Re: [Fwd: [BRC-ANN] Quote of the Day: Howie Hawkins]

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Art wrote:

>  > My guess is that Howie wouldn't be as critical of
>>  Nader's campaign this year.
>
>WRONG!
>
>Howie, who is one of the Reds in the Greens, is as critical
>of the Nader candidacy today ON THIS ISSUE as he was then.
>His analysis has NOT changed, which was another reason the
>quote was so damn fascinating.
>
>See, the quote was only addressing the issue of the attempt
>to forge a COLOR-BLIND anti-corporate politics. While Howie
>was much more enthusiastic about the Nader candidacy this
>time around, and is a strong supporter, his critique of the
>racial blindness of the campaign has NOT changed. The quote
>was not speaking of the campaign as a whole, but only one
>aspect of the way the campaign was waged. THAT didn't
>change, and THAT was what caught my eye.
>
>Trust me, unlike most people you may know, when I post
>something, I know exactly what I'm doing.

I believe the main point of the Nader/Green campaign _should_ have
been to de-legitimate the Democratic Party & loosen its hold on the
voting members of the working class through political
agitation/education (and only secondarily to pass the 5% post).
However, the de-legimtimation of the Dems cannot be accomplished
without taking on racism squarely, for the Dems & Dem supporters can
continue to claim the support of voting members of black communities
as the Dems' badge of legitimacy.  In this sense, color-blindness has
been the weakest point of the Nader/Green campaign, despite the fact
that the Green ticket had an unprecedented mix of ethnicities
(second-generation Lebanese immigrant male & Native American female).
The second weakest point is the Nader/Green campaign's lackluster
response to liberal feminists, for it allowed them to challenge it &
make it defensive on issues such as reproductive rights, instead of
going on the offensive & highlighting the DP's sorry record on
feminist issues.  In short, Howie is correct to remain as critical as
ever of the Nader/Green campaign, as Art says.

Yoshie