Jeffrey Fisher wrote:
>
> On Monday, January 13, 2003, at 02:08 AM, Chris Burford wrote:
>
> > While I am critical of leftists who refuse as a matter of principle to
> > see that the Democrats may at times be more progressive than the
> > Republicans, in order to break out of tailing behind one party, it is
This language of "more or less progressive," more or less to the left, is not relevant to consideration of the two parties. The _general trend_ of both is further and further in a conservative direction, and _one_ of the sources of that trend are those leftists who, like Chris, insist on supporting the Democrats, which frees that Party to more and more express its true inner spirit, which is the spirit of international capital and imperialism. And it isn't a question of measuring one party against the other. The point is that no major _reform_ movement in the U.S. can grow except _outside_ the Democratic Party.
> > necessary to be alert to wider trends that cut across parties, where
> > there is an opening for progressive advance. That means that it is
There is no "wider trend" -- except perhaps further to the right, as suggested above. There have _always_ been stray characters in both parties, who fall outside the mode (in both directi0ons), but these stray characters have _never_ moved either party to the left, though they occasionally move one or the other or both to the right.
> > important to look for progessive Republicans if you are to avoid
> > tailing behind Democrats.
The way to avoid tailing behind Democrats is to build a mass movement, which for 100 years the Democratic party has labored to prevent. Such a mass movement _always_ moves _both_ parties to the left (witness Nixon's progressive motions -- as has been a number of times pointed out by different posters on this list, Nixon was (in his actions) far to the left of any succeeding president. Democrats after him moved steadily rightwards _mostly_ because they could depend on characters like Chris Burford to keep their left-leaning voters in line no matter how rightist a policy they pushed.
The little Mao Action-Doll that still hides inside Chris is sitting
hunched over his computer imagining that he is wielding some huge
alliance such as Mao welded together against the Japanese. One might
call it computer-game politics. The United Front (of _classes_ not
merely of political oositions) was a magnificent strategy Mao and his
comrades worked out in the 1930s, and it made the Chinese Revolution.
"Maoism" in either its ultra-left or ultra-right versions has never been
anything but poison in core capitalist nations. Chris Burford and Bob
Avakian are identical twins wearing opposing masks.
> <snip>
Jeffrey Fisher continues:
>
> there was some mention a while back on this list of how clearly to the
> left of his defeated democratic opponent ryan was.
Posner, defeated by Ryan in 1998, was a first-class prick and fanatical enemy of most forms of "social" progressivism (abortion, gay rights, etc.). He was also the sweetheart of the (quite reactionary) state AFL-CIO leadership. Ryan was just a normal Illinois politician -- i.e. a crook, but willing to do some good things if it helped him as a crook. But here's what I wrote about him yesterday on this Pen_L:
---------
Dan Scanlan wrote:
>
> January 12, 2003
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> QUOTE OF THE DAY
>
> "The Legislature couldn't reform it, lawmakers won't repeal it, but I
> will not stand for it I must act."
> GOV. GEORGE RYAN, who commuted all Illinois death sentences.
> --
He's probably a crook, & he's a hardassed conservative for the most part
-- but he now deserves to rank with Altgeld in the roll of honor of u.s.
politicians.
Incidentally, the asshole democrat elected governor is already spouting his support of the death penalty.
Carrol
--------------
And here's what Justin wrote in response to my post:
> He's probably a crook, & he's a hardassed conservative
> for the most part
Though he's now for gun control, abortion rights, and gay and lesbian rights. But he's a crook, all right.
> but he now deserves to rank with Altgeld in the roll of honor
> of u.s. politicians.
True.
Incidentally, the asshole democrat elected governor is already spouting his support of the death penalty.
Though he says he'll maintain the moriatorium.
I don't think there is a politiciwn who hopesto be re-elected who could oppose capital punishment just now.
jks -----------
Carrol