Let's keep the Dem's on the run!
Click the Pic!
Posted on 10/02/2003 4:44:37 PM PDT by jmstein7
The Communist Party USA meeting in New York City June 28-29, 2003 concluded that the most urgent task facing the working class and its allies in the next 17 months is mobilizing a broad people's coalition to defeat George W. Bush and the ultra-right Republicans in the 2004 elections.
The right-wing extremist, racist and military policies of the Bush administration go beyond the pale and are most dangerous. They have inflicted on the national and the world a dangerous new doctrine of pre-emptive war.
Already we have witnessed two wars in which thousands have died. Every day, U.S. soldiers and troops die in the occupation of Iraq that will cost $100 billion.
The Bush administration and their ultra-right allies in Congress are waging wars against every gain we have made in the past century – union rights, civil rights, women's rights and civil liberties. In the name of "war on terrorism" they have arrested, detained and deported thousands of innocent immigrants.
They have given trillions in tax cuts to millionaires while funds for vital programs are slashed and federal, state and local deficits skyrocket. Their policies have pushed the nation deeper into recession with massive layoffs.
Truly, the stakes in this election are enormous.
THEREFORE:
We greet the growing labor and peoples movement organizing to take back America from the corporate controlled extreme right-wing, in the interests of peace, security, democracy and economic rights.
We call on all who are hurt to join in building the broadest possible all-peoples coalition, relating every issue to the 2004 elections and the number one priority of defeating George Bush and the Republican majority in Congress.
The success of such a movement will depend on the leadership at the core of labor, racially and nationally oppressed communities and women.
We urge the largest voter turnout possible in this November's municipal elections as a means of rejecting federal priorities and policies which are starving cities and towns, and to demand full funding to the states by repealing the tax cut tot he rich and drastically cutting the military budget.
We agree that the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride is a great historic development in our country, and pledge full support toward building this powerful multi-racial, labor-community-peace alliance that can shape the debate and turn out the vote in 2004.
We determine to build and greatly expand the circulation of the Peoples Weekly World, along with Political Affairs and Dynamic, as a newspaper that can serve as educator and mobilizer for all peoples unity to defeat the right-wing.
We invite all those who are angry at the devastation being wrought on our country and the world by the policies of this administration to join the ranks of the Communist Party in the interests of upholding past won gains, and charting the course toward a fair, equitable, just and peaceful society.
Just say NO to Bush lite!!!
"leftyandproud (636 posts) Thu Oct-02-03 05:14 PM Original message Communist Party USA endorses democrats in 04!
Ok, aside from the ridiculous stigma attached to the communists, they are turning out to be great people! They realize the need to get Dubya out above all else. If only the damn greens would come aboard, we'd have around 5% of the "3rd party vote" that we need to win. I think if people stopped being closed minded and actually LOOKED at the platforms of the US communist party, they would see we have an incredible amount in common with them. In fact, the progressive caucus which amounts to 30% of the democrats in congress pretty much endorses EVERYTHING in the platform. Can anyone find it for me?"
Let's keep the Dem's on the run!
Click the Pic!
Well, it's been the other way around for decades.
Correction: The Communist Party IS the Democrat Party!
They are officially endorsing themselves!
