Workers of the World, Unite! socialistsocialistThe MICHIGANMICHIGAN Vol. 2, No. 3 •• MayMay 20042004 50¢ ($1 Solidarity)

Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 1 The MICHIGAN party notes socialist Drop all charges against Ben Burgis! Editor MARTIN SCHREADER

SPMI Chairperson MATT ERARD SPMI Secretary MIKE TREACY Socialist charged

The Michigan Socialist is the voice of the Social- ist Party of Michigan (SPMI), affiliate of the Socialist Party USA. Party address: 909 Walwood for exercising rights Ct., No. 2, Kalamazoo, MI 49007; e-mail: [email protected]; WWW: http://news.mi- APRIL 26 — This morning, Ben Burgis, a of the First Amendment. socialists.org. supporter of the Socialist Party and candi- (In fact, the Marine stood and watched All submissions to the Michigan Socialist can date for Michigan State University Board the protest take place, and at no time raised be sent by mail or e-mail. Articles sent in hard- of Trustees, was arraigned on charges of dis- any concern about illegal activity.) copy format should have 1-inch margins all the orderly conduct and malicious destruction Secondly, the first anyone heard of charg- way around, and be printed in a basic, legible of property. es being pressed was the day before the na- typeface (e.g., Times New Roman or Helvetica). Articles sent electronically, either by e-mail or The charges stem from a protest held out- tional day of protest against the Iraq war on on diskette, should be in plain text (.txt), Rich side the East Lansing, Mich., recruiting sta- March 20, when a detective from the East Text (.rtf) or MS Word (.doc) format, although tion of the U.S. Marine Corps on March 1, Lansing Police Department had Burgis go any format will be accepted. Submissions sent in response to the “regime change” in Hai- down to the station and make a statement. by e-mail can be addressed to editor@mi- ti, organized by the regime in Washington. “The poster was just an excuse, some- socialists.org. It is alleged that Burgis removed a Ma- thing they could ‘get someone on’,” said Signed articles, columns and letters do not rine Corps poster from the wall and attempt- Burgis. “The real issue was the entirely le- necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Socialist ed to burn it. The poster, mass produced by gal antiwar protest.” Party of Michigan, which are expressed in edi- the government, is valued at 10 cents. Burgis compared the charges to Robert torial statements, or the Socialist Party USA. The Editor of the Michigan Socialist reserves the Burgis was released on his own recogni- Kennedy’s famous line about prosecuting right to edit all articles for typography and spell- zance pending a pre-trial hearing on May Mafia figures in the 1960s, that he would ing without consultation. On all other matters 13. have them arrested for “spitting on the side- of editing, the Editor will attempt to collaborate Looking at the facts of the case, it is clear walk” if that was all on which he could get with authors as much as possible. that the pressing of charges by the State of them. Michigan is politically motivated. Socialist Party members will be showing Socialist Party USA: First of all, the Marine recruiter in charge up to support Burgis at his pre-trial hearing. Outline of Principles stated in an interview to the State News that If you are interested in helping with his de- the protest was an “American right,” im- fense, please contact the Michigan Socialist THE SOCIALIST PARTY strives to establish a plying that, in his opinion, what he saw take or the SPMI. radical democracy that places people’s lives under place was legal and well within the bounds Martin Schreader their own control: where working people own and control the means of production and distribution, through democratically-controlled committees and I, the undersigned, desiring to bring about by democratic assemblies; where full employment is realized for Join the means a new society based upon democratic socialism, everyone who wants to work; where workers have Socialist hereby apply for membership in the Socialist Party USA, the right to form unions freely, and to strike and and subscribe to its principles. engage in other forms of job actions; and where the production of society is used for the benefit of all Party USA Name: ______humanity, not for the private profit of a few. We Annual Income Dues believe socialism and democracy are one and Address: ______indivisible. ❏ Striker/prisoner FREE The Socialist Party fights for progressive ❏ Student $10 ______changes compatible with a socialist future. We ❏ Under $20,000 $25 support union and electoral actions — independent City: ______State: ______Zip: ______of the capitalist-controlled two-party system — to ❏ $20,000-35,000 $60 present socialist alternatives. We strive for ❏ $35,001-50,000 $125 Phone (optional): (______)______democratic revolutions — radical and fundamental ❏ changes in the structure and nature of economic, $50,001 and up $250 E-Mail (optional): ______political and social relations — to abolish the Waiver for poverty available power now exercised by the few who control the Interests (optional): ______economy and the government. The Socialist Party is a democratic, multi- Send check or money order to 909 Walwood Ct., No. 2, Kalamazoo, Mich. 49007. tendency organization, with structure and practices Or go online to http://www.mi-socialists.org/join.html and sign up. visible and accessible to all members. CLIP HERE AND SEND ✁ 2 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST lead article The real war of liberation has begun... All troops out now! By MARTIN SCHREADER ities and war crimes committed against ci- vilians suspected of being “sympathizers” of Editor, the Michigan Socialist the resistance forces. A LITTLE OVER a year ago, the Ameri- Many of these acts of aggression were can capitalists and their supporters thought carried out against an emerging movement they had every reason to celebrate. among the Shi’ite religious community in The invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Baghdad and the southern region of the Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime were country. Iraqi Shi’ites, who had been a fa- hailed in the media as an astounding suc- vored target of the Ba’athist regime due to cess. Nearly all the political representatives their religious kinship with Iran, began to of capitalism were triumphantly proclaim- organize themselves into militia groups. ing “a new day” for Iraq and reveling in the In March of this year, the American vice- belief that they brought “liberation” to the roy in Iraq, Paul Bremer, ordered the clo- Iraqi people. sure of a small newspaper aimed at the Shi’a In the 12 months since, as the invasion community in Baghdad’s “Sadr City” neigh- became an occupation, ongoing resistance borhood because, they claimed, the publi- chipped away at both the patience and the cation advocated violence against the oc- image of the occupiers. As the numbers of cupiers (an unsubstantiated charge). wounded and killed in action reached into And then, all hell broke loose. the hundreds, retaliation by occupation Within days of this act, Shi’ite militias forces escalated. throughout Baghdad and southern Iraq had The lucky ones: Young children made refu- By the end of 2003, the American occu- mobilized for combat. gees by the presence of U.S. Marines around piers, and their allies in the so-called “Coa- By the anniversary of the Americans’ en- the Iraqi city of Fallujah. These children are lition of the Willing,” had begun to take trance into the Iraqi capital, these militias, forced to endure the weather and military their aggression and frustration out on Iraqi now joined by hundreds of thousands of or- guard dogs in order to wait for a time when civilians. Reports began to surface of atroc- dinary Iraqis of all religions and ethnicities, they might be let back into their homes. Antiwar activist targeted by Grand Rapids police By BRIAN McAFEE tiwar meetings and rallies, collecting intel- tified any of them. ligence about the aims of activists.” Grand Rapids Police Chief Harry Dolan The Michigan Socialist Throughout the protests, demonstrators confirmed Puls’ statement, saying he feared IN THE MONTHS preceding and during have cited the lack of an evident link be- for his officers’ safety at peace demonstra- Bush’s war in Iraq last year the global and tween the attacks of Sept. 11 and Iraq, and tions. national protests included generally conser- the silence and tacit approval of the U.S. Police conduct at anti-war rallies first vative and birthplace of Amway, western when Saddam Hussein used poison gas in surfaced in February in Salon, an online Michigan. the Iran-Iraq war and against the Kurds in magazine, according to Roelof’s article. The cities of Grand Rapids, Muskegon 1988. Grand Rapids City Commissioner Rick and Holland, Mich., had regular weakly pro- Many demonstrators believe Bush’s pri- Tormala said of police conduct: “To moni- tests typically ranging in size from 30 to 200. mary motives to be a move toward Middle tor citizens and their activities when they Grand Rapids, the largest of the three, with East hegemony and control of the oil fields. are dissenting against the government is about 200,000 in population, was spotlight- Demonstrator Abby Puls, 24, a Spanish wrong.” ed in the Muskegon Chronicle last week, in interpreter at the Kent County Courthouse “People have a right to assemble and say an article titled, “Police infiltrate peace ral- was singled out by undercover police offic- what they want.” lies.” ers and told she could be fired for “choosing From Vietnam to the present, there has The article, written by Ted Roelof, ex- sides.” never been any instance of violence perpe- poses how the Grand Rapids Police Depart- She was also threatened with arrest for trated by protestors in western Michigan. ment “sent undercover police officers to an- “hindering and opposing” police if she iden- continued on page 12

Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 3 had seized control of most major cities south spoken opponents of councils appointed by the occupiers simply and west of Baghdad, including Falluja, the occupation. handed over control without a struggle. Najaf and Karbala. The first act was the Iraqis of all ages, both men and women, In northern cities like Tikrit, Kut and closure of al-Sadr’s have joined in the new struggle. Sunni and Kirkuk, Sunni militias exchanged gunfire Baghdad newspaper, Shi’ite militias have formed working agree- with U.S. Marines. In Baghdad itself, armed which, though small, ments to common strikes against the occu- strikes and demonstrations by workers are was considered vital to piers, and have found support in both the coupled with skirmishes between militias the Shi’ite residents of religious (Chaldean) and ethnic (Kurdish) and American occupation forces. Sadr City. The issuing of minority communities. Shi’ite cleric Moq- The isolated pockets of resistance have an arrest warrant for al- For his part, al-Sadr sought to appeal to tada al-Sadr, head given way to a generalized mobilization of Sadr by the Coalition the people of the United States for support of the al-Mahdi. the people against the occupation. Even the Provisional Authority, and assistance: “I call upon the American newly minted Iraqi Army has collapsed, allegedly for the killing of a pro-American people to stand beside your brothers and sis- with significant sections of it joining with cleric shortly after the 2003 invasion, quick- ters, the Iraqi people, who are suffering an the militias or formally declaring neutrali- ly followed. injustice by your rulers and the occupying ty. When Shi’ite residents of Sadr City pro- army, and to help them in the transfer of The situation in Iraq today is nothing tested the arrest warrant and the closure of power to honest Iraqis.” short of a war of national liberation against al-Sadr’s newspaper, the occupiers respond- This statement alone explodes the myth colonial occupation. ed with rocket attacks from Apache heli- created by Washington — that all those copters. Close to 40 people were killed, and opposing the occupation of Iraq are, at once, THE SPARK THAT lit this prairie fire was over 100 were wounded. “anti-American” and akin to former CIA the series of moves against Shi’ite cleric The result was open rebellion; militias agent-turned-terrorist leader, Osama bin Moqtada al-Sadr. The son of a revered Shi’a supportive of al-Sadr, organized as the Army Laden. religious figure (for whom Sadr City is of the Hidden Imam (the al-Mahdi), rapid- Al-Sadr’s call quite clearly (and quite named), and a self-proclaimed direct de- ly took power in several cities, including correctly) makes a distinction between the scendant of the Muslim prophet Muham- Najaf and Karbala. In many of the areas people of the U.S. and the regime of George mad, al-Sadr has been one of the most out- where the al-Mahdi took power, the local continued on page 11 ‘The people of Iraq are not the enemy’ The following is excerpted from a statement by Ben Burgis, Chairperson Your efforts in Iraq and ours in the United States, combined with the ongo- of the Military Outreach Commission of the Socialist Party of Michigan. ing uprising of the Iraqis to emancipate The full text is available at the SPMI’s website — www.mi-socialists.org. themselves, can result in an American IN THE LAST few days, the long-term Camp out in your bases and refuse to withdrawal, so that the Iraqi people can trend of armed resistance by individuals go on patrol. Refuse to fire on crowds of have national independence and free elec- and small groups of Iraqis against their for- Iraqis who want what we in America our- tions. eign conquerors has exploded into an out- selves gained by force of arms in the 18th When that happens, you can come right, mass-based popular uprising.... century — independence from foreign home and help us settle accounts with the A full transfer of power to a provision- rule. The people of Iraq are not your ene- unelected administration that sent you to al government formed by the rebels and my. Iraq in the first place and is openly plan- empowered to organize direct elections to The people who sent you off to die for ning to steal the next election through the a constitutional convention could be se- the sake of oil profits, regional control and privatization of vote-counting into the cured within days, and there is no logisti- ‘reconstruction contracts’ are the enemy, hands of GOP-friendly corporations — cal reason why the full, orderly withdraw- in Iraq no less than in shop floor struggles with an “opposition” party that acts as a al of American and “coalition” soldiers for better wages and working conditions knowing accomplice to that administra- from Iraq (protected by the surrender back home. tion’s crimes — with the unelected media agreement) would have to take longer Being a soldier does not make you less barons who monopolize our public air- than the three weeks it took them to drive a citizen entitled to equal protection un- waves to spread that administration’s lies to Baghdad (through heavy fighting) in der the law. and with the unelected aristocracy of cor- the first place.... According to the U.S. Constitution porate executives and stockholders on The movement’s message to those and foreign treaties signed by the United whose behalf the war is being fought. troops stationed in Iraq should be terribly States government, thereby becoming su- You need to come home and join us in simple: Unlike Bush and his accomplices, preme law according to that Constitution, fighting for the same things for this coun- we truly support you; we believe that your you have no legal obligation to follow im- try that the Iraqis want for Iraq, in a move- blood is worth more than Iraq’s oil. Lay moral, illegal orders to fight in Bush’s dirty ment for civil rights and free elections in down your arms! war of counterinsurgency. the United States of America.

