[lbo-talk] 300,000 demonstrators, stretching for 10 blocks, in NYC

[Chuck Grimes]

In other words both the immigrant rights leadership and the anti-war
movement don't get together because there is not a larger political
context or political institutions to unite them.  They both simply
fall into the default political position of supporting their preferred
section of the Democratic party and thus they limit their larger
criticism. Jerry Monaco

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What I am seeing, and I haven't been to either marches this year, is a
faint echo of the 60s era when the civil rights movement and the old
anti-war movement were still separate, and neither really saw the
connection with the other, or the larger context. 

In the present case, the war in Iraq isn't particularly well linked up
to the economic goals of neoliberalism, but the context of the
immigrant rights movement is intimately linked to those goals. I
wasn't thinking so much about the anti-war movement, but the earlier
anti-globalization groups---as a source of solidarity.

Anyway, the immigrant rights groups will definitely be sold out in the
Democratic party precisely because it is also a party of corporate
power and most definitely will do nothing to offend its money base.

In the anti-war movement case, I think they are at a complete loss
because the majority of elected Democrats support the war, voted for
the war, and think their political careers would be ruined if they did
anything to stop the war. They are making a calculated assessment that
they can survive the electorate base criticism against the war---and
they are probably right. 

``I don't even know what such unhelpful, racial phrases mean! "dead meat",
great white masses? ..''

Well, just ignore it. It is a residue of personal disgust with my own
`identity' group of stupids out in the suburbs hiding from the world
and trying to pretend the american dream is real. They bought the `war
on terror' crap because they wanted to. They bought the anti-immigrant
crapolla of several governors and they put Arnold in office,..etc,
etc.

What pisses me off about them, it they still hold the balance of power
in most elections here---but the real threat is they are slowly losing
because of changing demographics. 

CG