U.S. Mid-Term Elections “Right fills the vacuum. But not a swing to the right”

Left: Is Obama thanking AFL-CIO president, Trumka for his support in bailing out Wall Street, the banks and the super rich?

The outcome of this week’s mid-term elections in the US are said to reflect a great shift to the right. The San Francisco Chronicle called it a “Wave of conservatism”. We must not be fooled by this propaganda and look at what actually exists on the ground.

An election night survey by the AFL-CIO revealed the following:
Opposing privatization of Social Security: 62%
Opposing tax cuts for those who make $250,000 a year: 63%
Oppose raising the retirement age: 68%
Oppose eliminating the Dept. of Education: 72%
Oppose: Lowering minimum wage 76%
Oppose allowing health insurance denial for pre-existing conditions: 85%

The Wall Street Journal supports the view that there is powerful opinion against the attacks on working people’s living standards that the two capitalist parties and U.S. capitalism are demanding. It points out there are no signs that “Voters are prepared to take the tough specific steps that would really tackle budget deficits or reward politicians who prescribe such bitter medicine.” If we put together the AFL-CIO poll above, the Wall Street Journal statement and the hatred and anger against bankers and the rich that we all know exists in society, it is clear what people want, and it is not a move further right and increased attacks on working class people; they want a better and improved life for themselves. Given this, the question has to be answered: how did we end up with these election results?

The elections took place during a period of extreme uncertainty and change for the worse for working people. Millions of homes are being taken from their owners, bankruptcy is an epidemic, millions of jobs are being lost and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider. When faced with the threatened economic collapse Obama and the Democrats bailed out capitalism and the super rich and told the working class to grin and bear it, sit down and shut up; there was no alternative.

This did not work. People refused to accept it. Working people are not stupid. The Republicans reaped the reward for Obama’s right wing response to the economic crisis. This is what happened. With no other political alternative on offer, the anger at the Democrats for their rightward policies and bailouts of Wall Street and the rich was reflected in increased votes for Republicans.

The Republicans and the right wing have been acutely aware of the anger that exists In US society and have exploited it to the fullest. Look at these statements:

“Large corporations are leeches sucking the blood of the people”
“Corporations should not be at the public trough”
GE is an “opportunistic parasite feeding on the expansion of government”
“My kid isn’t your ATM.”

These statements connect to the real mood that exists in society. They are not from the mouths of the top union officials or their friends in the Democratic Party. These stem from one section or another of the Tea Baggers. This is one reason big business is concerned about them. The Tea Bag movement is looked on with distrust and even a little fear by the Republican Party establishment and the dominant capitalist forces. While it had a lot of financial support from some big right wing capitalist institutions and individuals in the run up to the elections, this will now tend to be reduced and the Tea Bagger movement will come more under the influence of the more middle class and to some extent crazed element within its ranks. To the extent that it continues to exist it will be in conflict with the leadership of the Republican Party and the more strategic capitalist forces.

Labor Leaders
The main reason for the Republican victories lies with the heads of organized Labor who wasted hundreds of millions of dollars and the significant resources they control supporting the Democrats. The result was tens of millions of working class and middle class voters who were against the Obama regime could see nowhere else to go but to the Republicans. The Labor leaders have to be called to account. They have to explain the hundreds of millions of dollars they wasted, the energy of their members they wasted, and for what? To give the Republicans control of the house and to see Obama and company continue with their bootlicking of Wall St. The Labor leaders’ policies have been a catastrophic failure.

In order to drive back this offensive against our living standards fear must be put into the capitalist class. The union leaders announcing they would never again support the Democrats or any capitalist party, this is what would put the fear into the capitalists. Organizing instead a mass struggle for a better life for all workers and linking this to the struggle against Wall Street, the rich and capitalism and running candidates as part of a working peoples party, this is what would put the fear into the capitalists and what would halt and throw back their vicious offensive and allow the working class to go on an offensive of its own. This is what would put the fear into the bankers and their friends and win concessions.

The union movement’s mobilization for the Democrats, an anti-worker party, included 200,000 Union volunteers who distributed 19.4 million fliers while talking with workers one-on-one at the workplace. They knocked on 8.5 million doors and made millions of phone calls. This is a criminal waste of resources but shows what could be done, what could be the basis for an independent political alternative to the Wall Street parties.