4 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST national/analysis The dialectics of neoconservatism From the Old Left to the New Right

By MATT ERARD Such figures include Special Assistant to the President Elliot Abrams, State Depart- The Michigan Socialist ment appointee Pen Kemble, National En- SINCE THE BUILD-UP to the U.S. inva- dowment for Democracy Chairman Carl sion of Iraq, the term, “neocon” has become Gershman, leading neocon author, Joshua somewhat of a household word. Muravchik, former foreign policy adviser Generally it is attributed to those who under Reagan, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and advocate the principle positions of the Bush Bush’s original appointee for Secretary of regime: unilaterally engaging in wars of con- Labor, Linda Chavez. quest, skyrocketing increases in corporate Non-members such as Deputy Secretary welfare and the military budget, and gut- of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, member and ting essential social services that benefit the former chairman of the Defense Policy poor and working-class while spending with- Board Richard Perle, and Defense Policy out any regard to the deficit. Board member William Kristol were also To fully understand the Bush doctrine, well connected to the same political cur- however, it is essential to understand that rent within these organizations. the philosophy of neoconservatism is far deeper than the whims of a foolish presi- NEARLY ALL OF these figures came into dent to keep his corporate donors happy and Socialist Party or one of its affiliates during ensure his re-election. one of the party’s most regressive and divi- Despite their frequent tactical errors and sive periods. political setbacks, the neocons represent the In 1958, the Socialist Party merged with most calculated and determined political the Independent Socialist League, a current we have seen on the American “Trotskyist” group led by Max Shachtman. Right since the time of Kissinger, albeit far Not long beforehand, Schachtman, a more dangerous. former “Trotskyist” himself, had drastically What is most surprising, although not shifted his viewpoint on Communist move- most shocking, about the philosophy of neo- ments around the world, acquiring a “Third conservatism is its origins. The first genera- Camp” ideology of equal opposition to both tion of neocons has their roots not in the American capitalism and (“foreign”) “Com- older waves of American conservatism, but munism.” in the opposite movement to the one the Bent on using the ISL merger to take name of their philosophy would suggest. control of the Socialist Party, Shachtman Those who now lead the American New advocated what was often referred to as “re- Right began on the American Old Left. alignment strategy,” in which socialists Many of the most powerful and promi- should attempt to realign with and subse- nent neocons today began their political ca- quently transform the Democratic Party Neocon Rogue’s Gallery (from top to bottom, reers in the Socialist Party, Socialist Party while concealing their socialist identities. left to right): Max Shachtman; Jeanne youth branch: the Young Peoples Socialist As both support and resistance toward Kirkpatrick; Paul Wolfowitz; Richard Perle; League, and Socialist Party splinter group, realignment strategy in the Socialist Party Elliot Abrams; William Kristol; Linda Chavez; Social Democrats USA. increased, Shachtman’s philosophical and Carl Gershman. Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 5 programmatic drift to the rightwing fol- lowed. Shachtman revised his previous “Third Camp” ideology to a new perspective that American capitalism was incomparably su- perior to “Communism” and should be sup- ported accordingly. By 1972, Shachtman and his supporters had gained a majority in the Socialist Party and consequently blocked a resolution op- posing the Vietnam War. Soon after, the Shachtmanites launched Social Democrats USA as a new organization to further his strategy of realignment. Among Shachtman’s most ardent sup- porters were the young Socialist Party and SDUSA members who would shape the fu- Among friends: Leo Strauss (top) and Martin Heidegger were prominent supporters of the ture of the neoconservative ideology. German Nazis before going on to become the philosophical leaders of the neoconservatives. Bypassing the New Left movement alto- Heidegger regularly held parties where he invited prominent Nazis to socialize and meet. gether and trading their Old Left revolu- tionary zeal for placatory liberalism, many ing Kristol that led the former Shachtman- erences his teacher only once, was a source of the young future neocons were attracted ite bloc of neocons to become ideologically of regular outcry in the early nineties due to the arch-Zionist and Cold Warrior Dem- linked with other, now-prominent Strauss- to its influential role in censorship policies ocratic Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson, ian adherents: Attorney General John Ash- and restrictions on academic freedom. whose hawkish views made pivotal contri- croft, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Th- butions to the neocons’ perspective. omas, Office of National Drug Control Pol- ALTHOUGH ANY remnants of socialist Crediting Jackson alone, however, for icy Director William J. Bennett and former principles among today’s leading neocons bridging the gap between the neocons post- Vice-President Dan Quayle. have diminished entirely, what they have Schachtmanite liberalism and the philoso- Straussian influence today has not only retained from their “Trotskyist” backgrounds phy they subscribe to today would be a grave developed a chokehold on the White is the underlying Marxian philosophy of inaccuracy without noting the crucial in- House, State Department, Justice Depart- dialectical and historical materialism — fluence on nearly all neocons from a Uni- ment and the Pentagon, but has also per- viewing class as the predominant factor in versity of Chicago professor by the name of meated through educational institutions politics and economics, and the class strug- Leo Strauss. with an increasing level of influence over gle as the predominant basis of history. modern-day academics. What the Straussian influence has result- STRAUSS WAS KNOWN for his philoso- Neocons represent the only major seg- ed in, however, is a fundamental inverse in phy based on the “politics of deception,” ment of contemporary conservatism of Marxian principle — i.e., no longer view- primarily influenced by the philosophies of which the vast majority of its adherents have ing class struggle from the perspective of the Niccolo Machiavelli, Friedrich Nietzsche, post-graduate degrees. working class, but rather from the viewpoint existentialist and Nazi philosopher Martin The website Straussian.Net lists over 200 of the bourgeoisie. Heidegger, and Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. professors in universities across the United It is this very reason that we hear such The chief tenants of Straussian philoso- States that it claims subscribe to the phi- unprecedented comments in the media from phy are aggressive nationalism, the absence losophy of Leo Strauss. the Bush regime such as casually dismissing of moral truth, intensive secrecy and “per- Straussian and neoconservative profes- critical responses to Bush’s tax cuts as at- petual deception” between rulers and the sors have had most success in political sci- tempts at “class-war.” ruled, appeals to religion as a means of con- ence departments, in which they are com- For those familiar with the Marxian and trolling the masses, and support for an aris- ing increasingly close to making the disci- “Trotskyist” view of capitalism’s progression, tocratic elite. pline their own, as Marxists have accom- it need not be stated that such an inverse According to Straussian analyst and plished to some extent with sociology and approach to Marxian philosophy by those University of Calgary political science pro- right-libertarians have accomplished with in power would result in a refined and de- fessor Shadia Drury, Strauss believed that economics. veloped approach to imperialism based on “those who are fit to rule are those who re- Much of Straussian influence among an awareness of the near inevitability of alize there is no morality and there is only modern day academics during the past de- capitalism’s eventual collapse. one natural right — the right of the superi- cade can be attributed to the best-selling Not only would such a form of imperial- or to rule over the inferior.” book, The Closing of the American Mind, writ- ism be more overt than imperialistic endeav- It was the influence of Leo Strauss com- ten by Straussian disciple Allan Bloom in ors in the past century, it would contain a bined with other pre-neoconservative 1988. more holistic understanding of the histori- thinkers such as Norman Podhoretz and Irv- The book, in which Bloom directly ref- continued on page 10 6 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST TheThe anointedanointed oneone The political significance of John Kerry

