Re: [Marxism] Nader's campaign and the call for a pure socialist vote

["chegitz guevara" <absynthe@xxxxxxxxx>]

You cannot destroy the Democratic Party under the current electoral
system. That is nothing more than a fantasy. Even if you were able to
defeat the actual Democratic Party, it would be replaced by another
party, exactly like it in everything but name. It would be the new
Democratic Party. The moment the Dems stopped being a viable electoral
vehicle, their politicians, strategists, fund raisers, etc. would jump
ship to whatever other existing organization would serve their goals.

Let's pick on the Greens, since they are the party so many social
democrats have put their faith in recently. Right now, the Greens have
some ability to set the rules for their candidates. They can refuse to
take corporate donations, etc. That is because they are a minor party.
In most jurisdictions, that gives them rights the two major parties
don't have. Depending on the state, those rules change as soon as they
are considered major parties. They no longer get to chose their
candidates. They no longer can even control their candidates.

In fact, in Florida, those rights were stripped last year, and now the
Greens have five candidates who aren't even Greens (the registered to
vote Green, which is required under Florida law), but three
Republicans and two Democrats. The Florida Green Party has absolutely
no say in the matter. If these candidates want funding from corporate
sponsors, there's not a damn thing the Greens can do about it. Heck,
the Greens don't even have the money to denounce these candidates as
fake Greens.

The same thing would happen to any socialist party which manged to
become a major party (somehow). Until our first-past-the-post system
is replaced, until we have both a parliamentary system and/or IRV,
destroying the Democrats is a pure fantasy.

Since that's the case, then the only point for socialists to
participate in electoral politics is to use it to spread the socialist
message. That's what we're doing, even if only in a tiny, minute way.

your comrade,

chegitz guevara
SUN! SURF! SOCIALISM!

On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 11:27 AM,  <Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> I am looking for the best weapon with which to destroy the Democratic  party.
> I've always felt that only when they are driven off the  political stage (as
> the Whigs were by the Republicans in the 1850s) can the  left begin to stand
> on its own two feet and speak with its own voice. The  Democrats are the 
> single
> biggest obstacle in the path of a mass left. Will  the far left campaigns do
> anything to remove that obstacle?  If  so, I'd support them, but there is no
> movement of people or even  political activists towards any of them.

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