LaRouche was the ultimate political psycho chameleon. He was an SDS-related Marxist, formed his own red group the NCLC (National Caucus of Labor Committee) to fight the CPUSA and SWP, then went to the Far Right, established a front known as the Schiller Institute and a few other groups.
In the end, he was nothing but a cult leader, a Jim Jones without 900 followers and the kool aid (or kook aid).
Interestingly, he looked like a male Elizabeth Warren. One of his key leaders was jailed in Maryland about two years ago for assault and battery at some rally/conference. Forget his name but it started with “W”. He was working with the Marxist “Socialist Forum” network and spoke at one of their national conferences about 5-6 years ago. (IF anyone knows which conference it was, please let me know. My computer didn’t properly save the information about it and its speakers. THIS LIST CONSTITUTED ONE OF THE LISTS OF AMERICAN MARXISTS IN EXISTENCE. THINK IT WAS HELD IN NY OR BOSTON/CONN.]
Hope the smelly old bastard is really dead. If not, let’s cheer him on to his new home in Hell.
Ran into NCLC types in fall of 74 after I was laid off from US Steel. That was after Gerry Fordtard started his Whip Inflation Now campaign. I was a production recorder and watched orders disappear practically overnight. The NCLC were pamphleteering outside the unemployment office when I signed up. That was in November 74 and I didn’t get a full time job again until February 76.
Did you ever fly on a commercial airline in the late '70s to mid-'80s?
LaRouchies were handing out their slick magazines (what was it, Fusion or something?) at the entrance to every concourse, arriving and departing.
A few airports (not enough, though) eventually confined them to side areas where they didn't get in the way of travelers.
But you're right. It was a cult, just as much as the Moonies, not quite as much as the People's Temple.
LaRouche reminded me of Dr. Lovelace in the old series The Wild Wild West.
He was a megalomaniac to the point that he became amusing to those who enjoy dark humor.
During that period, lefties were forming little splinter parties faster than one could keep up with them. Looking back, I suppose the big picture was the student-based "New Left" break from the old, Soviet-dominated CPUSA and its many fellow-travelling affiliates. Beginning in the '60's and accelerating through the '70's, the American left finally tried to come to terms with Stalinism. The New Left was essentially a reformation movement led by academic Marxists who wanted to throw off the baggage of the past and recover the underlying purity of the faith. Naturally, they quickly divided into factions which spent most of their time demonizing each other as deviationist. This was the world in which LaRouche was maneuvering. He must have had better organizational skills than most, since he was actually able to recruit sizeable contingents of followers and do more than put out a quarterly magazine written by grad students.
Of that whole generation of crackpot youth Marxists spilling out of the universities, Bernie Sanders made it to the Senate, Tom Hayden had a run in California politics and … well, anyone else? Bella Abzug and Ron Dellums come to mind, although I don't know about their academic pedigrees. There were probably a few other Members of Congress who came out of academic hard left backgrounds. Many stayed ensconced in academia, where they have worked relentlessly to poison the minds of the next generation. Ron Radosh, Peter Collier and David Horowitz saw the light in time and have all written and spoken extensively about their "Up From Communism" journeys. I'd love to see one of them have an extended conversation with Bernie Sanders. I'd pay to go to that one.
It's a different ballgame now. The Marxist left is no longer at the margins; it has finally taken over the Democratic Party. The U.S. has now joined the rest of the world in having a major socialist party contending for national power.