By L. MEYERS erything it could to make sure he won the nomination? The Michigan Socialist Kerry first came to public attention in BARRING SOME major catastrophe, it is the early 1970s, when he became a leading obvious that the Democratic candidate for SURVIVOR voice for antiwar veterans of the Vietnam president will be Senator John Kerry of Mas- THE 2004 ELECTION War. sachusetts. As a founding member of Vietnam Vet- When the race for the Democratic nom- erans Against the War, Kerry was featured ination began, Kerry was seen as someone at rallies and demonstrations calling for the with little chance of winning. in the 2004 election. unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. forces Indeed, until the Iowa caucuses in Janu- That line tapped into a more generalized from Southeast Asia. ary, it looked like the junior senator was sentiment among many Americans, regard- But this is only one part of Kerry’s histo- ready to pack up and go home. less of political affiliation. ry — a side he has all but repudiated re- But then, something happened. Coupled with the DLC-contrived “Any- cently. To know the real John Kerry, it is As the situation in Iraq began to worsen body But Bush” movement among Demo- necessary to look at what happened before for the American ruling class, millions of cratic activists, the tide began to shift. and after this period in his life. angry citizens began flocking to the per- The anger and resentment (and fear!) John Kerry is, quite literally, a child of ceived “outsider” candidates in the race — millions of Americans feel toward the Bush the capitalist machine. specifically former Governor Howard Dean regime, combined with a media smear job His father, Richard Kerry, was a longtime and retired General Wesley Clark. on “unacceptable” Democratic candidates, government operative, working for the State The capitalists watched in worried fasci- tipped the scales back in favor of the DLC Department in Europe during the post- nation at the grassroots network built by and its stable of candidates. WWII years under the tutelage of such icons Dean’s populist movement. The end of Iowa caucuses saw Kerry as in the capitalist foreign policy milieu as They really began sweating when Dean the “comeback kid” (a line made famous by George Kennan and George Ball. increasingly took an antiwar line. another DLC creature, Bill Clinton). John Kerry grew up for the most part in Meanwhile, the more “hawkish” candi- By “Super Tuesday,” it was already clear European boarding schools, and later at- dates — senators Joe Lieberman and John that he would go into the 2004 Democratic tended Yale University. Edwards — were languishing in the polls. National Convention with the majority of During his time at Yale, Kerry was a mem- Something had to be done to offset the suc- delegates. ber of both the Young Democrats (in his cess of the “outsiders.” The job is done. Kerry is the Democratic freshman year) and Young Republicans (in Enter John Kerry ... and the ruling fac- nominee. But what does this mean for the his senior year). tion of the Democrats, the Democratic election? He was also a member of the secret, tight- Leadership Council. More importantly, what does Kerry’s se- knit fraternity known as “Skull and Bones.” Together with their friends in the media lection mean for working people looking for One of Kerry’s more famous fraternity industry, the DLC began spinning the line an end to the Bush regime? “brothers” is George W. Bush, his alleged that Kerry was the most “electable” candi- opponent in the November election. date. THE BEST PLACE to start in answering After graduating from Yale, Kerry vol- That is, he was the one who could defeat those questions is with Kerry himself. Who unteered to command a Navy Swift Boat in George W. Bush and his Republican regime is he? Why did the DLC leadership do ev- Vietnam and earned a number of medals and

Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 7 feature decorations for his service, including three affecting the outcome of the presidential thought began to draw ever closer. What Purple Hearts for being wounded in com- election, Kerry chose to not support his col- Bush then called “a difference of opinion, bat. leagues from the House who were calling not principle” is now even less than that. When he returned home, Kerry, at the for a Congressional review. Today, the differences between Bush and urging of his father, became an outspoken After the events of September 11, 2001, Kerry are mere matters of method — the critic of the Vietnam War. Kerry — following the lead of the capitalist means to reach shared goals. As a leader of VVAW, he addressed a class — moved increasingly to the right, This is a reflection of the developing Congressional hearing about the conditions voting for the USA-PATRIOT Act, the consensus among the capitalist class that of soldiers in the region. Dept. of Homeland Security and the reso- they can no longer go on governing in the After the end of the Vietnam antiwar lution authorizing the invasion of Iraq. old, formally democratic way. movement, Kerry graduated from law school and became a district attorney. THE DEVELOPMENT of John Kerry close- ON MATTERS OF international policy, In 1982, he was elected Lieutenant Gov- ly parallels that of a key section of the mid- Bush and Kerry are virtually indistinguish- ernor of Massachusetts; two years later, Ker- dle class, which entered into the New Left able. The differences that one attempts to ry was elected to the U.S. Senate. and now resides in the New Right. see between them are either “spin” or illu- Kerry could quite rightly be described as Like many, Kerry participated in the rel- sion. one of the first neoliberals to be elected to atively moderate wing of the antiwar move- For example, supporters are quick to Congress. ment. After the ebb in political struggle that point out that Kerry is openly calling for a During his 16 years in the Senate, Kerry took place in the 1970s, he, like so many “multilateral” occupation of Iraq, via the was well known for breaking with his party others, made peace with capitalism and en- United Nations, as opposed to Bush’s rela- caucus and voting with Republicans on a tered the Democratic Party. tively unilateral stance. number of issues. At this point, his class background and However, this ignores the fact that the Kerry was one of the first to embrace the relative closeness to the state apparatus be- Bush regime has been negotiating a new UN DLC/“New Democrat” agenda of fiscal con- gan moving him closer and closer political- Security Council resolution that would pro- servatism and “welfare reform,” foreshadow- ly to the views of a section of the ruling class vide for precisely the kind of “multilateral- ing the Clinton years. looking for a way out of the stalemate be- ism” that Kerry advocates — including the During the 1990s, Kerry voted for a num- tween the U.S. and the former Soviet continued presence of U.S. occupation ber of bills aimed at destroying the social Union. troops. safety net, strengthening the prison indus- Even while Kerry was visiting Sandinis- On the situation in Israel/Palestine, both try and eroding public education. ta government officials in Nicaragua and Kerry and Bush have lent their support for In January 2001, when Congress had the being critical of then-President Reagan’s Ariel Sharon’s “disengagement” and illegal ability to place the systematic disenfran- imperialist adventure in Latin America, he land grab in the West Bank, which will cut chisement of African American voters in was favoring measures that would accom- in half the territory of the bantustan “Pal- Florida under the microscope, potentially plish the same ends that the Republicans estinian Authority” and leave Israel in pos- sought — albeit with different means. session of all vital natural resources in the After the collapse of the Soviet Union region. and the end of the Cold War, Kerry became Both Bush and Kerry have supported the one of the more outspoken “New Demo- ongoing attempts by Venezuelan capitalists crats,” acting as a solid supporter of Clin- to overthrow the democratically-elected ton’s DLC-approved agenda of “ending wel- Bolivarian government of Hugo Chavez. fare as we know it,” expanding the death As well, Kerry supported the U.S.-im- penalty and restricting democratic rights. posed “regime change” in Haiti last Febru- This development as a neoliberal was a ary. parallel to what many saw in the rise of the It is only in regards to relations with the neoconservative movement, which took European Union where any divergence be- place at the same time (see article, page 5). tween Bush and Kerry can be seen. Kerry is As the neoconservatives won control of not as bellicose toward Europe as Bush has the Republican Party in the late 1980s and been; but that seems to have more to do early 1990s, so too did the neoliberals — with Kerry’s upbringing than anything re- sometimes in alliance with old conservatives lated to policy. who defected — take over the Democratic Domestically, there has also been a grow- Party, edging the old liberal/social-demo- ing convergence between Bush and Kerry. Not a representative, but a member: John cratic alliance out of leadership. Both of them strongly support the use of Kerry with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, heir- As the 21st century opened, these two tax cuts for the rich — billed as being for ess to the Heinz Co. fortune. central currents of capitalist political the “middle class” — and the shifting of the

