Ralph Nader and the Green Party offer the dangerous illusion that capitalism can be reformed and seek to divert working people into the trap of economic American nationalism.

[Laura Kamienski <tkd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A socialist newsweekly published in the interests of working people
Vol. 64/No. 35September 18, 2000

Socialist candidates on ballot
(editorial)
 http://www.themilitant.com/2000/6435/643520.shtml

Supporters of the Socialist Workers campaign of James Harris for
president and Margaret Trowe for vice president have scored a real
victory in their drive to put the socialist ticket on the ballot in 13
states and the District of Columbia. All that remains is collecting 500
signatures in Vermont!

Over the past two weeks the campaign was certified for the ballot in
Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, and Utah, thanks to the help of
numerous workers in struggle.

Achieving ballot status strengthens and broadens the reach of the
campaign, enabling many more to learn about a fighting, working-class
alternative to the Democratic, Republican, Reform, and Green parties.
Getting Harris and Trowe on the ballot means the twin parties of the
super wealthy ruling minority are not left unchallenged in the electoral
arena.

Harris and Trowe are the only working-class candidates who are mounting
a nationwide campaign, seeking to get on the ballot in every state
possible. At each tour stop they are receiving a serious hearing for
their revolutionary perspectives--from workers on strike, farmers
defending their land, unionists rallying to defend their rights, and
youth protesting the brutalities and injustices of capitalism.

To get on the ballot, the socialist campaigners have to overcome a host
of undemocratic restrictions. In many states, requirements such as
collecting tens of thousands of signatures are designed to keep
working-class parties off the ballot so the two-party capitalist system
remains unchallenged.

For a revolutionary workers party, gaining ballot status is an important
part of defending its ability to operate openly and pursue as many ways
as possible to organize, educate, and get into the midst of struggles
and resistance. The capitalist state will always, especially in times of
social crisis and labor upsurge, seek ways to limit the ability of
workers organizations to function, declaring them "illegal" and beyond
constitutional protections under the Bill of Rights.

An election campaign is one of the few opportunities a workers party has
to defend its political space and democratic rights by entering an arena
of capitalist politics. Elections are one of the main ways the
employers' class portrays its rule as "democratic," making it harder for
them to justify going after organizations that run candidates.

A byproduct of putting in hundreds of hours to meet the undemocratic
requirements and raise substantial funds to make it all possible is
reaching thousands of people with a campaign flyer, the Militant, or a
Pathfinder book. Many are introduced to a socialist candidate or decide
to come to a picket line, a demonstration, or a Militant Labor Forum.

The socialist campaign supporters battling for ballot status are a
crucial part of presenting a small but important example of how working
people can chart a course of independent political action as part of
their deepening resistance, and, down the road, revolutionary
mobilizations in a fight to establish a government of workers and farmers.

The Gore/Lieberman and Bush/Cheney tickets offer nothing but a continued
assault on working people at home and abroad. Both boast of their
support for the U.S.-led assault on the Iraqi people, which continues to
this day; both back continued executions, jailings, and assaults on
democratic rights; both tout the "American miracle" economy that is kept
going on the backs of working people; both press the assault against
Social Security and other social conquests that were won through the
struggles of workers and farmers.

Ralph Nader and the Green Party offer the dangerous illusion that
capitalism can be reformed and seek to divert working people into the
trap of economic American nationalism. The fact that the logic of the
world economic crisis propels U.S. imperialism to drive toward fascism
and war can be seen in the capturing of the Reform Party by
ultrarightist Patrick Buchanan.

Throughout the United States supporters of the socialist campaign are
deeply involved in the resistance of working people to this assault,
resistance that points in a different direction from the dog-eat-dog
world that capitalism offers humanity. We urge you to join in with the
Socialist Workers campaign and build on the victory in the ballot drive.