[lbo-talk] The Importance of Disenfranchising Nader/Camejo Voters

R rhisiart at charter.net
Mon Aug 16 16:34:06 PDT 2004


At 03:10 PM 8/16/2004, you wrote:
>----- Original Message -----
>From: SergioL652 at aol.com
> >So your point is that Kerry supporting civil rights is a concession to
> >minorities in the party. I guess that means that without minority
> >pressure, Kerry would not support civil rights. It is not in the nature
> >of the DP to support civil rights, it has to be pressured into it.
>
>My original point is that "the Democratic Party" is not some
>uber-ideological construct, so "it" is nothing until activists apply
>pressure by voting in the primaries.

right: the kuspinach campaign accomplished a lot with its activism. and the dean campaign supporters sure have a lot they can identify with in the kerry campaign.

the powers that control the democratic party unite around a common agenda. they are divorced from the grass roots, not only of the nation but of the democratic party. naturally, they don't advertise this fact; it might not play well in swing states.


>It's a coalition of political
>viewpoints.

it *used to be* a coalition of political viewpoints 50 years ago, maybe. how many differing views did you see on the convention floor? what happened to the anti-war element? how were demonstrators treated? belief the democratic party is a coalition is a fantasy. what did al sharpton have to do to get a partially differing viewpoint across?


>And the presence of civil rights activists means that only
>politicians like Kerry, who support civil rights laws, get the nomination
>for the party.

i suppose the patriot act, which kerry and his edwards supported, is pro civil rights?


>And the GOP, which once represented some civil rights activists, no longer
>does, so there are few pro-civil rights politicians within it.
>
>What is shocking about that statement? Parties go where there voters want
>them to. Subtract the voters and their pressure, subtract the policies.
>
>Nathan Newman

what is shocking is that it totally misrepresents the democratic party. it's a fatuous fantasy.

R


>___________________________________
>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list