RE: [Marxism] Tariq Ali responds to aliens from outer space

["Lou Paulsen" <Loupaulsen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ali, forwarded by Louis, says:

(4) I feel exactly the same regarding our local war-monger Tony Blair. I
am for his defeat, despite the backing he has received from the labour
movement. If a Liberal-Democrat candidate can defeat a pro-war New
Labour ghoul, then I will vote for the Liberal-Democrats, despite their
Kerry-like weaknesses. The reasons are the same. Politicians who deserve
to be tried as war-criminals should not be elected.
- - - - - - -

This strikes me as quite illogical.  He says he would vote against Blair, if
a Liberal-Democrat candidate could defeat him.  But much more to the point,
how about if a Conservative could defeat him?  How would voting for the
Conservatives, to get the war ghoul Blair out of power, be different from
voting for Kerry to get the war ghoul Bush out of power?  Ali seems to say
that Bush, because he was in the executive branch of the imperialist
government, deserves to be tried as a war criminal, but Kerry, who supports
the war from the legislative branch, does not, and can therefore be elected.
Wouldn't the same logic apply to the Tories?

But even more to the point than that: Blair IS Kerry.  That's why the labour
movement persists in supporting him.  He is the result of the success of
lesser-evil politics in Britain.  A vote for Kerry says, "We don't want a
Bush government, we want a Blair-type government."  In fact Blair is not as
far to the right as Kerry on the social and economic issues.  If he were
intellectually consistent, he would be out there attacking the
Liberal-Democrats for treacherously threatening to steal votes from New
Labour just as he attacks Nader and all the rest of us AABBers.

Lou Paulsen
Member, Workers World Party, Chicago


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