For a Labor Party, For a Worker s’ International OCTOBER 2016 Vol. 25, No. 10 SOLIDARITY PRICE: $1 CLINTON vs. TRUMP: NONE OF THE ABOVE! INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Freedom Manifesto Points Way Forward! The Time Is Now for SOUTH AFRICA: Independent Working Special Report on the Class Political Action! “Fees Must Fall” Student Strike EDITORIAL (see pp. 14-15) As we go to press, the nation — or, to put it more aptly, the dwindling number of people across the nation who bothered to tune in — was treated for a third time to the sorry spec - tacle of a “debate” (call it mud-slinging) be - tween Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Hot words about “rigged votes” and “acting as a puppet of Putin” were bandied about, with lit - tle, if any, discussion of the substantive issues facing working people. Throughout the 18-month presidential elec - tion campaign, the working class majority ex - (See Excerpts and Interview pressed its deep-seated rejection of the with Nnamdi Scott, pp. 7-10.) “Shoot Down Fees, Not Us!” traditional politicians of the twin parties of capitalism: the Democrats and Republicans. This took many forms. Inside the Democratic Party, Bernie because they wanted single-payer healthcare, cian,” which earned him a stronger following Sanders, who presented himself as an “out - a real wage increase, an end to Wall Street than most people expected. sider” (but was really an insider), was seen by hegemony over the body politic, a halt to the All the traditional G.O.P. politicians — a large number of discontented voters, prima - Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, from Jeb Bush to Jon Kasich — fell by the rily among the youth, as a means of express - and more. wayside, as a rightwing populist upsurge, fu - ing their aspirations. Within the Republican Party, Trump pre - eled by massive job losses and white-su - Fourteen million people turned to Sanders sented himself as the outsider, the “non-politi - (continued on page 3) Time For a New Party! (from a statement by the Labor Fightback Network) WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE STAND FOR The Organizer is the publication of Socialist Organizer, the U.S. fraternal section of the Fourth International. Since we began publication of The Organizer in February 1991, we have focused the newspaper on helping to ad - vance the struggle for independent politi - cal action by the working class and all the oppressed — at home and abroad. [Note : Following are brief excerpts from Philadelphia, where anti-Clinton street That focus governs all the activity of a statement by the Labor Fightback Net - marches brought together hundreds of peo - Socialist Organizer. It is the reason be - work titled, “It’s Time for a New Political ple, including Sanders delegates who had hind our persistent advocacy of a Labor Party.” ] walked out of the convention. The Demo - Party based on the trade unions and cratic National Committee did its best to With each passing year, elections in the stage-manage its convention so that those rooted in struggles of the working class United States have been increasingly in - protests were invisible, but they had lim - and all the oppressed sectors of society, a sulting of working people’s intelligence. In ited success. Labor Party that charts a clean and deci - 2016 working voters are fed up to the The largest independent electoral initia - sive break with the twin parties of the teeth, and they are unleashing their anger tive — not counting the right-wing Liber - bosses, the Democrats and Republicans. on the political elites of both major politi - tarian party — is the Green Party, whose cal parties. candidates are Dr. Jill Stein for president Consistent with this view, The In polling, both Clinton’s and Trump’s and Ajamu Baraka for vice president. Vari - Organizer is a Forum that is open to disapproval ratings exceed their approval ous polls show Green support at between all individual and currents in the ratings; Trump’s net disapproval exceeds four and eight percent, considerably higher workers’ movement seeking to build a Clinton’s. It is clear that in 2016 the voters than the support that the Green Party re - Labor Party and a Workers’ International. will be voting against a candidate rather ceived in 2012. The Organizer (ISSN 1059-2369) is than for a candidate, and the campaigns are The Green Party platform raises many reflecting the negativity, as Trump rants important issues. But what we need today published bimonthly for $16 per year by about “Crooked Hillary,” and Clinton is a political party that is based upon and The Organizer, P.O. Box 40009, counters with “Dangerous Trump.” It’s the represents the organized working class, San Fran cisco, CA 94103. Periodi cals same