[lbo-talk] Third Party Solutions, was Re: Lieberman

[Shane Taylor]

Carrol Cox wrote:
> Precisely. Everyone can see the hopelessness now of
> 2d & 3d international strategies, but the same people
> fail to notice that "progressive electoral strategies"
> have had even _less_ success over the last century
> and a half. You get brief periods (usually not more
> than 3 years from an 8 year administration) of gain
> (partly real, partly smoke and mirrors), followed by 30
> years in which conservative forces slowly and steadily
> chip away at those gains. The New Deal ended
> essentially in 1938. The New Society (thanks to Nixon
> and his fear of the mass movement) lasted until '73 or
> so. And how much remains of either?

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  Beyond these can be added the
end of Jim Crow, female suffrage, the minimum wage, and income tax. 
Conservatives haven't repealed the Wagner Act.  Abortions are still
legal.  Gains remain.  The dynamic between mass movements and elected
officials isn't one I'm going to try and explain, but within it the
potential progressive role of elections isn't a net loss.

-- Shane

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