Alabama: Trump Receives Another Defeat.

Alabama: To hell with him and the horse he rode in on. (Apologies to Horse) 

Sean O'Torain.

The authors of this Blog have from the beginning been saying that the election of Trump and the rise of Trumpism would, with bumps here and there, with steps forward and steps back, evoke a new movement of opposition of working people and women and oppressed minorities. This is what we have seen in the Senate election in Alabama. In spite of the state's  history, in spite of support from Trump and his cronies, and towards the end the support of the National Republican Party the lout, the thing, I mistakenly wrote thing here when I meant thug, but I will let it stand as both 'thing' and 'thug' are appropriate, the racist, the sexist, the sexual predator, the pedophile, the homophobe, was defeated. 

The main reason for this was that African American voters surged to the polls. African American working people especially African American working women once again showed their high level of political understanding and their determination to fight. At the same time a section of white women who had voted Republican in the past peeled off and either went for the Democrat Jones or stayed at home. And in general in the more urban areas where the greater amount of voters lived more people turned against Moore. He also probably lost a few votes by riding to the polls on a horse. A section of people must have said to themselves how can we let Alabama be represented in the Senate by a clown like this. The jubilation amongst many with Moore's defeat is palpable. Laughter can be heard throughout the land. Heads have come up throughout the land.  

This Blog has in the past been pointing to the change in the Southern states of the US. There has been increased industrialization. This has increased the urban working class as a proportion of the population. This has also increased the unity of the working class as the workplaces that have sprung up as corporations moved into the South for lower wages have drawn together workers of all races and genders and sexual orientations. The working class has been strengthened numerically, in absolute terms, as a proportion of the population, and in terms of diversity. With increased women entering the paid workforce this has also chipped away at the efforts of the extreme right to gain support on issues such as women's rights, abortion rights, reproductive rights.  The defeat of Moore is a reflection of the increased strength of the working class in the Southern states. 

Since the rise of Trump in the primaries and since he was elected by the rigged electoral college system, this Blog has been continually discussing the role of the big bourgeoisie, the most conscious section of the bourgeoisie in relation to Trump. Yes they want him to get them their tax cut, yes they want him to deregulate further. However as we have been explaining on this Blog, the most strategic section of the big bourgeoisie, of the capitalist class are very worried about how Trump is wrecking their institutions through which they rule.

We have been carefully watching the actions of the most strategic section of the capitalist class to see when they would move against Trump. There was an indicator of this process unfolding in the Alabama election. Shelby the senior Senator for Alabama is a mouthpiece for the newly strengthened capitalist class in Alabama, especially the new corporations that have moved in. A few days before the election he came out against Moore. This reflected the decision of the dominant sections of the capitalist class in the state to not only move against Moore but also to move away from Trump. This is a process that is likely to accelerate nationally in the future. Either through the Mueller probe on collusion with Russian imperialism, on financial dealings and money laundering, on obstructing justice or through the accusations of sexual aggression against Trump by increasing numbers of women, it is likely that the decisive sections of US capitalism will move against Trump in the coming period. Of course this will be a developing of the political crisis of US capitalism. It will seriously weaken the institutions through which the US capitalist class rules, but these institutions are being weakened by Trump in any case, so it is most likely that at some stage this decisive section of the capitalist class will move against him and bring him down. 

Another process that this Blog has been pointing to is what we have termed the coming to an end of the two capitalist party monopoly over US politics. If the leaders of the 14 million strong trade union movement would use the resources of the movement to build a labor party this could be achieved at this time. However they will not do so until they are threatened with a movement from below. So this coming to an end of the two capitalist party monopoly, the Democrats and Republicans, will be a complicated process. Probably it will see splits in the Republican and Democratic Party and the rise of new right wing parties and perhaps new left parties. Possibly a women's party.  It is impossible to say how this will turn out. But the old US political equilibrium is coming to an end. 

For activists there are a number of tasks. One is to build an alliance against the attacks of capitalism against working class people using mass direct action tactics. Along with this to build an opposition movement in the trade unions which would oppose the present union leaders' collaboration with the bosses and the capitalist Democratic party and which would use the militant tactics that were used to build the unions in the 1930's. Along with this to advocate and work for the building of a labor party, a party of the working class. And within all these movements and within the labor/workers party build a non sectarian socialist current with the clear objective of ending US imperialism and building a democratic socialist society.

If you would like to join our weekly conference calls where we discuss these issues send us an e mail to: we_know_whats_up@yahoo.com and tell us a little about why you would like to participate.