8 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST be honored). ful, and those scared or angry at the Bush regime, but it does nothing to affect the SO WHERE DOES all of this leave us, the underlying cause — capitalism. American voter? To put it another way: this country’s The two major candidates are virtually present belligerence toward the rest of the identical in their political positions. While world does not reflect the views of some the tone and form may differ, the fact and “evil” occupants of the White House and content remains frighteningly the same. Congress; it reflects the nature of capital- The only real motivation the people ism and its desire to exploit the world. have to vote for John Kerry is the fact that he is not George W. Bush. THIS IS WHY THE Socialist Party choos- However, on all the issues that are most es to run its own candidates, on its own anti- Who is John Kerry? According to his Yale important to people — especially working capitalist platform, in elections. Yearbook, he’s a former Young Republican. people — at this time, they are almost in- We seek to offer a voice for those who Go figure. distinguishable. are locked out of the two-party system, and tax burden on to the backs of working peo- This brings us back to the ugly truth be- wish to see a better world emerge from the ple. hind the concept of “Anybody But Bush.” wreckage we call our modern society. Both of them support the extension of The reality is that, as long as the capital- After all, why should working people, the USA-PATRIOT Act, which has system- ists have a tight grip on the political sys- who make up nearly two-thirds of the U.S. atically stripped American citizens of their tem, it will be their desires that are fulfilled population, be coerced into continuously democratic rights, and the Dept. of Home- — their interests that are represented. electing members of the capitalist class land Security. The reason that U.S. soldiers are occu- (which is less than 5 percent of the popula- One area where Kerry makes Bush seem pying Iraq today is not simply because of tion) and its agents? more “moderate” is on the question of man- Bush, Cheney or even the Project for the This November, we are being offered the datory service — the draft. Kerry has open- New American Century. chance to vote for either a billionaire capi- ly supported mandatory service, while Bush Rather, they are acting in the interests talist or a billionaire capitalist — a pro-war, has remained relatively silent. of the capitalists, and cannot do otherwise. pro-occupation hawk or a pro-war, pro-oc- Two major areas where Kerry supporters Should Kerry be selected to be president cupation hawk — a sneering opponent of like to point out that their candidate is dif- in November, he too will maintain troops democratic rights or a smirking opponent ferent from Bush are on the issues of abor- overseas, invade and occupy relatively de- of democratic rights. tion rights and federal judges. fenseless countries, suppress democratic Because of this, many people will “vote On abortion, Kerry says he is pro-choice. rights at home and wage his own “class war- with their feet” and stay home, feeling that However, on those issues where anti-choice fare” against working people. no real choice is being offered. forces have been staging their struggle to “Anybody But Bush” may be a good slo- But, there is another way. There is an- eliminate a woman’s right, he has generally gan to use for rallying the Democratic faith- other option. sided with them — in spirit, if not in fact. For example, when the Senate voted on the so-called “partial birth abortion” ban in 2003, Kerry skipped the vote and then later stated that his only opposition was that it did not allow for exceptions in the case of Birds of a feather...: the woman’s life being in danger. John Kerry and Sen. Kerry has gone on record saying he will Joe Lieberman only appoint federal judges. However, un- campaign together in less he has a Democratic Senate, the chances Florida. Kerry’s open of him making good on his word is slim. embrace of the One of the major issues so far this year capitalists’ agenda of has been the question of gay marriage. endless war and Both Bush and Kerry oppose extending repression, which the rights guaranteed under the Fourteenth Lieberman cam- Amendment to the Constitution to same- paigned on during sex couples. the primaries, has Unlike Bush, but like many Republicans strengthened the in Congress, Kerry does support civil unions bond between them. (which hold no weight and may or may not

Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 9 ical insurrection. itary strength is flexed and unleashed with- Neocons Such a strategy was exemplified by the out regard. compelling need to go to war with Iraq. Cheney’s frequent proclamations that continued from page 6 Not only does Iraq sit in the heart of the the “War on Terror” will continue indefi- cal climate surrounding the exploitation of only region of the world that the United nitely across generations is an inversion of the world’s population and resources in pur- States has not been relatively successful in Leon Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolu- suit of profit, as well as the revolutionary controlling through economic institutions tion into a well-derived theory of perma- and international potential of the working- such as the WTO, IMF, and World Bank, it nent imperialism and inexhaustible nation- class to resist. will also likely grant the United States the alism. In organizational form, the neocons The internationalist perspective from the ability to control the oil markets of its cap- of today are best represented by the right- neocons’ Marxian and “Trotskyist” influence italist former allies in Europe who are sub- wing think tank, Project for the New Amer- coupled with the nationalist perspective stantially more dependent than the U.S. on ican Century. from their Straussian influence provides a Middle Eastern oil. PNAC, currently chaired by the son of rather interesting and paradoxical combi- former Young People’s Socialist League nation within their viewpoint. BUILDING UPON THE models set by member Irving Kristol, was founded in 1997 Understanding the potential revolution- former presidents Ronald Reagan and by such prominent neocons as Abrams, Ben- ary response to unprecedented levels of im- George H.W. Bush, the neocons aim to ful- nett, Podhoretz, Quayle and Wolfowitz, as perialism by an internationally unified work- ly establish a unipolar world in which the well as Vice President Dick Cheney, former ing class and the setbacks in potential gains U.S. has military superiority over, not only presidential candidate Steve Forbes, Secre- that a paralleled international unification every other country, but all other countries tary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and of the ruling class would cause, the neocons combined. George W. Bush’s brother, Jeb Bush. have determined that the most appropriate The 1991 and 2003 invasions of Iraq The stated mission of PNAC is “Ameri- response is to move rapidly forward in con- have been used as cases in point for a world can global leadership [read: domination].” trolling the markets of other wealthy capi- in which other countries have no choice but The front of their webpage, which dis- talist countries in addition to those in poorer to either give the green light to the U.S. for plays a map of the world allowing the view- countries. all of its military pursuits while pretending er to click on any region to see PNAC’s plan Through this strategy, their gains are no that a semblance of international law still for it, also links to PNAC’s statement of longer solely economic, but also political, exists or to challenge the U.S. politically principles, a document calling for massive serving as a centralized shield against polit- and later pay the consequences as U.S. mil- increases in defense spending and a foreign policy based on American leadership and interests abroad. March for Women’s Lives The organization receives much of its funding from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, a foundation established under the principle of absolute employers’ control, after the business of its founders was forced to recognize unions, hire African Ameri- cans, and pay its female employees as much as it paid to males. With over half a billion in assets, it is arguably the most powerful rightwing foundation in the country. PNAC received some media attention after the Iraq War when it was discovered that the organization sent an openly pub- lished letter to Bill Clinton in 1997 calling On April 25, 2004, well over 1 million for the invasion of Iraq and citing Saddam supporters of a woman’s right to Hussein being a significant threat to the choose assembled on the Mall (left) in world’s supply of oil as a justification. Washington, D.C., for the annual PNAC’s most telling documents can be March for Women’s Lives. Many came found on its “Publications and Reports” to Washington to tell the Bush regime page, in particular its document titled “Re- that a woman’s right to have an building America’s Defenses,” which has abortion will be defended and often been perceived to be a blueprint for protected. Members of the Socialist the foreign policy of the Bush regime. Party USA (above, inset) participated The document, published in September in the March, under the banner slogan 2000, calls for fighting and decisively win- “Pro-Choice and Anti-Capitalist.” ning simultaneous theater wars around the world, states that increasing U.S. forces in 10 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST the Gulf transcends the issue of the Sadd- perialism is essential for expanding to new Century, called the Progressive Policy In- am Hussein regime (which serves only as markets and maximizing profits. stitute, an official DLC-sponsored think- an immediate justification for doing so), This crisis is not a result of the capitalist tank advocating the establishment of a calls for complete control of space and cy- system’s miscalculated errors, but rather its “third way” that embraces the “new econo- berspace, calls for the establishment of a natural development. This new wave of im- my” and moves beyond the “left-right de- world-wide command and control system for perialism is also a response to the collapse bate.” ballistic missiles, and says that this “process of the Soviet Union, a once great impedi- While sharing a more subtle contempt of transformation … is likely to be a long ment to U.S. unipoliarity. for workers’ rights in the domestic sphere, one, absent some catastrophic and cata- The Democratic Party does not remain the PPI fundamentally differs from PNAC lyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor.” unaffected by this stage of capitalism. Dem- by advocating a more multilateral approach From the parts of this document that ocratic presidential front runner John Ker- to imperialism, an approach in which the have already been accomplished by the Bush ry, a supporter of the U.S. occupation of Iraq United States cooperates with rather than regime since its publication, it is very clear who also voted for many of Bush’s most subverts its Great Power capitalist allies. that September 11, 2001, was that cata- loathsome proposals including both wars The un-televised debate between the strophic and catalyzing event. and the USA-PATRIOT Act, is a member “New Democratic” and neoconservative The extent to which political setbacks of the “New Democrats,” formally known segments of the ruling class this election year and world-wide resistance to Bush’s wars will as the Democratic Leadership Council will primarily surround the issue of the ex- stall this “process of transformation” remains (DLC). tent and current method to which we en- to be seen. The “New Democrats” represent a simi- gage in the “process of transformation” that lar faction in the Democratic Party to Tony PNAC has laid out. DESPITE THE DEGREE of danger that the Blair’s “New Labour” faction in the British It will be a debate over how much to stall neocons present to the world, to believe that Labour Party. The temporal proximity of this process and the degree to which older simply voting the neocons out of office and these two movements across national methods of conquest both at home and replacing them with Democrats is a fatal boundaries is no coincidence. abroad will be used in relation to newer mistake. Both represent historically mainstream ones. The neocons have not risen to power liberal parties moving in accordance with Regardless of which faction wins the from their level of political savvy, but rath- worldwide political and economic change White House in 2004, it is only workers’ er from material conditions that capitalism and embracing a rightward, more anti-la- internationalism and the transformation has created in the world. bor and pro-military-interventionist shift. from capitalism to democratic socialism that The neocons represent a level of crisis The DLC has established its own equiv- can permanently resist this process. in the profit system in which intensified im- alent to the Project for the New American The stakes only get higher with time.

