Dear Arieh,
We are the only socialist grouping to endorse Barack Obama. The Communist Party USA has written many good things about Obama, but has made no formal endorsement. The Committees of Corespondence for Democratic Socialism is split over whether or not to support Obama. The Socialist Party of the United States of America is running its own rather pitiful third-party effort. Now let's look at how the Social Democrats, USA--Socialist Party of America view Obama's candidacy vis-a-vis the Democratic Socialists of America.
From the Social Democrats, USA . org website:
Now we are engaged, not in a new struggle, but in the next phase of that same struggle[the civil rights struggle of the 1960s]. Public discrimination on the basis of color and gender is illegal, but private racism and sexism remain virulent. Barack Obama and that of Senator Hilary Clinton are proud to be the beneficiaries of the appropriate use of executive authority. However, the last eight years has seen a woeful usurpation of authority by the White House. The George W. Bush administration used the first foreign attack in more than a half century against Americans, upon their own soil, to govern by executive fiat. The administration lied about the dangers of one regime and ignored the actual perpetrators. Bush led a war, not against the terrorists of 9-11, but against the American working class. Using tax breaks for corporations and the rich, wealth has been redistributed from the average wage earner to the economic elites. Never has the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us been so wide. Those supporting George Bush and John McCain count on American workers being divided. These financial elites are literally banking on Americans remaining preoccupied by differences in race, color, creed, gender, national origin, and life style. By concentrating on what makes us different, we allow our government to fail us. We must make our government again “uphold, support, and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic”.
We are the Social Democrats, USA. We are the only legitimate heir to the Socialist Party of America. Our heritage includes Eugene Debs, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, Helen Keller, Norman Thomas, A. Philip Randolph, and Bayard Rustin. It was Randolph and Rustin who planned and brought together the 1963 March for Jobs and Justice. Dr. King might have had a very small audience if not for Randolph and Rustin. Randolph, a life long member of the social democratic movement, organized the first predominantly black union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Rustin, a long time peace and human rights activist, counseled Dr. King, and his colleagues as they developed their plans for nonviolent resistance to “Jim Crow” Randolph and Rustin were able to unite the struggle of workers with the struggles of minorities, hence the March for JOBS and JUSTICE. The Labor Movement supported the March with both finances and numbers. Many other members of the SPA helped make the march a watershed moment. This included the individual Dr. King called “the bravest man I ever knew”, socialist elder statesman, Norman Thomas. Young People's Socialist League members Rochelle Horowitz and Tom Kahn wrote speeches for John Lewis, among others. The SD,USA enthusiastically embraces the candidacies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They are part of our own broad, pro-labor, anti-totalitarian, liberal tradition as were Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Walter Reuther, Harry Truman, George Meany, Lane Kirkland, Hubert Humphrey, and Michael Harrington. Obama and Biden are THE candidates to continue the dream of Jobs and Freedom for all.
From the Democratic Socialists of America website:
The campaign has 18 more days to run, and progressives have to continue to work hard to elect the Obama/Biden ticket along with as many progressive Democrats as possible. We say this not because we think Obama is particularly progressive. We don't. But Obama in office will have to respond to the pressure of progressive constituencies while McCain in office will not. The goals that progressives are fighting for - passage of national health care legislation, passage of the Employee Free Choice Act - can only be achieved if a president is elected who will sign them into law. And as we saw in the last debate McCain wants to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will overturn Roe v Wade. And who really thinks that McCain will remove troops from Iraq faster than Obama?
Like our comrades in DSA, we are not convinced that Obama is not a corporate Democrat after the model of Bill Clinton. Even if Obama has the temperament to be another FDR, he now lacks the resources. The bank bailout has left the United States treasury in its own credit crisis. Rather than expanding social programs, it is likely that the next president will need to re-trench on entitlements. This will put him at odds with Labor, minority groups, and community organizations. Capitalism simply can no longer export its contradictions. In addition, Obama has discussed a widening of the war in Afghanistan to include areas of Pakistan. All serious military analysts regard this as a fool's errand. It is likely that the Obama administration's new energy technologies will consist of more privately owned nuclear facilities and the oxymoronically named clean coal technology.
We in the SD-SP will do everything possible to see Obama elected. Then on November 5th, we will begin working with unions, community organizations, and ethnic rights groups to hold the feet of the elected Democratic House, Senate, and White House residents to the fire. I recently had a chance to travel through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. In discussing the election, I could not find any great support for the Democrats, particularly among blacks. Many blacks will vote to break the color barrier for the presidency, but few regard Barack Obama as representative of black America. Perhaps as Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post points out, it is necessary for Obama to be the whitest black president ever.
I don't believe their is hope for a new, New Deal because military Keysenism is no longer a pump primer. Too many military parts are made abroad to seriously effect the American economy with military spending. However, a serious concerted action by progressives may force the Democrats to provide a true economic stimulus package that includes infrastructure repair and a certain amount of green technology. This will take more than online patitions and calling members of Congress. It will take direct-action style demonstations at both the Washinton and district offices of Congressional members.
Arieh, your suggestions are very well taken and tomorrow I will work on a flyer that we can distibute in public places like laundromats, coffee houses, etc. Very sound advice! I would appreciate your comments on the proposed flyer when you see it tomorow evening. The same is true for everyone else reading this message. Also, I would point out there is now a Social Democrats for Obama page at the Obama / Biden website: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SocialDemocratsforObama. Also, I am still soliciting material for the Democratic Socialists for Obama blog: http://democraticsocialistsforobama.blogspot.com/ .
In Solidarity and Friendship,
'Red' Gabe McCloskey-Ross, acting executive director, Social Democrats, USA--Socialist Party of America
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