Approximately 100 million people in the US and abroad watched the debate between the capitalist politicians Clinton and Trump who are running for President of the USA. Many points are being made about this as the commentators from the mass capitalist media blather on. Some of these points are of significance some are less so. But the main point, the point that has to be raised is this: How come 100 million people were watching a debate in which the only debaters were two candidates of the two main capitalist parties of the USA?
Where on that stage was there a representative of the US working class? Nowhere. This is the main point that has to be made about this debate. Neither the US working class, nor the international working class were represented in this debate. Their voice was not heard; their interests were not represented, they were censored out of this debate. This is a missed opportunity for the US and international working class, a setback to the US and international working class, to its consciousness and its ability to fight. This does not mean that all is over for the US and international working class. Far from it, things are only beginning. But what it does mean is that with its present leadership the US working class will not be able to fight and defend its interests.
Let us look again at this debate and its approximate 100 million viewers. Let us ask ourselves a few questions. How come US capitalism could put on a debate where the massive US working class of over 300 million and the international working class had no representative, had nobody to speak for their interests? How come US capitalism could stage a debate where the 12 million US workers organized in trade unions had no voice, had no candidate to represent its interests?
The reason for this is very clear and very simple. The organizations of the US working class representing 12 million workers, are led by pro-capitalist cowardly leaders who support the capitalist system and are terrified that a movement against capitalism could develop. These leaders are terrified of such a movement because such a development would seek to build a new militant mass movement and along with that, threaten the power and positions of the trade union leadership and the capitalist system they support and from which they get their perks. These leaders see no alternative to capitalism, do not believe the working class can build an alternative, think that any attempt to build such an alternative would lead only to chaos, so they prop up the existing system and suppress any movement in their own ranks or in the working class as a whole which seeks to build an alternative.
Look at what they could have done around this debate. They could have withdrawn their support from the capitalist party the Democrats. They could have mobilized their 12 million members either to enter into the Green Party and transform it into a workers party or they could have built a new workers party. And on this basis then go after and demand that the capitalist parties debate them, demand that they are represented wherever the future of the country is discussed. If the mass capitalist media or the capitalist class tried to shut them out of debates then the organized trade union movement which controls electricity, communications and so on could have pulled the plug on the entire process. It is not complicated. If the working class does not get speaking nobody gets speaking.
On the more specifics of the debate. This Blog does not support, nor will ever support, either of these two capitalist parties or candidates. However this does not mean that there are no differences between the two candidates. Hillary Clinton will lead a vicious attack on the US working class and the working class internationally. She will lead a vicious attack on the US working class so the US government on behalf of the US corporations can cut living standards at home so they can continue to fund military spending to defend the corporations interests abroad and at home. Clinton is a measured, conscious, very experienced representative of the US capitalist class. The dominant sector of the US capitalist class want Clinton as their president. They will be happy with the outcome of the debate.
There will be another section of US society that will be happy with the outcome of the debate but for very different reasons. This is the tens of millions of women who have suffered discrimination and special oppression at the hands of misogynistic bullies such as Trump. After all what decent person would not be pleased to see a liar and thug and somebody who calls women "dogs" "sluts" "fat" "ugly" get their comeuppance. But this is more complicated than it may appear.
Capitalist politicians represent capitalist interests. Part of these interests is to keep women workers at a lower income level than men workers. See the explosive growth of women workers now in the countries of South East Asia, China, and Latin America where they are kept in sweat shop conditions and paid a few cents a day. Clinton if elected and this is likely will represent the corporations and the capitalist system which keeps these women in extreme poverty. And not only that Clinton if elected will represent the militaristic policies of the US corporations, its wars and invasions abroad. After all the fact that Thatcher was a woman, that former secretary of state Albright was a woman, the fact that Merkel is a woman, the fact that Clinton herself is a woman did not stop these capitalist politicians from promoting war and poverty and oppression.
Millions of women died in the wars and in the poverty induced systems of capitalism over which these women presided. No more than the fact that Obama is an African American has prevented him from representing the interests of the US corporations and sending off the drones, deporting more undocumented people than ever before, will the fact that Clinton is a woman mean that she will represent the interests of women. It is first and foremost a class question.
Trump is an ignorant buffoon member of the US capitalist class. The dominant sections of the US capitalist class do not want him. Not a single Chief Executive Officer of the top 100 corporations in the US gave him money. They are afraid of him, his ignorance, his lack of any understanding of world politics and how the world works, the world balance of forces, his insane loutish ambition, they are afraid he will end up leading US capitalism at home and abroad into explosive ventures. Only a fringe crude stupid section of US capitalism supports Trump.
We the authors of this Blog hold firm. We give no support to any capitalist candidate or party, neither Clinton or Trump, neither the Democrats or the Republicans.The task is to build a mass workers party. The trade union leaders if they were not so cowed by capitalism could do this. In the future, movements will come out of the working class that will do this. In the meantime the authors of this Blog support Jill Stein and the Green Party. We support its new eco socialist plank in its platform. And we call on the Green Party leadership to stop shying away from fighting for this plank. We also seek to convince the Green Party to build itself as a workers party, to stop vacillating between liberal groupings and individuals and de classed middle class environmentalists. We seek to convince the Green Party to put down roots in the rank and file of the trade unions, the workplaces, the communities and schools and colleges and build itself as a workers party. And we seek to organize in a non sectarian manner, a left current within the Green Party to fight for these policies. In this way a stronger nucleus, a stronger Green Party, can be built which can help the movement for a mass workers party in the future.
Finally a note of levity and to show just how pathetic and childish the Trump buffoon is. After the debate he complained about the movie actress and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell. It was around ten years ago she was after him ridiculing him and his hair style and looks. After the debate he brought this up as "unfair." This is the man who wants to be President of the most powerful military force in the world!!!!! He has obviously been obsessed by and on the run from the wee Rosie O'Donnell and what she said about him ten years ago. Her retort to his post debate attack was to call him an "Orange Anus". If only the trade union leaders had an ounce of her cheek.
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