have watched the destruction of an entire will be before Bush’s proclamation that “all Iraq people for the benefit of corporate donors necessary force” will be used to suppress the to Bush and his Republican Party. national liberation struggle leads to the use continued from page 4 The combined power and influence of of nuclear weapons. W. Bush. He regards (again, quite correct- the government, media and ruling class have For working people still caught in the ly) the people of the United States and the sought to either win over or silence Ameri- grips of war propaganda and patriotism, the people of Iraq to be “brothers [and sisters].” cans into supporting the war. main concern seems to be how best to “save This is a far cry from the reactionary re- However, these efforts have only partially face.” That is, they are concerned about how ligious fundamentalism commonly associ- worked; mass antiwar demonstrations still to best end this situation without opening ated with al-Qa’ida and similar groups, occur with regularity, involving tens of thou- the people of this country to another attack which see no difference between the peo- sands of people. on the scale of what happened on Septem- ple and the government of a given country. As a result, the capitalists have to spend ber 11, 2001. Such a distinction not only displays a more time dealing with the domestic situa- While it is understandable that most kind of nuance and sophistication that is tion (i.e., the antiwar movement), instead people do not want to see another wanton notably absent from the proclamations of of securing their interests in Iraq (which attack on innocent civilians, most of whom the capitalist politicians in Washington, it includes brutally and violently suppressing really do not support the program of end- also reflects an often-ignored reality within the anti-occupation movement). less wars of conquest, the fact is that such the U.S. itself. Many of them thought that the victory “vulnerability” exists now because of the of John Kerry in the race for the Democrat- government’s agenda of war and repression. FOR THE LAST 12 months, the people of ic nomination would be enough to keep The continued occupation of Iraq and this country have sat in shocked silence as those who dissent in line (see article, page Afghanistan, combined with uncritical sup- the Bush regime has devastated one of the 6). However, with the outbreak of the na- port for the policies of the State of Israel in oldest civilizations on earth. tional liberation struggle in Iraq, the situa- Occupied Palestine and a continued pres- From the “shock and awe” attacks of the tion has once again went “out of control” of ence on Muslim “holy lands,” have been and early days to the violent suppression of pro- the ruling class. continue to be the impetus for such attacks. tests and torturing of innocent civilians, we There is now open talk of how long it In other words: until the United States Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 11 gles against the Ottomans and British, and continuing through the guerrilla struggles against the Ba’athists and now the “Coali- tion” occupiers, the people of Iraq — espe- cially working people — have fought for freedom and self-determination. However, in the vacuum of power creat- ed by the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Broken: The religious figures like al-Sadr have been able charred remains to come forward and be political leaders. of a U.S. CH-53 The Iraqi people deserve better leaders. Sea Stallion They deserve a leadership that best reflects helicopter outside the traditions of secularism and democracy of Fallujah, Iraq. that have defined the people of Iraq over the years. While al-Sadr is certainly a sight government ceases its role as imperialist We cannot reconcile our determined better than many other politically active superpower, the risk of another Sept. 11- desire for a peaceful solution to the conflict religious leaders, he stands on a political style attack hangs over the heads of all in Iraq with acceptance of the continued platform that is at odds with the desires of Americans. occupation, and we cannot expect that such the Iraqi people. continuance would ever lead to a peaceful The only advice we can give our broth- IT HAS BECOME clear that the only way solution. ers and sisters in Iraq is to come together the current war of national liberation could On the contrary, the continued occupa- and build the organizations and bodies that be successfully suppressed by the United tion — to say nothing of its military victory can effectively and democratically govern States is for the Bush regime to commit to over the forces of national liberation — the country. nothing short of genocide as its agenda. would mean years and years more bloodshed The best place to start with such work is As long as the occupation continues in and violence visited upon the Iraqi people among the many independent trade unions, its current form, the protracted conflict will (and, in turn, on the American people). organizations of the unemployed and, where continue to draw more and more Iraqis to they exist, the democratically elected work- the side of al-Sadr and the al-Mahdi. AT THE SAME TIME, while we Socialists ers’ councils. Only immediate withdrawal of all occu- stand in solidarity with our brothers and sis- These bodies, still in many ways in their piers or the brutal suppression of the Iraqi ters in Iraq, by working and organizing for embryonic stages, can serve as the basis for people can change that. the immediate withdrawal of all occupation a new democratic republic and new society Certainly, the unconditional, immediate forces, we give no measure of support to al- in Iraq that is representative of the majori- withdrawal of all occupation forces from Iraq Sadr’s religious movement. ty of the people. would be a stinging defeat for the Bush re- Iraq has a long and proud history of sec- It will be on the basis of such democratic gime and American imperialism in general. ularism and democracy. Throughout the assemblies and organizations of working However, the fact is that such a defeat is 20th century, the Iraqi people have contin- people that a genuinely democratic (and fundamentally more desirable than either ually fought to secure peace and freedom in socialist) solution can be created — a solu- continued occupation or the massacre of the their country. tion that can open the door to a better world Iraqi people — both of which will only lead Beginning with the anti-colonial strug- for all humanity. to the loss of more innocent lives. Anti-imperialist Socialists work for this motive was the oil and a new U.S. hegemo- kind of defeat, actively organizing and mo- Activist ny in the Middle East. bilizing people to demand the uncondition- American-owned businesses such as Hal- al, immediate removal of all occupation continued from page 3 liburton and Bechtel are in Iraq in a pre- forces from Iraq. Reiterating this, longtime Grand Rapids- planned rebuilding effort, and will become As part of this work, Socialists also point area activist Jeff Smith said, “we have no some of the major profiteers from a ques- out that the only way to avoid this kind of history of doing anything that could be tionable war. bloody mess from happening again — the deemed violent or a threat to anybody.” While ignoring the lack of a presence in only way to secure real peace — is to trans- Most of the antiwar demonstrators know Iraq of the authors of Sept. 11, Bush had form the specific movement against war and the history and motives of past interven- reoriented the focus to Iraq. What was his imperialism into a general movement tions: Iran (1953, oil); Guatemala (1954, motivation? against capitalism and class rule. United Fruit); Indonesia (1965, oil); Chile Bush’s Iraq war is clearly evolving into In a conflict such as we see in Iraq today, (1973, ITT Corp. and copper); and, the past his Vietnam as we continue to send more where the people have armed themselves coup shifts from democracies to dictator- troops and the body bags continue to re- and are actively fighting against a foreign ships. turn to the U.S., in what has become the occupier, our sympathies and support are While Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was cer- incorrect motivation of a “profits-before- with the people. tainly no democracy, many believe Bush’s people” foreign policy. 12 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST “[It is not possible to find someone] more foolish than you [Bush], who deals with matters by force rather than with wisdom.... Kerry will kill our nation while it sleeps because he and the Democrats have the cunning to embellish blasphemy and present it to the Arab and Muslim nation as civilization. Because of this we desire you to be elected.” — Open letter from al-Qa’ida to George W. Bush, March 16, 2004

