Ask Leo Gerard about contract negotiations with Caterpillar. Ask him how it’s going with: Mandatory overtime Abolishing retiree health care benefits Elimination of defined benefit pension plan for new hires Higher health care costs: More job insecurity Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (April 2013):

The USW, just like the UAW and IAM, is nothing but [...]

Well, I’m glad you’re so happy with how things stand.

They were ridiculous and totally meaningless statements to begin with, made only by habitual and perhaps paid, Obamabots and Demobots.

I absolutely agree with what you wrote, and yet, even now, Norman Solomon and the Democratic Party gatekeepers have their columns reprinted. They still assert that “Romney would have been worse,” and yet they never tell [...]

I totally agree. People tried so hard to get others on board with third party candidates, and we had to fight against column after column of failed liberals supporting the tired, old, one-dimensional “lesser of two evils” strategy. From the many comments I’ve read, those “popular” voices who had national exposure and squandered it by [...]

It’s all so predictable. In 2008 and 2012, the accusations of racism flew whenever someone legitimately criticized Obama. In 2016, accusations of sexism will cut off any criticism of Hillary, along with the ever-constant “lesser of two evils” propaganda. They’ll say women would govern with more compassion, and apply that concept to–of all people–Hillary. “We [...]

This sounds like let’s “elect more, better Dems” by “working within the Democratic Party.” We’ve been there and done that. The entire Democratic Party has proven itself to be completely corrupted, in my opinion, and there’s no going back. If we could manage to elect one or two people who want to lower themselves by [...]

This was a legitimate vote in a swing state.

A vote for a murderer is never a legitimate vote. Not in a swing state. Not when he’s running against Romney, who was neither more nor less evil than Obama.
People can salve their consciences by asserting it was legitimate, but it wasn’t.

Yes, that’ what I meant. No, I’m sorry to say I don’t have any inside information on why that would be so. Do you know of any party in the U.S. that does provide social services? I would be inclined to volunteer for such a party.

Punny indeed! You wrote:

What is clearly not working is to just run candidates on the basis of some idealistic platform, somehow thinking that the more stellar the platform, the more the public will beat down your doors, looking to support you.

I agree, and I think starting up a political party through social services may [...]

The social services model is something the Black Panther Party pioneered here stateside back in the day (called “Survival Pending Revolution”)

Successful left political parties in the Global South have sprung out of popular movements, not the reverse.

Excellent ideas, IMO. Start with social services, form a popular movement, and a political party grows from there. Time [...]

Excellent diary! Recommended.

After all that’s going on with Obama and the Democratic Party, I have to ask myself: which party is “riding the crazy train” and who are -hadists,” members of the Tea Party or the so-called Progressives? What I mean is, I don’t feel anyone has the right to any political coalition names. There’s plenty of [...]

Obama is a total fraud, but Romney was worse…

Now how can you write that? That Romney “was” worse? You don’t know what circumstances might have prevailed (whistleblowers suddenly finding their voices, the inability of Romney to carry forth Obama’s drone policy, the inability of Romney to harness enough true believers to have his back, Romney’s [...]

The story goes that some mice became very upset about the cat in the house..

But, Norman, you were one of the “Progressives” that brought the cat into the house, with your support of Obama as the lesser of two evils. When courage was needed, you and your fellow “Progressives” got together and decided Obama was [...]