Trotskyites Keep A Critical Eye On Sanders

Nothing revolutionary about Sanders’ “Our Revolution” - World Socialist Web Site

Jill Stein In Colorado Springs

On March 29, 1980, I joined the thousands of Pittsburghers who jammed into Market Square to hear Ted Kennedy challenge Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Party's nomination for President. It was a gutsy move to try to derail the candidacy of a sitting President, but Carter's four anemic years in the White House required a Progressive response and, at the time, Ted Kennedy seemed to be the most likely figure in American politics capable of pulling it off. I still recall the thrill of seeing and hearing Kennedy--the charisma was in full force that day as Ted challenged Carter to stop wrapping himself in the flag, exit the Rose Garden, and explain to the American people why he deserved a second chance.

The electricity of that moment was only surpassed later that Summer when Kennedy gave his "the dream shall never die" concession speech at the Democratic National convention.

Since then, few candidates running for the highest office in the land have inspired much more from me than cautious optimism. Most have invited ridicule. The rare exceptions have been the Barack Obama who ran for office in 2008 and the Bernie Sanders who ran for office in 2016. Yet both, in their own way, have proved to be disappointments.

This afternoon, in Colorado Springs, I saw Jill Stein speak before a SRO audience in the sanctuary of All Souls Unitarian Universalist church. What Stein lacks in Kennedyesque charisma she more than makes up for with her sharp intellect, her fine sense of moral outrage, her wit, and her earnestness.

When Bernie Sanders chose to abandon his campaign and endorse Hillary Clinton for President, he went from being the most interesting American politician on the national scene to being "Bernie Who?"

Forget him. For whatever reason, he lost his nerve and got off the bus.

Clinton and Trump are two disasters in the making. No one deserves the genuine Progressive's vote more than Jill Stein.

The Single Most Important Political Tract Ever Composed

Green Colorado

Conscience Voting

The next time anybody advises you not to vote your conscience, ask them why voting in the U.S. is private and anonymous.

Are You Naive Or Savvy?

In 2016, taking a principled stand on any political question is considered to be naive, while voting for a war-mongering plutocratic political opportunist is considered to be savvy.

So, by 2016 standards, this is how it looks:


Naive


Savvy

Got it?

Laughing All The Way To The Bank

Not to mention 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Other Than That, We're Doing Great!

Rumor Has It...

Rumor has it that Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, an ambitious prosecutor out to make a name for himself, is leading the investigation into the Clinton Foundation's "pay to play" influence peddling while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.

If there is substance to these rumors, this could be very bad news for the Democratic Party. Bharara was appointed by Barack Obama, but when Obama leaves office, will Bharara feel a continuing obligation to Democrats in office? He has proven himself an "equal opportunity" prosecutor in the past. Will he be bought off with promotion? Or will he see to it that the Clinton Foundation scandal is brought to the public's attention and Hillary Clinton's Presidency mired in scandal?

Time will tell...

Amazing Cornel West Speech at Green Party Convention

A Challenge To Lesser-Evilists

Dear Lesser Evilists:

I'm afraid the time has come to call your bluff. You say that you are troubled by much of Hillary Clinton's political legacy, but you feel that you must vote for her in order to stop Donald Trump from being elected.

Fair enough.

If you would rate Jill Stein "less evil" than either Trump or Clinton, why don't you support her? If your answer is: because she doesn't have a chance to win, that too is fair enough (although something of a self-fulfilling prophecy).

But now I have another question: What could you do, between now and election day (November 8th), to increase her chances of winning?

You could contribute time or money to her political campaign. You could talk to your friends about her and encourage them to support her. You could sign petitions demanding that she be allowed to debate Trump and Clinton. I would suggest, in fact, that as a lesser-evilist with the courage of your convictions, you really ought to be doing those things.

And don't worry that such activity might damage Clinton's chances of ultimately prevailing over Trump. She has a huge campaign war chest, the support of Wall Street, organized labor, and the Democratic Party machine. Moreover, she has name recognition and supporters who don't think she is the lesser-evil at all. They actually believe that she is just the candidate this country needs as its next President. Many of those supporters are Democrats and, I'll wager, quite a few are Republicans. I'm sure some are Independents as well. Don't worry about Hillary. She'll be just fine.

On November 7th, you can take a look at what the polling data reveal about Trump's, Clinton's, and Stein's chances in the General Election and decide then how you will actually vote on November 8th.

Rest assured that your support for Stein's candidacy between now and then does not obligate you to vote for Stein on Election Day. But if it turns out that as a result of your efforts Stein becomes the front-runner, you will have the great pleasure, as a lesser-evilist, of voting for and very likely electing the least of three evils.

In the alternative, you could do the American electorate a big favor by publishing the objective standard that you are no doubt using to determine the relative "evilness" of each Presidential candidate. That way, we can all be on the same page.

By the way, I'm not defending Trump; I'm defending rationality over partisan fear-mongering, bullying, and Groupthink.

The Path To Victory In November

The way to defeat Donald Trump is not to vote for Hillary Clinton. The way to defeat the Donald is to keep him out on the campaign trail doing what he does best: alienating voters left and right. He is his own worst enemy.



With Trump self-imploding with each passing day, we should turn our attention to defeating Clinton. The way to defeat Clinton is to support a truly Progressive candidate, i.e., Dr. Jill Stein.



Groupthink got us into the mess we're in, what makes many of us think Groupthink is capable of getting us back out again? Could it possibly be...Groupthink?

Criminal In Chief

Holding elections is only a small part of what it means to have a functioning democracy. Holding elected officials accountable for their actions is far more important.



And yet, this seems to be a low priority for a general public comfortable with its imperial privilege.



Unfortunately, we get the democracy we deserve and many others throughout the world must pay the price for our failure of nerve.

Never Forget

Let's talk about privilege, shall we?

It was 20 years ago this month that Bill Clinton eliminated the federal guarantee of assistance to poor families. Corporate media played a key role in persuading the public that Aid to Families with Dependent Children—representing less than 1-and-a-half percent of federal outlay from 1964 to 1994—was somehow bleeding the country dry.

This Is What A Progressive Ticket Looks Like

But none of the faux-Progressives in the Democratic Party will line up behind it because they're too busy being, well, faux-Progressive.