Re: Short response to Eli

["LouPaulsen" <LouPaulsen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>

> LouP (and WWP) think we should simply abstain on the recall, and I
certainly
> understand that position.

No, not precisely true, Eli... Saul's article didn't say 'WWP calls for
people to abstain on the recall', it said "Workers World Party does not call
for a no or a yes vote on recall."  [Or for an abstention either.]  You can
vote no or yes or abstain and we won't argue with you :-)

> But I disagree with LouP's rationale:
>
> >The bottom line is that the Democrats want you to vote 'no' on the
recall,
> >and the Republicans want you to vote 'yes' on the recall, and they are
the
> >only two real players in the game, which is a stupid game for dividing
and
> >confusing the workers.
>
> Well, of course there are a lot of times when the Democrats want
something,
> and the Republicans want the opposite, but that doesn't mean we abstain.
If
> the Democrats were to as a bloc suddenly decide to oppose Bush's request
for
> $87 billion for Iraq, and call for a pullout of troops, we would of course
> support them, and vote with them if one of us were in Congress.

Yes, but that wouldn't be just a stupid game for dividing and confusing the
workers, now, would it? :-)  That would be an important substantive matter.
But in this case the substantive result is that you get either a capitalist
Republican governor or a capitalist Democratic governor, and what difference
does that make?  Or, rather, does it make such a difference that we
socialists must take sides in the contest, which is, in fact, as you say,
NOT the most important struggle going on in the United States right now.

Eli, you go on to argue that the real issue is the undemocratic nature of
the recall process, but let me ask you a hypothetical question: suppose that
a cabal of garden variety bourgeois Democrats were using the recall to
unseat an unpopular Republican governor.  In that case would you feel
compelled to defend the democratic election of the Republican against the
undemocratic Democrats?  [Note: the adept wordplay in the previous sentence
is very much in the spirit of Marx. :-)   ] If you wouldn't, then isn't it
just Republicans - vs. - Democrats after all?  But, again, I'm not taking
the position that you shouldn't vote against the recall.  I'm just
questioning your position that we are wrong for not taking your position.
:-)

Lou Paulsen


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