RE: What is Workers World's opinion of Camejo?,

[David Walters <dwalters@xxxxxxx>]

Well, it's interesting when Walter, the WWP and little ol' me are on
the same side. Indeed, Jose has some catching up to do here. Let me
address some issues.

The P&F did start out as an anti-war party in the 60s. Sometime in the
late 70s, and after achieving ballot status in '68, they adopted a
radical socialist party, akin to the Left Socialist parties in Europe
before the advent of the "Euro-Left" but with more Wobbly-like jargon
and positions (workers self-management, etc).

One can't really 'take over' the P & F, largely because it's so open,
has a dual-process for selecting candidates (participates in the
Primaries but final say is up to the State Central Committee...and so
ya' know, all parties have "Central Committees", it's mandated by law
here...so you can be on the "County Central Committee of the Republican
Party"...has a nice ring to it, yes?).

I was active in the P & F in early and mid 80s after leaving the SWP.
During this time, the Maoist cult group the Democratic Workers Party
(R.I.P.) tried to take it over, the Morenoist IWP (R.I.P.) tried and
did 'take over' the P & F by controlling, with an alliance with
traditional P & F stalwarts, the State Central Committee against
another takeover attempt our ex-LaRouchites of the New Alliance
Party...and so on. Thinks appear to have calmed down some. The prize in
all this? Was the ballot status of the P & F, and almost impossible
feat to achieve (as the SWP found out the FIRST time Camejo tried to
run in the State, in 1976), and the more or less 50K people registered
into the socialist party, a ready made audience for P & F mailings, etc.

When the Greens first tried to get on he ballot, it was the P & F that
was their to provide support and guidance, and even members, to get
qualified. The GP succeeded so well, that P & F registration fell along
with the vote for any State wide office and thus it lost ballot status
in the late 90s, I think '98, only to be recently get it again. P & F
received little if any help from the GP that I know of for these
efforts.

Out here in California, it's not only the 'right wing' of the GP that
downplays Camejo's politics, I suspect Peter himself does this. Peter
is not going to wing. This is not a question. Peter's support for the
recall effort when there was ZERO mass movement for it...or any
movement not paid for by the right-wing capitalist politicos, is
something I disagree with, and, ergo, why Barry Sheppard's article in
GLW fall far short of explaining *why* one would want a recall when
only the capitalists can benefit. The P & F statement is something that
I wholeheartedly support as both accurate as the the state of the class
struggle and left electoral politics, such as they are.

I'm voting for CT Weber because I want to see the P & F grow since IT
sees the working class in general and the labor movement specifically
as the motive force for change. It's not my favorite setup, but
honestly, I don't know what is. The P & F doesn't tie itself to one
section of the working class but presents a *very clear* reason why
workers should break from the democratic party, and not just because
their politics suck.

Camejo's campaign will be more about Camejo than he GP, which is not a
workers party, doesn't present itself as one, and doesn't look to our
class as a social force but only once sector of society among others
that, if only everyone would get down and just agree to get along,
things would be better. That's the message of the GP and Camejo hasn't
been able to break out of this, except that the Dems and Repubs are
different and we need something new. Many socialists and other
activists beg to differ with Peter that the GP is the way to go. The
irony is that the GP today is more like the P & F was in 1968 than any
workers party seeking fundamental social change.

If the GP, meaning Peter, get 1% more than the 5% they got last, time,
I suppose that's a 'good thing' in the grand scheme of things because
it will mean the Dems get less. I'm certainly not going to get on
anyone's case about it. Quite honestly, I'm not interested in seeing
the GP grow. Couldn't care less. They don't speak to me. I rather see a
real socialist get a bigger vote than before (and certainly bigger than
the GP, but that's not about to happen).

I say "right on to the WWP" if they have similar views.

David Walters
Pacifcia, CA