Just Being Anti-Bush Is Not Enough To Win
By Sam Webb, Chairman of CPUSA
It was no surprise to me that virtually everyone I met during a recentthree-week trip across the Midwest was quick to remind me that this electionis the most important in their lifetime. While agreeing that the overridingpolitical task is to defeat Bush and his counterparts in Congress and electKerry and a more people-friendly Congress, no one reduced this to simply acontest between the Democratic and Republican parties.This election, they told me, will continue the nearly 24-year struggleagainst the forces of extreme political reaction who are now entrenched inthe White House, Congress and Supreme Court - but with this difference: Nov.2 could well mark a turning point for better or worse.A Bush victory would give the ultra-right a green light to ramp up theirproject to drastically and unilaterally reshape the domestic andinternational landscape in the interests of U.S. imperialism.On the other hand, a victory by Kerry and the broad democratic movement thatsupports him would be a body blow to the extreme right, bring some relief onbread and butter issues, and lift the siege on our nation's constitution.It also would create a much more favorable political terrain on which thepeople's movement could struggle for its agenda, beginning with an end tothe occupation of Iraq.Thus the stakes are high, and what adds to the drama is that the electorateis so divided that the outcome will depend on which campaign is able to turnout the biggest vote.Given these circumstances, what should be the role of left and progressivepeople?It is not to parse every word, vet every speech, and scrutinize everystatement of Kerry. Nor is it to damn Kerry with faint praise. Rather itsmain task, as I see it, is to bring into sharper focus the differences inthe two lines of policy represented by Kerry and Bush, to delineate thevastly improved political playing field that a Kerry victory would bring,and, above all, to become involved in the grassroots efforts to mobilize thevote.In so doing, the left will help voters gain an understanding of the biggerpicture, extend the practical efforts to reach the electorate, and enhanceits connections to the main democratic organizations - connections which arecritical to post-election struggles.Across the country there is a growing anti-Bush feeling, but that alone isnot enough. To win requires that millions be convinced that the differencesbetween Bush and Kerry are real, substantial and consequential to theirlives on the whole range of issues: Social Security, Medicare, health care,overtime, minimum wage, public education, affirmative action, civil rights,reproductive rights, immigrant rights, gay rights, civil liberties, taxpolicy, environmental protection, Cuba, preemptive war, and nuclear weaponstesting and use.Even on Iraq, there are differences between the two. But more importantly,the defeat of Bush would be a repudiation of his policies of war andoccupation, and that could not be ignored by a Kerry administration.Thus, the remark heard in some left circles, "I will vote for Kerry but holdmy nose," misses the point and is demobilizing. It may bring some momentaryself-satisfaction to those expressing it. But it will do little to convinceswing, undecided, or stay-at-home voters to go to the polls.In my experience, aside from right wing talk show hosts and their loyallisteners, few people believe that Kerry is a candidate of the left andprogressive movement. Most know that he is closely tied to the U.S. rulingclass and a defender of capitalism, as is Bush.That common class affiliation and fondness for the "free enterprise" system,however, doesn't prevent millions of voters from understanding that Kerry isa political centrist and espouses different policies than Bush.Nor does it keep them from realizing that a Kerry victory would give thebroader movements more political leverage than they now have.The biggest danger in this election is not that people have unrealisticexpectations of a Kerry administration, but rather that a substantialsection of voters still believe that it doesn't make much of a differencewho they vote for on Nov. 2. The responsibility of left and progressivepeople is not to spend their time bellyaching over Kerry's shortcomings, butto convince millions of people that there is a choice and that the outcomeof this election will have enormous consequences for our nation's future.Sam Webb can be reached at
vote2004@cpusa.org
