[Marxism] Green Party

["Joseph Callahan" <joeandcaroline@xxxxxxx>]

 This is a belated comment on Camejo's Avocado declaration and on the idea of 
revolutionaries supporting the Green Party.  The Green Party is clearly a 
liberal capitalist party.  It makes no pretense of removing the capitalists 
from power and replacing them with rule by the working class.  It seems to me 
that it's politics are little different than the liberal wing of the Democratic 
party.

   Camejo as much as admits when he argues that liberal Democrats are in the 
wrong party and should join the Green Party.  His whole article is a polemic 
against the idea that the Green Party should defer to the Democrats in the 
presidential election rather than run their own candidate.  This shows I think 
how the Green Party is not a true break from the capitalist politics of the two 
party system, but just a third pro-capitalist party.  
   So I don't agree that revolutionary socialists should give any support to 
the Green Party, if they do put up a candidate.  This won't advance the idea of 
building a working class political alternative, it caves in to the "anybody but 
Bush" refrain of liberals.
   Here in Minnesota we went through the experience of Jesse Ventura, a third 
party candidate, actually winning the election for governor and serving out a 
4-year term.  Of course Ventura was not a Green Party liberal, he ran under the 
auspices of Ross Perot's Reform Party, and was basically a middle-of-the-road 
capitalist politician.  He was elected by the votes of young people and blue 
collar workers based on being different than the Democrats and Republicans, a 
tough guy who wouldn't put up with their crap supposedly.  But I think it shows 
that merely having a third party is not per se a break from capitalist politics.
   There is no escape from the fact that there is no large scale working class 
political party in the U.S., even of a reformist variety like say Lula and the 
PT in Brazil.  The Green Party is no substitute for this.  I think for now it 
is best to focus on concrete struggles like antiwar protests, Cuba solidarity 
activities etc .

Joe Callahan  

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