Thanks to the policies enacted by the Bush Administration, my business has experienced unprecedented growth. I have expanded into new markets, diversified my capabilities and created thousands of new jobs. George W. Bush made me everything that I am today, and I am eternally grateful to him for that. That is why I support President Bush in his bid for re-election.

I Endorse GEORGE W. B USH President of the United States Authorized and Paid for by Qa’idaPAC, c/o Dick Cheney, Undisclosed Location, USA

This message brought to you by the staff of the Michigan Socialist Parody ad. Not to be taken seriously. However, the quote from the al-Qa’ida letter is real, and, yes, they do want Bush to be in the White House for four more years. Food for thought.

Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 13 Budget continued from page 16 In addition, Kilpatrick proposes to “spin off” (i.e., privatize) the City’s Housing De- partment and to mortgage the City through the selling of municipal bonds. Kilpatrick shed a few crocodile tears for the workers he chose to condemn to star- vation, but made it clear that he plans to make the working people of the City pay for the bosses’ mistakes. City workers who protested outside of the Coleman Young Municipal Building during Kilpatrick’s presentation were not fooled. “It sounds as though the mayor is taking it out on the worker ants,” said Dora Jen- nings, a DDOT mechanic with 18 years se- niority. “We work very hard for the City because we are the City.” Detroit City workers protest Mayor Kilpatrick’s proposed budget, which will mean hundreds of laid off transit and maintenance workers. IT SHOULD COME as no surprise that Kilpatrick has decided to make workers pay ing-class neighborhoods — and just in time was infamous for his “bipartisanship” — that for his (and his masters’) mistakes. for the federal government to take it over. is, his collaboration with, and capitulation One of the main reasons he was chosen Working in conjunction with the racist to, outstate Republican politicians and their by the ruling class to be its mayor in the suburban media, Kilpatrick also engaged in rightwing agenda. first place was because he was perfectly will- a number of high-profile stunts aimed at This “bipartisanship” reached its high- ing to wage war against the working people “sending a message” to City workers: stand est point when Kilpatrick sided with the of the City. up to me and you’ll be fired. Republicans to strip Detroit residents of Almost immediately after entering office His proposed budget is little more than their right to vote and elect members of the in January 2003, Kilpatrick demanded re- an extension of this anti-union record. Detroit Board of Education. negotiation of all City contracts, with an In fact, all of what Kilpatrick does now (Kilpatrick even tried more recently to eye toward imposing massive layoffs and as Mayor of Detroit was fashioned when he keep Detroiters from getting back their right cutbacks. was a leading member of the State House of to vote by trying to push through legisla- He reorganized the Detroit Police Dept. Representatives. tion in Lansing to declare him dictator over in order to stage a “show of force” in work- During his time in Lansing, Kilpatrick the school district. See “Dictatorship 101,”