OFFICERS
Dennis Kucinich (CO-CHAIR, OHIO-10) 1730 LHOB 225-5871 WEBSITE
Barbara Lee (CO-CHAIR, CALIFORNIA-09) 426 CHOB 225-2661 WEBSITE
Lynn Woolsey (VICE-CHAIR, CALIFORNIA-06) 2263 RHOB 225-5161 WEBSITE
Peter DeFazio (OFFICER, OREGON-04) 2134 RHOB 225-6416 WEBSITE
Jesse Jackson, Jr (OFFICER, ILLINOIS-02) 313 CHOB 225-0773
Major Owens (OFFICER, NEW YORK-11) 2309 RHOB 225-6231 WEBSITE
Bernie Sanders (OFFICER, VERMONT) 2233 RHOB 225-4115 WEBSITE
Hilda Solis (OFFICER, CALIFORNIA-31) 1641 LHOB 225-5464 WEBSITE
MEMBERS
Neil Abercrombie (MEMBER, HAWAII-01) 1502 LHOB 225-2726 WEBSITE
Tammy Baldwin (MEMBER, WISCONSIN-02) 1022 LHOB 225-2906 WEBSITE
Xavier Becerra (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-30) 1119 LHOB 225-6235 WEBSITE
Corrine Brown (MEMBER, FLORIDA-03) 2444 RHOB 225-0123 WEBSITE
Sherrod Brown (MEMBER, OHIO-13) 2438 RHOB 225-3401 WEBSITE
Michael Capuano (MEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS-08) 1232 LHOB 225-5111 WEBSITE
Julia Carson (MEMBER, INDIANA-10) 1339 LHOB 225-4011 WEBSITE
William "Lacy" Clay (MEMBER, MISSOURI-01) 415 CHOB 225-2406 WEBSITE
John Conyers (MEMBER, MICHIGAN-14) 2426 RHOB 225-5126 WEBSITE
Danny Davis (MEMBER, ILLINOIS-07) 1222 LHOB 225-5006 WEBSITE
Rosa DeLauro (MEMBER, CONNECTICUT-03) 2262 RHOB 225-3661 WEBSITE
Lane Evans (MEMBER, ILLINOIS-17) 2211 RHOB 225-5905 WEBSITE
Eni Faleomavaega (MEMBER, AMERICAN SAMOA) 2422 RHOB 225-8577 WEBSITE
Sam Farr (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-17) 1221 LHOB 225-2861 WEBSITE
Chaka Fattah (MEMBER, PENNSYLVANIA-02) 1205 LHOB 225-4001 WEBSITE
Bob Filner (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-50) 2463 RHOB 225-8045 WEBSITE
Barney Frank (MEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS-04) 2252 RHOB 225-5931 WEBSITE
Raul Grijalva (MEMBER, ARIZONA-07) 1440 RHOB 225-2435 WEBSITE
Luis Gutierrez (MEMBER, ILLINOIS-04) 2452 RHOB 225-8203 WEBSITE
Maurice Hinchey (MEMBER, NEW YORK-26) 2431 RHOB 225-6335 WEBSITE
Sheila Jackson-Lee (MEMBER, TEXAS-18) 403 CHOB 225-3816 WEBSITE
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (MEMBER, OHIO-11) 1516 LHOB 225-7032 WEBSITE
Marcy Kaptur (MEMBER, OHIO-09) 2366 RHOB 225-4146 WEBSITE
Tom Lantos (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-12) 2217 RHOB 225-3531 WEBSITE
John Lewis (MEMBER, GEORGIA-05) 343 CHOB 225-3801 WEBSITE
Jim McDermott (MEMBER, WASHINGTON-07) 1035 LHOB 225-3106 WEBSITE
James P. McGovern (MEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS-03) 430 CHOB 225-6101 WEBSITE
George Miller (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-07) 2205 RHOB 225-2095 WEBSITE
Jerry Nadler (MEMBER, NEW YORK-08) 2334 RHOB 225-5635 WEBSITE
Eleanor Holmes Norton (MEMBER, D.C.) 2136 RHOB 225-8050 WEBSITE
John Olver (MEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS-01) 1027 LHOB 225-5335 WEBSITE
Ed Pastor (MEMBER, ARIZONA-02) 2465 RHOB 225-4065 WEBSITE
Donald Payne (MEMBER, NEW JERSEY-10) 2209 RHOB 225-3436 WEBSITE
Nancy Pelosi (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-08) 2457 RHOB 225-4965 WEBSITE
Bobby Rush (MEMBER, ILLINOIS-01) 2416 RHOB 225-4372 WEBSITE
Jan Schakowsky (MEMBER, ILLINOIS-09) 515 CHOB 225-2111 WEBSITE
Jose Serrano (MEMBER, NEW YORK-16) 2342 RHOB 225-4361 WEBSITE
Pete Stark (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-13) 239 CHOB 225-5065 WEBSITE
Bennie Thompson (MEMBER, MISSISSIPPI-02) 2432 RHOB 225-5876 WEBSITE
John Tierney (MEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS-06) 120 CHOB 225-8020 WEBSITE
Tom Udall (MEMBER, NEW MEXICO-03) 502 CHOB 225-6190 WEBSITE
Nydia Velazquez (MEMBER, NEW YORK-12) 2241 RHOB 225-2361 WEBSITE
Maxine Waters (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-35) 2344 RHOB 225-2201 WEBSITE
Diane Watson (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-32) 2413 RHOB 225-7084 WEBSITE
Mel Watt (MEMBER, NORTH CAROLINA-12) 2236 RHOB 225-1510 WEBSITE
Henry Waxman (MEMBER, CALIFORNIA-29) 2204 RHOB 225-3976 WEBSITE
A few days ago the New York Times reported in the lead position, above the fold, that Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, had the votes to become the next minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Much is discussed about the congresswoman, but without a single mention of her executive position in the Progressive Caucus, and the latter's ties to the Socialist International.
