re: [Marxism] The Cuban people are not trying to intimidate us in the election

[Mike Friedman <mikedf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Disingenuous. The pressure is not on the part of the Cubans, who, in any
case (and unfortunately) have no way of directly communicating with the
U.S. public), but on Walt's part. This is not the first time he has
advocated or implied that we should act in accordance with his view of
Cuban public opinion, because in his rather narrow point of view, that is
the revolutionary way to act. It is a form of baiting, since if U.S.
Marxists don't hew to (his vision of) the Cuban line, well, they don't
measure up. I agree with you that nowhere do the Cubans, themselves -- not
the Cuban public and certainly not the Cuban leadership -- advocate any
particular electoral choice on the part of U.S. leftists or public. And
Walt has to realize that cheerleading is not a substitute for politics.

Mike

At 12:47 PM 10/30/2004, you wrote:
> Back to the Cubans.  I am troubled by Louis experiencing the viewpoint
> of the Cubans as "social pressure" to vote for Kerry, and comparing it
> to the kind of social pressure that is exerted by the ABB liberal cops
> for the ruling class, or (on a totally different plane, I am sure we
> realize) the SWP's sectarian social pressure on members and supporters
> to "homogenize."
>
> The Cubans are quite clearly not demanding that any pro-Cuban in the
> United States follow their inclinations in the election.  There is
> absolutely no Cuban "intervention" or "Cominternism" on this matter.
> They will work with the SWP (which still seems to have a slight
> preference for Bush and Rumsfeld, despite the fact that it has correctly
> called for dumping both and for a labor party -- abandoning the rather
> openly pro-Republican line they seemed to me to be pushing for some
> months.  They will work with everyone who supported Kerry and everyone
> who supported Nader.  They will work with Bush supporters too.  The
> basis will be as always, agreement on common action on something or
> other that the Cubans view as worth fighting for.  NOONE IS BEING
> THREATENED BY THE CUBANS FOR HOW THEY PLAN TO VOTE, AND NOONE WILL BE
> PUNISHED BY THEM.
>
> The Cubans do as James P. Cannon said: they view internationalism as
> international collaboration, not as the imposition of a line determined
> by a single center.
>
> And of course, they have a right to their opinion and so do all of us.


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