[Edited Message Follows] (Sorry. This reply should have been directed to this thread.)
Artesian's argument is one can’t support the Democrats against the Republicans in an election year because the party supports attacks on immigrants, voter discrimination, free universal healthcare, abortion rights, US arming of Israel, NATO and Ukraine - what Marxists work against "in the off-year knowing, since only working class based action can deter reaction, and the Democrats have been proven to be active participants in the SYSTEM of oppression.” Like his co-thinkers on this question, Artesian doesn't distinguish between the leadership and the base of the party and, more exactly, between the leadership and the left wing of the party currently represented by the DSA. AFAIK, neither Reimann, Kumar, myself or others on the list or Fletcher, La Botz, and others outside of it have displayed any illusions about the leadership of the party. But we don’t conflate Harris' policies with those supported by her critics on the left and by a large cohort of rank-and-file Democrats. The reason for trying to enter into collaborative relations with such Democrats is to try to drive a wedge between the base and the leadership. At present, the party left represented by the DSA is an ally in that struggle, not a political opponent to be mocked along with the party leadership. It's the same reason we've historically entered unions dominated by the same leadership and caucused with the most advanced trade unionists within them. It is easy to be critical of these efforts because they have never succeeded in displacing the reformist leaders of the unions and union-backed parties. No one has. But at least we positioned ourselves where we could influence the direction of any discontent with the leadership and direction of these working class organizations. The same can't be said of those like Artesian who stand aloof from class-based organizations and who do not accept or understand that electoral intervention can complement rather than contradict extraparliamentary activity, or of those who do see the connection but wander off into some sideahow like the Green Party. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#33026): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/33026 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/109066560/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
