right motley crew win, labor will see a reprise of the payroll protection plan, a slimy piece of legislation designed to cripple labor's political clout. If Bush and his cronies are given a thrashing, working people will be positioned to fight for anti-scabbing legislation, an increase in the minimum wage, and maybe even the enactment of genuine labor law reform.
If Bush and the ultra-rightists win, we should not be surprised to see the ABM treaty abrogated and the recycling of Reagan's Star Wars plan. If Bush and his cronies lose, we will still have to fight to maintain the ABM treaty, shelve star wars, compel Congress to support the ban on nuclear testing, cut the military budget, and lift the 40-year blockade on Cuba, but the political terrain will be less hazardous.
If Bush and his extremists friends carry the day, an already right-wing-leaning Supreme Court will be further tilted to the right. The elder Bush made a mistake with David Souters, but don't expect the same mistake from the son of Bush.
I could go on but I think that I have made my point. If I didn't, it's a simple one that can be summed up this way - who wins counts, who wins will make a difference in the way that millions of working people live their daily lives. To insist, as some do, that Gore is not a saint or a man of the left misses the point.
This election is not so much about political virtues (or vices) of Al Gore as about what kind of outcome on Nov. 7 will open up political space for the exploited and oppressed; what kind of outcome will enable the working class and people's movement to fight on more favorable terrain; what kind of outcome will allow the emerging broadly based, loosely constructed people's coalition to continue with renewed vigor the struggles that so dramatically erupted over the past year?
Besides Gore's closest supporters, no one is suggesting that it will be clear sailing on Nov. 8 if Bush and his cronies are defeated. Grass-roots mobilization will be the order of the day, as it always is.
Ralph Nader does a disservice not so much in running, but in running the way that he is - directing his strongest criticism at Gore and the Democrats and attempting, perhaps inadvertently, to drain votes from Gore in states which could have a decisive impact on the election's outcome.
One can only surmise from what he and his supporters say that they believe that who sits in the White House and controls Congress has no bearing on our nation's political and legislative agenda and the climate of struggle in 2001. In doing so, they underestimate the extreme right danger.
This is not an election contest between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. There are differences between Gore and Bush just as there are also differences between Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio. And who wins will have a palpable bearing on people's lives and struggles.
For now, what is needed is an all-out people's crusade to register, educate, and mobilize the vote against on Bush and the extreme right in this year's election. That's not only the right thing to do, but also the radical thing to do.
Sam Webb is the national chairman of the Communist Party USA.