Elections and Anti-War Struggle

["Julio Huato" <juliohuato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't know if this is being taken for granted in the list or what, but I'm 
going to shoot straight.  I cannot vote in the US and, again, I don't claim 
to understand all the subtleties, history, and details of US politics, but 
this seems obvious to me.

The Left in the US should call people to participate in the coming 
elections.  The Left should use as much of its power and influence among 
people as it musters to call them or induce them to participate.  The people 
in this list should try to influence as many people as they can to have them 
participate.

Needless to say, electoral participation does NOT exclude participation in 
anti-war activity AND/OR other organizing activities in favor of the radical 
political program of choice.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Electoral 
participation will help the anti-war movement AND will have a multiplier 
effect on the Left's organizational effort for whatever specific program 
they push.  The mass mobilization against the war will become much more 
influential and effective in the short run if a chunk of the newly elected 
Congress owes its election -- at least partially -- to anti-war voters.  As 
Hegelians know, small increments lead to binary differences.  To the extent 
that the mass mobilization against the war becomes more effective and 
actually has an impact on foreign policy, the Left organizational effort 
will yield a larger return.

In my opinion, the first best choice is to vote for candidates who are 
against the war or are more likely to oppose it.  They include SUITABLE 
Democratic Party and Green Party candidates.  Of course, Democratic Party 
candidates -- incumbent Congress people -- who have advocated the war 
against Iraq and given outspoken, enthusiastic support to Bush are NOT 
SUITABLE.  The message has to be consistently anti-war.  Democratic Party 
candidates who are hesitant about the war MAY BE suitable though.

When there are both Green Party and Democratic Party candidates who oppose 
-- or are likely to oppose -- the war, the best choice is to support the 
candidate who has the best chance to win.  This can be tricky, of course, 
particularly if voters' preferences appear to be evenly split and/or there 
are a lot of undecided voters.  If this were the case, I'd support the 
Greens.

While no illusions should be harbored about the political behavior of a 
candidate once elected, the Left has little to lose by using the electoral 
process this end.  If you think both Democrats and Greens are a bunch of 
reformists and there's no candidate in the list likely to oppose the war, 
then participate in the election anyhow: Have your vote annulled by writing 
on it: "Stop the War on Iraq."

If you vote for Greens or Democrats, follow up by e-mailing and calling the 
candidate saying: "I will vote for you BECAUSE I oppose the Republican plan 
to lead us into a war on Iraq.  I expect you to firmly oppose the war on 
Iraq."  Bug them as much as you can.

The anti-war movement is today's political fulcrum for the Left.  The effect 
will be felt in the US and in the world for many years to come.  The Left 
has to be focused -- absolutely single-minded about it.  For the Left, the 
coming election is a single-issue election.  It is an election absolutely 
subordinated to the overall mass-mobilization goal of stopping the war.  
It's just another politically effective way to accomplish that immediate 
goal.

As a rule (it seems to me), when the youth vote, the Green Party and the 
Democratic Party do better.  Statistics show that young people are the least 
involved in electoral politics.  That means that if the Left can tap this 
potential, it can benefit greatly.  To the extent the Greens and Democrats 
oppose or are more likely to oppose the war, calling the youth to vote for 
them is the right thing to do.  Greens and Democrats need the youth to win 
and the youth may be especially susceptible to the radical arguments of the 
Left.  The Left must use its influence on the youth to make a difference in 
the coming election.

Julio

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