>Yet I am pro Democrat, anti Pacifica management, pro-intervention in
Kosovo,
>have a Free Mumia t-shirt, and am at least moderately pro-Palestinian on
the
>Israel issue. Not exactly a clear line of division.
-Well, I guess that makes one a typical individualistic, unorganized -American leftist who fancies they can pick and choose willy-nilly where -they stand on issues without any concern for internal coherence.
Actually, I think my positions are far more coherent than your simple opposition lines, since I support democratic self-determination in all those cases. Democratic primaries are where the vast mass of people vote, so that is where I put my allegiance, not in micro-sect third parties whose leadership and rank-and-file are far less diverse than the Dems. Pacifica management is completely undemocratic at this point, so I side with the opposition. Cops violate democratic rights through their brutality and violations of individual rights, so I side with Mumia and others oppressed by our police state. And the Palestinians are oppressed by the Israelis, although I call myself "moderately" pro-Palestinian since I grant recognition to the legitimate national aspirations of the Jews in Israel as well. And I sided with the Kosovars seeking democratic self-determination against the undemocratic oppression of Milosevic's regime.
>The number one problem facing american leftists is summed in a phrase:
>political organization.
Yet the funny thing is that I have probably been more consistently involved in broad left-identified, even Marxist-identified organizations than almost anyone else on this list in the last decade. I spent 1993-1998 involved in both the local and national leadership of the Committees of Correspondence and am now an elected Vice-President of the National Lawyers Guild, the main leftwing lawyers organization.
I spend my activist time supporting the organization of unions because I am dedicated to building organization to defend and promote progressive objectives.
But the reality of organization is that people don't always agree on every issue; the only time they do is when its an organization of one person or one person plus a lot of weak-willed followers. Which is no kind of organization at all. Real organization is the uniting of those with similar aspirations for social justice and commitment to work together over the long term despite the many disagreements on sub-issues at various points.
>But in fact it is the
>left liberal supporters of the conservative, procapitalist Democratic Party
>that are splitting from the rest of american leftists while at the same
>time they want to continue the rhetoric of representing themselves as our
>political "friends". This disorganizing tactic must be refused.
Sorry, but you are living in rhetorical dreamland if you think most folks who identify as leftists vote third party. If you want to identify all those who vote Democratic as capitalist sell-outs, you are on a major ego trip to think you are so much better than some stunningly dedicated activists who, in November, usually pull the lever for the Democrats, then go back to their main work of tough organizing for justice.
Frankly, I consider the third party folks misguided allies, but I'll take the mass of working folks voting Democratic over the marginal third party activists who matter little in the grand scheme of things.
--- Nathan Newman