unique perspective to the Board of Trust- victory for working people in Oakland Williams ees,” says Williams. “I want to build my can- County. didacy around the needs and concerns of For the first time, workers and students continued from page 16 the people who attend Oakland Commu- will have one of their own sitting on the Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham. Within nity College and maintain its operations on main decision-making body for the college a 15-minute drive, you can go from the a day-to-day basis.” — someone who understands what it means heights of wealth and power to the depths Among the elements of Williams’ plat- to balance work and school while trying to of poverty and ruin. form are demands to provide year-round make ends meet. The County government, like most plac- childcare for students, additional online Since the overwhelming majority of es in Michigan and the U.S., is dominated courses for working students, greater partic- those who attend OCC are workers, or the by representatives or members of the capi- ipation by workers and students in the de- children of workers, Williams’ election as talist class, as are all boards and local offic- cision-making process, and eliminating the an OCC Trustee would mean their concerns es. This fact alone makes Williams’ cam- criminal background check for students ap- would not simply be ignored or dismissed. paign significant. plying to the nursing program. The OCC Board election is June 14, and Of the nine people seeking the three In addition, Williams has committed we encourage all our readers in Oakland spots on the OCC Board of Trustees, Will- himself to opposing any increase in tuition County to go to the polls and vote for Carl iams is the only candidate who is not a rep- or fees at OCC, declaring his support for Williams for OCC Board of Trustees. resentative or member of the capitalists. free, quality education. For more on Williams’ campaign, or to “As someone who both works at and at- Williams’ election to the OCC Board of help out, check out his website at www. tends OCC as a student, I feel I can bring a Trustees would be a small but significant williams2004.org. 14 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST TMS, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 2004.) make up for all the budget shortfalls found There is little doubt that, as long as he is throughout the state. Election in a position to do so, Kilpatrick will use his In fact, the $6 billion saved by ending power to make the workers of Detroit re- corporate welfare in Michigan could not continued from page 16 sponsible for repairing the damage he and only fill all the budget gaps, it could also As well, Ben Burgis has declared him- his capitalist handlers create in the City. restore school funding to previous levels, self a candidate for the Board of Trustees of allow us to finance schools without the “as- Michigan State University. KWAME KILPATRICK is, without a doubt, sistance” of federal funds tied to Bush’s “No Burgis, a native of Lansing and current- the “new” face of the Michigan Democratic Child Left Behind” act, and would have ly a graduate student at Western Michigan Party — or, more accurately, the face of the enough left over to put into repairing University, has been a party machine. schools, reducing class sizes through new longtime political ac- The son of Congresswoman Carolyn hiring, etc. tivist in the Capitol Cheeks-Kilpatrick, with several relatives in area. high places in the state government, Kil- NONE OF THIS, however, is in the inter- In addition, several patrick represents the “New Democrat”/ ests of the capitalists who pull the strings in SPMI members are DLC wing of the party, made famous by Bill City and state government, or the politi- seeking nominations for Clinton and Al Gore (and Joe Lieberman, cians from both parties that administer state representative. John Kerry and John Edwards). them. In Lapeer, Sterling Ben Burgis That is, he is in fact a conservative cap- In order for the City of Detroit and the Heights and Detroit, italist politician using the party machine as State of Michigan to operate in the inter- Party members have already begun to cam- a means of gaining office in a traditionally ests of the overwhelming majority — the 7 paign as Socialist candidates for the State liberal Democratic stronghold. million-plus working people and their fam- House. Once in office, however, he willingly ilies in the state — requires a government To aid the work of the Socialist Party serves his capitalist masters, using heavy- and system that is guided by, composed of during this campaign season, the SPMI has handed bureaucratic tactics to launch at- and serving in the interests of working peo- established the Michigan Socialist Cam- tacks on working people throughout the ple. paign Committee to coordinate and assist City. This year, the Socialist Party is working candidates in their races for public office. His proposed budget is only the latest to give working people the opportunity to The MSCC is being chaired by Martin example. start building that system. Schreader, a member of the SPMI and a For the moment, it looks like Kilpatrick We are seeking to place our candidates Socialist candidate for state representative is going to have problems getting the City on the ballot for the November 2004 elec- in the Ninth District, covering northwest Council to approve the budget. The Coun- tion in order to build support for the princi- Detroit. cil has traditionally been more left leaning ples and policies of democratic socialism, Over the coming weeks and months, and social-democratic in its outlook and and for measures that put the interests of more members of the SPMI will be declar- composition. the working majority ahead of profit and ing themselves candidates, in anticipation Nevertheless, he will continue to use corporations. of the success of the Party’s petition drive. strong-arm tactics to make sure his (and his Much of the work we Socialists are do- The full slate of Socialist candidates for bosses’) agenda of unionbusting and mas- ing today is also in anticipation of local elec- the Nov. election will be finalized at the sive cuts in services goes through. tions taking place in 2005, including in the SPMI’s State Convention, scheduled for At this point, it is clear that the City, City of Detroit. July 17-18, 2004. under the leadership of the Kilpatrick, is If there is anything that the tenure of If readers are interested in helping the moving in the opposite direction that its Kwame Kilpatrick has taught the working Socialist Party of Michigan gain ballot ac- residents want. people of Detroit so far, it is that the only cess, or if you are interested in being a So- For all of his imagery as the “hip-hop way to have a City government that works cialist candidate for public office, visit the mayor” — the flashy suits and gator shoes, in our class interests is to elect our own — website of the MSCC at vote.mi-socialists. the diamond earrings and sport utility ve- i.e., working people — to the City Council org. hicles — Kilpatrick is, in the final analysis, and Mayor’s Office. little more than a shill for capitalist corpo- The Socialist Party of Michigan, work- rations that want a free hand. ing closely with its brothers and sisters in On the Internet... After all, if he really wanted to close the the Detroit Socialist Party, and other work-  budget gap in the City and state, he could ing-class and community organizations, will have called on the City Council and State actively seek to present a working people’s Michigan Socialist Campaign Committee Legislature to repeal the fat tax breaks and alternative in that election. vote.mi-socialists.org corporate welfare handed out to capitalists Our goal will be to finally give a voice to Lisa Weltman for Mich. Board of Ed. in Michigan, to the tune of over $6 billion the overwhelming majority of Detroit resi- www.weltman2004.org a year. dents, and send a message to the capitalists If the legislature in Lansing were to end that we will no longer be slaves on their Ben Burgis for MSU Board of Trustees corporate welfare, they could quite easily 21st-century “plantation.” burgisformsuboard.spmichigan.org Vol. 2, No. 3 • MAY 2004 15 socialistThe MICHIGAN MICHIGAN NEWS Kilpatrick takes aim at workers, disabled

By MARTIN SCHREADER cession. Another major factor in the budget prob- Editor, the Michigan Socialist lem is the rising cost of health care and pen- IT HAS BECOME something of a general sions for City workers and retirees. Skyrock- rule that, when capitalist politicians mis- eting health care costs have been breaking manage their affairs and run up huge defi- municipal budgets across the country. cits, working people are expected to pick Kilpatrick’s budget calls for the elimina- up the tab and clean up the mess. tion of 670 jobs, including laying off hun- Thus, it is no surprise that the budget dreds of maintenance workers at the Detroit proposal by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kil- Department of Transportation — the agen- patrick, presented to the City Council on cy responsible for the City’s bus service. April 12, once again forces workers to pay As well, he proposes to charge disabled for his — and his paymasters’ — mistakes. riders 75 cents to take the bus — a plan that Tears of a clown: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kil- The City of Detroit is facing a budget will devastate the meager fixed incomes on patrick tries to look concerned about the pos- gap of over $330 million for the coming year. which most disabled people are forced to sible layoffs and privatization. It’s not con- A large portion of this gap is due to a loss of live; currently disabled persons ride for free. vincing, is it? income tax revenues as a result of the re- continued on page 14 Socialist Party starts Carl Williams for OCC Board! 2004 campaign season IN THE MONTHS leading up the Nov. 2004 elections, there are a number of By L. MEYERS The Party has not local races that will be decided. been on the ballot here Among these is the election for the The Michigan Socialist since the 1970s, when Board of Trustees of Oakland Commu- IN THE 2004 election, working people of it ran under the banner nity College. Michigan are being given a definite choice. of the “Human Rights What separates that race from others The Socialist Party of Michigan has be- Party.” is that the working people of Oakland gun the work of placing itself on the ballot Anticipating the County have a choice in that election. for the November 2, 2004, election, and success of securing bal- Carl Williams, a student and worker members have begun to come forward to lot status, SPMI mem- Lisa Weltman at OCC, and a supporter of the Socialist be candidates. bers have already begun Party of Michigan, has entered the race On April 13, the Board of Canvassers of to campaign as Socialist candidates for var- to present a democratic socialist and the State of Michigan formally approved ious state offices. working people’s alternative to the can- the “New Party” petition submitted by the Lisa Weltman, who sought the Socialist didates of big business. SPMI, giving formal sanction to the Party Party’s nomination for president last year, Oakland County, one of the largest to collect signatures to secure its place on has declared her intention to be the So- and richest counties in Michigan, is also the ballot. cialist candidate for Michigan Board of Ed- a microcosm of class division and antag- For a new political party to be placed on ucation. onism. the ballot in Michigan they have to collect Weltman made her formal announce- Working-class cities like Pontiac at least 31,776 signatures from registered ment following the March 8 meeting of the stand beside capitalist enclaves like voters. In reality, it takes close to 50,000 Board in Lansing. continued on page 14 signatures to guarantee success. continued on page 15 16 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST