[lbo-talk] New York, New York! (was Chuck Hagel for

Jim Straub rustbeltjacobin at gmail.com
Fri Mar 23 15:39:45 PDT 2007


The fundamental political problem in the United States is that the 2-8 % of the electorate or population that is leftist won't vote for an anti-war candidate? Hm. I had a vague sense that the mass base of the right, and lack thereof of the left, had something to do with things.

Stan Goff has a similar 'realist' anti-imperialism to yours--- attempt to get 'anti-war' republicans into office. But not only is Chuck Hagel 'against' the war, so is Sam Brownback (who combines that with an engaged and principled involvement in fully funding global HIV treatment, which would in fact in a numerical sense reduce global suffering far more than pulling the troops out of Iraq. He also thinks gays will burn in hell and might put them there if he had the power. And, uh, there's nothing about labor rights in the bible, and the palestinians might not get as much christian anti-imperialism from him)--- and so are most of the explicitly white supremacist and fascist parties in the US (they think we're in Iraq on behalf of the kike conspiracy--- I had a hell of a time losing brawls with these cats in Virginia when they'd try to bring their 'no war for israel' signs to our marches).

Would it also be a maverick realist anti-imperialist strategy to support their organizing endeavors? Hey, if one's already placed ones bets on islamism to solve the fundamental global contradiction of US imperialism in the middle east, its only so much further to Hagel, Brownback, why not go the whole nine yards to the aryan nations crew? After all, these far-right parties might be able to mobilize more votes than hagel or kucinich, and certainly more than any left party I am aware of.

While I agree that lack of coordination, common strategy and audacity of principled action by leftists is a problem, I believe the far greater problem is that there exists no mass base for the left or anti-imperialist politics in the US. We need one. Until we have one, we remain a debating society. After all, the true cunning realists in US politics today are not any of us--- they are the teams of HRC, McCain, etc. Those people actually win and dominate political contests they have arranged and rigged. Their internal deliberations do not involve anxieties about maintaining the courage to stand by their principles, because they have the power and base to serve their interests and ideology.

Me, I think I voted for Sharpton in both of the last D primaries, and then committed voter fraud to vote for the D in a swing state each time in the general. I'd gladly vote for satan if he ran against mccain in the general two years from now. I also look forward to stringing satan up from a meat hook when the rev comes, which is I guess the apocalypse in this metaphor.


> The most intractable problem is that most liberals and leftists in the
> USA will never vote for anyone who is actually against the Iraq and
> Iran Wars, whether Chuck Hagel (R) or Dennis Kucinich (D) or Ralph
> Nader (I), in caucuses and primaries or general elections, on any
> party's ticket. :-0
>
>
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