Language of Betrayal

[Leo Casey]

I have long since not expected that any standard of
fairness would temper your words on this subject. So
your response is entirely predictible, since the one
thing you clearly do not want to do is to take
responsibility for your own words written and
published here, for your own characterization of those
of us on the left who campaigned on behalf of a Gore
victory as unprincipled and without an ounce of
self-respect. It was those words which so clearly
constitute the very "language of betrayal" which you
would later denounce, in a very general way, as what
offended you about the criticism of the Nader campaign
coming from Gore supporters. Even if Nader and the
Nader campaign had not said a word in this vein -- and
it really borders on the surreal to suggest that they
did not continually attack Gore, the Democratic Party
and Gore supporters for having betrayed the causes of
the left -- your own words, and no one else's
attributed to you -- employed this language of
betrayal.

Justin writes:
> OK, Leo, if you hold me responsible for certain
> (unquoted and unattributed) 
> statements by certain people in Nader campaign, I
> will hold you responsible 
> for such statements by the Gore campaign. So, you
> defend Mas Canosa and 
> honor his memory--Lieberman made a pilgimage to
> the great man's grave. You 
> support the death penalty and NAFTA and the
> Antiterrorism Act of 1996 and . 
> . . . Doubtless you will feel this is unfair. Too
> bad. I simply reason as you do, unfairly.

Leo Casey
United Federation of Teachers
260 Park Avenue South
New York, New York 10010-7272 (212-598-6869)

 
Power concedes nothing without a demand.
It never has, and it never will.
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate
agitation are men who want crops without plowing the
ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning.
They want the ocean without the awful roar of its
waters.

 -- Frederick Douglass --

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays!
http://calendar.yahoo.com/