Organize Against Trump and Trumpism

Women's March For Jobs. 

Sean O'Torain.

Trump is a vicious racist, sexist, anti working class and anti environment thug. And he sits in the White House surrounded by extreme right wing thugs such as Bannon and he seeks to add more right wing thugs to his cabinet in the days ahead.

He has no intention of becoming more moderate now that he is in power. On the contrary, he intends to step up his drive to make what appeared to be mere campaign slogans during his campaign, an actual reality. But he is doing this in a particular way. He said he would clean the swamp in Washington. How has he been going about this?

He is Increasing the number of Wall Street, Oil and Gas people and right wing thugs like Bannon in his circle and administration. At the same time he is firing the more moderate people like acting Attorney General Sally Yates and gagging and firing the forces in the regulatory bureaucracy who are supposed to keep some grip on the most destructive impulses of capitalism. This is what Trump means by "draining the swamp" in Washington. He means to remake it in his own image, to let US capitalism do what it likes. It is a bit like rearranging the seats on the Titanic.  This is a major crisis for US and world capitalism. And he has not even got started with the Middle East, with relations with Putin and Xi in China. He has already alienated the President of Mexico and other heads of state.

A major question is: What will the top layers of the US capitalist class do about what is happening? What will the more conscious less, more astute sections of the capitalist like the James Bakers, the Kissingers, the heads of the major corporations, the new high tech capitalist wing, the heads of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs do about this? It is too soon to say yet. But the top layers of the capitalist class will not let themselves be pushed aside and ignored by a moron like Trump.

It seems that for now their attitude is  to support Trump and wait and see, hope he can be reigned in. So far he is delivering the goods for Wall Street, for the fossil fuels industry, he is reducing regulations. It is not clear what he will do with trade and with the geo political relations with the major powers of Russia and China. So it seems the top capitalists in the US and in the state apparatus are keeping their powder dry and waiting to see with the understanding that they can remove him one way or another if things get out of control.

Another part of the equation which has to be taken into account and which pushes the dominant sector of US capitalism to wait and see, is that they do not have much of an alternative at this stage. Their other party the Democrats is so pathetic they cannot offer a more sane capitalist alternative to Trump. Anybody who still  has illusions in the Democrats as a party that could represent working class people needs a head reboot. I am sorry to say. The Democrats cannot even provide an alternative for their own less extreme wing of the capitalist class to take on the extreme right wing buffoon Trump. There is no way they could represent workers.

The women's marches here were historic. Millions took action who have never taken action before. This and the marches and demonstrations against the Muslim ban show that a new era of struggle has begun. This genie will not be put back in the bottle. The task now is clear. To organize. And in doing so to avoid allowing the movement that is developing from being captured by the Democrats and their pro capitalist opportunism and posturing. Their pathetic opposition to Trump is shown by Schumer pretending to weep, by them boycotting congressional hearings, by screaming in the Senate. The movement to bring down Trump must not be captured by the opportunist capitalist Democrats. If it is, the movement will not take mass direct action against Trump and this is the only way he and what he represents will be stopped. If there is any doubt about this we only have to remember what happened to the movement around Sanders.

Along with opportunism, there is another danger to this movement. That is ultra leftism. This is where the small numbers of left forces that exist in the country try to commit the anti Trump movement to socialism. There are  many many different forces fighting Trump on many issues. Of the millions who marched on the women marches practically none of these are socialist. To try and bring them all together now in a socialist movement would only be to drive them apart. What is necessary is to build an Alliance against Trump and Trumpism. Draw up a series of demands which take on and confront Trump but which also bring together the greatest numbers of people who are wanting to take him on. Bring together the millions who marched on the marches and many more. To try and build a socialist movement out of the present consciousness and movement would only be to divide that movement. Those of us who, like Facts For Working People, are socialist, can of course and should explain in a non sectarian manner, our belief that socialism is necessary.  But it would be an ultra left mistake, a damaging mistake, to try and commit the anti Trump forces to socialism at this early stage.

We need to organize in every locality and link our organizations together nationally and internationally. This organizing has to have as its objective to bring down Trump and stop Trumpism. That is to stop the attack on the working people of the world, on the women of the world, on the environment, to stop racism and sexism. To end the control of the world by a handful of profit addicted mad multi billionaire war criminals. This organizing has to be in the form of an Alliance to stop Trumpism.

We must not forget that the less crude and not so vulgar wing of the capitalist class also share along with Trump his vicious anti working class, sexist and racist and anti environment policies.  The tactics of resistance, the way to bring down has to include mass direct action. Trumpism will not be stopped by lobbying and protesting. It will only be stopped by mass direct action, by stopping the wheels turning. No more business as usual. Mass street action, mass strike action, mass confrontation with the capitalist state and racist forces. We must have no illusions. 

If Trump can get away with it he will enforce his agenda with brute force. Those of us who oppose him and wish a different world, a different world where its riches are collectively owned and democratically utilized in the interests of all, must face up to hard facts: We will not achieve this unless we organize and take mass direct action. Trump is organizing to use the mass forces of the state and his racist forces, the less insane sections of capitalism are also readying themselves to use the mass forces of the state and the racist groupings that are developing to put us down, that is to put down the working class. We have to be realistic and organize and fight. We must organize to answer Trump and Trumpism's brute force with mass direct action force of our own.

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