old political game, and American through its own organizations, the trade Postage Paid at San Francisco, Calif. working people are sick of it. unions. It is up to social-justice-minded Our website is: If there was ever an opportunity for an trade unionists to fight within the unions electoral alternative to Big Business’s twin for the perspective of such a new political www.socialistorganizer.org parties, it is staring us in the face, right party, rather than trying to use one of the You can reach us at Tel. 415-913-7428 now . big business parties in a vain attempt to or by email at: Unfortunately, the leadership of the win a few concessions. <[email protected]>. labor movement, of the African-American community and other communities of Rates: To subscribe for one year, send color, and even challenger candidate Sena - $16 to The Organizer , P.O. Box 40009, tor Bernie Sanders, have chosen the route San Francisco, CA 94140. of “defeat Trump at all costs” and are call - FOREIGN RATES: $40 per year. ing on working people to vote for Secre - tary Clinton. Published under the responsibility of Polls have indicated that while most Sanders voters will likely vote for Clinton, the Editorial Board of The Organizer the campaign activists , those who phone- Newspaper. banked, canvassed, and fund-raised for We welcome contributions from our Bernie Sanders, are not coming around to readers. Signed articles do not support Clinton in the numbers that the ecessarily reflect the positions of Democratic leaders had hoped. It was visi - ble at the Democratic convention in The Organizer . 2 The ORGANIZER - OCTOBER 2016 ... Clinton vs. Trump: None of the Above! premacist racism, came to the while more than half have supported fore. and donated generously to Clinton’s But now that’s all a thing of the campaign, particularly in recent past: Sanders has delivered on his weeks. promise to turn over his 14 mil - A Wall Street Journal survey of lion voters to the candidate sup - 45 former members of the White ported and financed by Wall House’s Council of Economic Ad - Street and Big Business: Hillary visers found not one who would en - Clinton.[1] Long forgotten is dorse Trump. All are supporting Sanders’ tirade against Wall Clinton. Street. For her part, Clinton has If anyone is still not convinced made little effort to court the that Clinton is THE candidate of Sanders voters or even voice their Wall Street in November, the re - concerns. cently released emails in the files of Meanwhile, the Trump cam - Clinton campaign chairman John paign is imploding. Podesta should put those doubts to As the election campaign rest. comes to a close, the Republican In the documents made public by Party, to quote The New York WikiLeaks — none of which has Times , is “on the verge of civil 10 issue of the New York Times by Steven Rat - been disavowed — Clinton tells a war,” with G.O.P. leaders distancing them - tner, a Wall Street executive and Times con - gathering hosted by Goldman Sachs that “as selves from Trump as fast as they can run. tributing opinion writer, “not a single chief a Senator I represented and worked with so Trump’s rating are dropping so quickly that executive of a Fortune 100 company has do - (continued on page 4) the G.O.P. leadership is now worried that their nated to Trump’s campaign or endorsed it,” party will lose its majority in the House and Senate on November 8. Trump’s tirade against Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan is no less vicious than his tirade against Hillary Clinton, expressing “A Hard Rain of Increased Trump’s growing understanding that his ship is sinking. Even his own ticket is in shambles: War Is About to Fall” While Trump warns that he may not accept the outcome of the November presidential elec - If there were even the slightest doubt because security is the primal interest of tion, his running mate, Mike Pence, has stated about the increased war drive being pre - each State, conflicts between nation that, of course, the G.O.P. will honor the re - pared by the top brass of the U.S. military, States are virtually guaranteed at some sults of the vote. with the approval of Hillary Clinton, one point. And today, today we are in the mid - This unprecedented election campaign — need only read the speech by Army Chief dle of yet another major geopolitical where a largely unknown Bernie Sanders took of Staff General Mark A. Milley on Octo - change. … the Democratic Party frontrunner almost to the ber 4, 2016. Warning that wars will be “So in short, the next 25 years are not wire and where a TV celebrity outscored all spreading across the globe, Milley threat - going to be like the last 10, and not like the Republican Party frontrunners — is a sign ened to crush militarily any nation or the last 25.