Sanders Movement And the Green Party After New York.

Build the Green Party as an ecosocialist workers Party. 

Sean O'Torain.

For many months now I have been saying that a break would come in the Sanders movement. That it was impossible to say how and when but a break would come. Sanders double digit defeat in NY brings this closer. He will either soldier on as he has lots of money and try to wrest some concessions from Clinton, or he will get out sooner rather than later keep his pledge to support her and at the same time try to wrest some concessions from her.

These it seems to me are the most likely possibilities. But either pose a major problem for Sanders. Namely his huge base of supporters, the illusions in him of this huge base of supporters, and his mountain of funds. What does he do with these. Could he make a break from the Democrats and try and take these resources with him and form a new party. I do not think so. For this cautious capitalist politician who never challenges capitalism this would be out of character. A leap in the dark.

It would also be out of character as he has no concept at all that there is a working class in this country and it is the working class that is the force that must bring about change. But it is not necessary for the Green Party to speculate on what Sanders is going to do after his defeat in New York. What is necessary is to see what the Green Party has to do. Unless some measures are taken to stop her which would be outside the primary voting system Clinton will be the nominee. So what about the Green Party. Timing is extremely important in politics. The Green Party must immediately get out its statement and campaign to explain that this is what we said all along. That Sanders was and will be trapped in the big business capitalist Democratic Party. That the task now is for his supporters to break from Sanders.

The task for the Green Party is to make our position clear and hold out our hand to these supporters. Not to hold out our hand to Sanders but to hold out our hand to those who have come around him and will now be increasingly disillusioned and frustrated. The Green party does not want Sanders. We want to offer a path to struggle for the many who had illusions in him. I suggest that all of us in the Green Party and especially the leadership immediately go on the offensive on these lines. No support for any of the capitalist parties, including Sander's Democratic Party, build the Green Party as an independent party which stands against capitalism and for ecosocialism, which seeks to build itself as a workers party with bases in the workplaces, the union rank and file, the communities and the schools and colleges. That is that the GP become a real independent ecosocialist workers party and we call on the people in and around the Sanders movement to break from that movement and join us. and we call on all workers and youth whether in and around the Sanders movement or not to join us.

Now to address myself to two different groupings in our Party. First the leadership. I believe the leadership of the Green Party are to some extent intimidated by the Sanders movement. There is no need to be. Sanders is a capitalist politician with a long record of capitulation and collaboration with US capitalism and imperialism. Our leadership must get the bit between its teeth now and lead. The time is now to go on an all out offensive.

Part of this is the expulsion from the Party of those sections of the Party who endorsed Sanders. Give a signal of our seriousness. A line must be drawn. We are either a Party or we are not a Party.

Then there are the others, the Sanders sleepers, who have been waiting to come out for the Green Party when Sanders lost. They must either get out of the way or speak out now for an independent ecosocialist party. Then there are, I apologize for speaking frankly here, the many self absorbed members of the Party who see the Party as somewhere they can indulge any and all of their pet fantasies, wear their weird clothes, sell their books which nobody elsewhere would buy and blackmail the Party into letting them do what they want by crying about decentralization. This must be ended. They must not be allowed to damage the Party in the way they do.

The way to solve this problem is to establish an orientation to the working class, that is that to be a member you have to sell the Party publications at least one or two workplaces per month and explain what the response is at these workplaces and from the workers present. That is immerse ourselves in the working class movement. This and the program of ecosocialism and building a mass workers party will select a healthy membership on which we can build a real party. The time is now for these steps. The New York vote means the beginning of the end of the Sanders Democratic Party strategy. The Green Party must stand up and fill the vacuum. Timing as I say is extremely important in politics. Sean. O'Torain.