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

["Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Walter accuses people of not basing themselves in reality, but then makes
two statements I think would qualify:

> Bush has taken steps which are QUALITATIVELY
> different against Cuba than any previous U.S. government
> has taken.

Bay of Pigs mean anything to you?

> the loudest voices [on the list] are those
> campaigning, among self-declared Marxists, against Kerry.

I've read many posts arguing against the ABB position, and quite a few
denouncing ABB'ers are traitors to the left or whatever. I can't recall one
in which anyone was "campaigning against Kerry" (other than in the sense of
campaigning against Kerry and Bush). It's true that one or two people have
advanced the argument that, because Bush is either more incompetent or more
outrageous, that one should hope for his victory, but I don't believe anyone
"call[ed] for a Bush victory," as Walter claims.

I'm afraid I'm forced to repeat what I wrote earlier. One can recognize what
Cubans, or Iraqis, or Palestinians, or whatever other group might desire,
just as one can recognize that the North Vietnamese wanted negotiations with
the United States. But that doesn't justify a "Negotiations Now!" position
by American Marxists, and the desires of Cubans or Iraqis or Palestinians
doesn't justify a "vote for Kerry" position. If the Cuban government were to
call on American Marxists to vote for Kerry as an essential component of the
defense of the Cuban revolution, such a call would carry tremendous weight.
But not only haven't they done anything like that, the quote from Alarcon in
the Dow-Jones article posted earlier, and the new quotes from him in
Walter's latest post, make very clear that at least Alarcon recognizes that
Kerry's policies on both Cuba and Iraq will be just more of the same.

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