Question: If an international organization existed to carry the torch for Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and if a person running for minority leader had past or present ties to such an organization, what are the chances the New York Times would find it irrelevant to the matter at hand?
None. Zero. Nada.
Double standards: Do you remember the Austrian nationalist Joerg Haider? He had no such affiliation. Yet the mere possibility that he might harbor sympathies for National Socialist ideas sufficed to make him, and the country in which he holds office, an international pariah.
The Socialist International carries the torch for Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, V.I. Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Josef Stalin. Pay no attention to the desperate attempts by socialists to distance themselves from Stalin. For our purposes, it suffices to observe that every single tenet of the Socialist International is the exact opposite of the principles upon which America was founded, and which define the U.S. Constitution.
For our purposes, it suffices also to observe that members of the U.S. Congress are required to furnish an oath whereby they will preserve, protect, and defend said Constitution.
DSA/USA, the "Democratic Socialists of America" are the U.S. arm of the Socialist International. They share the symbol of the fist holding the rose, and they share the tasks to be accomplished — in our case, an altogether different America.
Some time ago — the date is missing from the descriptions — 58 members of the U.S. House of Representatives formed a subdivision of the Democratic Socialists of America and called it the Progressive Caucus. Their statement of purpose, as well as their membership list, formed an integral part of the dsausa Web site (www.dsausa.org). The membership list appeared on the screen with the continuous background of the fist holding the rose, should anyone have missed the connection with the Socialist International.
Following the exposure in this newspaper of the Progressive Caucus (Nov. 10-11, 1998), action was taken to hide the true nature of the organization, and its membership list was eventually taken off the dsausa Web site. In fact, the only listing to be found right now is a web site maintained by Rep. Bernie Sanders, Vermont Independent, the only member professing to be a socialist. But interested parties can type "Progressive Caucus" in a search engine, such as Google, and find the dsausa link right up front. The link brings up a screen saying "the page cannot be displayed," but the listing confirms its prior existence.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi has long been, and is now, a member of the executive committee of the Progressive Caucus. Her election as minority leader would firmly establish the link between the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Socialist International.
Excerpt:
Of course, the monopolized media is playing the right-wing song that Bush is already assured a second term in the White House. At this point the election looks close, but the momentum on the side of the labor and people’s forces has only begun to organize. The potential is there to change the tide, especially if the mass movements are linked to the elections.
Some members of the Congressional Progressive, Black and Hispanic caucuses are working on the “inside” to challenge the Bush agenda in a way that gives a handle to organizing at the grass roots. For example, legislation to investigate the claim of weapons of mass destruction, to investigate “Texasgate,” to repeal sections of the USA Patriot Act, to restore the child tax credit, amendments to protect Medicare, on and on. Of special significance is HR-141 in opposition to a military policy of preemption, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and others. The Black Caucus has called for universal access to health care as an issue to unite Americans against the Bush administration for the 2004 election.
The demonstration by the Alliance of Retired Americans, disrupting the Capitol, in defense of Medicare and a real prescription drug program is one great example of what needs to be done on a daily basis. Taking public action against each issue head-on at the national, state and local level will expose the Republicans and inspire the uninvolved to participate.
The campaign
One of the first appearances by all the candidates was before 1,000 AFSCME members in Iowa. The union held a national meeting of its political action chairpersons in every Congressional district. The meeting placed labor issues front and center in the debates.