The Left and anti-capitalist activists
While we correctly criticize the policies of the union leaders we must not ignore the role of the left and anti-capitalist forces. There are thousands of people throughout the United States who are either members of socialist or other anti-capitalist groups or who would be members of such groups or active in struggles if they could see non sectarian united front alternatives through which to be active. there are tens and tens of thousands of workers who are wishing they could find some effective way to be active. Where were the left and anti-capitalist forces during the elections when the politicians of big business were forced to engage in some sort of public dialogue with workers and the middle class?

The truth is they did not exist as an organized force. While it is true the Tea Baggers got money from some major right wing sources, it is also true that they recognized the anger and saw the vacuum that existed and acted to fill that vacuum. They were willing to take on and confront the existing politicians and in this way got attention and were heard by many people. The same cannot be said of the left and anti-capitalist and radical forces. These forces did not recognize the anger and vacuum that was out there and took no action to fill it. They left the field open to the right. The right wing saw things more clearly.

The left and anti-capitalist forces should have come together, connected with the anger and provided an alternative in the election. Many of the tens of thousands that are enraged around the country against the financial system, their own worsening conditions, the corrupt and bought politicians of the capitalist parties, could have been brought together in a united front to defend and improve upon our living standards. This would not necessarily have had to be based on a socialist alternative, as long as it was independent of the capitalist parties and put forward a program that confronted the capitalist offensive.

Tens of thousands of working class people and youth would have become active if they could have seen a healthy organizational channel through which to organize and struggle. Central to this could have been the building of oppositional forces in the workplaces, the Unions and the communities where working class people could have been brought together in struggle and could have posed an alternative.

A major reason for the ineffectiveness of the left is the scourge of sectarianism and ultra leftism. What do we mean by this? They preach in their esoteric ultra-left language and never make contact with working class people. They think that a mass campaign for a $15.00 minimum wage or a $5.00 wage increase whichever is the greater is a reformist demand and one on which they will not fight. But it is precisely these sort of demands and campaigns that can take on capitalism and mobilize millions of people. The left and anti-capitalist forces were paralyzed by their ultra leftism and sectarianism. They do not recognize how working class people see things and relate to that consciousness and they are so worried that they will sell out and succumb to opportunism themselves that they try and inoculate themselves against this by ultra left language and an orientation which makes sure they never get a base or be influential in a mass movement.

As of this writing, the projected voter turnout is around 42% of a pool of about 210 million eligible voters. Beyond this, there are millions of people who are so disgusted with the two capitalist parties that they have given up voting entirely. There are significant forces to build a national movement against the capitalist offensive and run independent candidates in local, regional and national elections. The organizers of this blog (http://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com) are socialists, we do not believe that we can change society through the ballot box, but we recognize that it is through struggle, through the understanding that we can change things, we can build a movement that can change society for the better. We learn through struggle and one of the greatest hurdles we have to overcome in the US is the view that we cannot change things. During elections the ruling class is forced to have some public dialogue with workers and the middle class, in this situation we have an opportunity to challenge their view of the world and their priorities. We must not allow the right to fill this void.

While it is necessary to point out the role of the Union leaders and explain the nature of their failed policies, and demand they change them, the most crucial task of the left and anti capitalist activists, or any person that wants to combat this offensive of capital, is to come together in united fronts of struggle that can effectively take it on. Foreclosures, job losses, low wages, the lack of health care, the attacks on education and end endless wars, these attacks can be driven back using direct action, fight to win tactics.

In this way victories can be won and working class people can see there is an alternative. From such struggles candidates can be run in elections and the Republicans and Democrats’ monopoly of political life on behalf of the capitalist class can begin to be broken down. This, along with organizing tens of millions of new members into the unions, would open the way for the building of a mass workers party that would begin to shift the balance of forces in us society towards the working class.

We should consider this: A recent poll found that 36% of Americans favor socialism. This is a very, very powerful figure but the people who hold this view had no opportunity to vote for this in the elections.

If you are in some agreement with these views and are interested in talking or joining with us to build a movement to fight back against the assault on workers and the middle class, contact us at: we_know_whats_up@yahoo.com