It is heartening that a number of leading progressives within the Democratic Party have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to reject the conservative, heavily corporate funded Democratic Leadership Council. (The DLC National Conversation is in Philadelphia July 27-28.)
The DLC strategy of limiting their program to domestic issues, compromising with the Republicans, and supporting the president on war and terrorism was discredited in the 2002 Congressional elections. A similar approach in 2004 could cede the election to Bush. In contrast, grass-roots organizing on an anti-Bush people’s program was proven to be a winning strategy in 2002 in victories like that of community organizer Raul Grijalva in Arizona’s 7th CD.
The outpouring against the war on Iraq has changed the political terrain. The millions who protested around the country on Feb. 15th represent a new potential voting bloc to defeat the Bush doctrine. The DLC strategy of appealing primarily to “swing” voters left out most of the peace constituency, including the African-American community, young people, and independents who have abstained from electoral politics.
The “Take Back America” conference in June showed a changing stance by progressive Democrats in attendance. Peace, taxing the rich, affirmative action, immigrant rights and civil liberties were welcomed into the agenda, as was a big-tent approach toward uniting with those independent voters and Greens who agree that the number-one issue at this moment is to defeat George Bush.
As a result, MoveOn.org conducted the first-ever internet early presidential primary this week. It is noteworthy that every Democratic presidential candidate felt compelled to send a letter to the 1.4 million MoveOn members, who joined in opposition to the war.
A total of 314,747 votes were cast. The top vote-getters were Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich and John Kerry. No endorsement will be made at this time because no candidate got over 50 percent of the vote. Voters were asked to contribute to their favorite candidate and $1.75 million in contributions were reported.
The field of Democratic presidential hopefuls is not monolithic. Rep. Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Rev. Al Sharpton are playing a radicalizing role. Sharpton is campaigning for constitutional amendments to guarantee the right to vote, to education and to healthcare. Kucinich has pledged his first act as president will be to repeal NAFTA and the WTO. He has introduced or cosponsored legislation to form a Department of Peace, to abolish the death penalty, and to end preemptive military policy, among many others.
At the other end of the political spectrum is Sen. Joe Lieberman, former chair of the DLC. Just to set the record straight, Connecticut’s largest and strongest unions do not consider Lieberman their “favorite son.” A Lieberman-Bush race would make it more difficult to engage those who have been disgusted by politics-as-usual, and would thereby make it harder to deliver a defeat for Bush.
The remaining Democratic hopefuls fall in between. Dean won 43 percent of the MoveOn vote, undoubtedly for his stance against the war on Iraq, although he supports the bloated military budget.
We should remain flexible through the primary season. At the same time, we should do everything we can to build up support for the most advanced candidates, who are playing an important role in helping shape the national debate. We should heed the remarks of Jesse Jackson at the Take Back America conference: “Don’t be too quick to dismiss a candidate as unelectable. Stick to your principles. Sometimes principles make the winner.”
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| Regional > North America > United States > Society and Culture > Politics > Parties > Socialists > Democratic Socialist > Democratic Socialists of America | Go to Directory Home |
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Democratic Socialists of America - http://www.dsausa.org/dsa.html The largest socialist organization in the United States, and the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International. DSA's members are active in progressive social movements and are active within the US Democratic Party. DSA's founding chair was Michael Harrington. |
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DSA Locals Directory - http://www.dsausa.org/about/locals.html Locals, Organizing Committees, and Youth Section Chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America. |
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Progressive Challenge Coalition - http://www.netprogress.org/ A coalition of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and various social activist organizations putting forward an agenda for progressive change in the US.The Progressive Caucus and the Progressive Challenge Coalition are associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. |
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Chicago Democratic Socialists of America - http://www.chicagodsa.org The Chicago local of the Democratic Socialists of America, home of the Debs - Thomas - Harrington Dinner. Active in anti-corporate globalization issues as well as local, labor support and electoral issues. |
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House Progressive Caucus - http://www.netprogress.org/legis/index.htm A group of progressive Democrats and Independents in the U.S. House of Representatives. Affiliated with DSA (Democratic Socialists of America). |
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