[Marxism] SWP Candidate for NY Att'y Gen. on how they blocked his nomination.

[Walter Lippmann]

(This article took up a full page in yesterday's edition
of the Cuban daily newspaper JUVENTUD REBELDE.)
==================================

United States 
October 27, 2006
Candidate for New York Attorney General 
reveals how they blocked his nomination.

United States

October 27, 2006

Martin Koppel, nominated for this post, is visiting Cuba and assures
that Bush is neither crazy nor independent.
By: Sahily Sosa Barceló and Luis Raúl Vázquez Muñoz. Fotos: AP
Email: corresp at jrebelde.cip.cu
October 27, 2006 20:49:16 GMT

A CubaNews translation by Ana Portela. 
Edited by Walter Lippmann
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs989.html

ORIGINAL
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2006-10-27/candidato-a-fiscal-general-de-nueva-york-revela-como-entorpecieron-su-nominacion-al-cargo/


CIEGO DE ÁVILA.- At first sight Martin Koppel looks like one of those
tourists, partially lost in strange cities.

He is six feet tall, thin and walks slowly as if rapt in thought. One
would think "Another American".

These days, this man who was once a metal worker in Chicago is
visiting central and eastern Cuba. He is with a team from Pathfinder
publishing house, presenting Our History is Still Being Written, a
book of interviews with three generations of Cubans of Chinese
descent.

Someone who knows him well calls him, "El Multioficio" [the
multi-tasker], half in jest because he takes pictures, does
journalism and even carries boxes filled with books and then plops on
a chair to write his notes.

However, behind this appearance of anonymity there is something more.
Koppel has been nominated for New York State Attorney General by the
Socialst Workers Party (SWP) of the United States. When asked: Is
there any possibility of winning?, he smiles before answering: "The
most important was that we won over the tripping of the system".

WHAT ISN'T SAID BUT IS THERE

"They say that the United States has free and democratic elections;
but they do not mention the restrictions", Koppel explains. "The game
is: I give you the opportunity in theory and limit you in practice.
Everything is designed to impose the two parties of the bourgeoisie,
the Republican and Democratic, and exclude all the rest: the most
anti-establishment and those with less resources, although they
represent the great majority.

"There are many mechanisms. In some states, just for signing up
someone, an substantial amount of money must be deposited. If you
don't have it, you lose at the starting gate. There are also the
legal technicalities. You present a candidacy and are rejected
alleging some formal problem. Then there is access to the mass media
to promote the campaign. And that is very expensive. So if you can't
pay, you are left behind. These are very quiet means of control.

"Although, what is important is to fight. We from the United States
are brave and have a sense of justice. If you convince, you have
possibilities. It is a question of time. In New York they wanted to
block us from the November elections. There they have a restricting
mechanism: you have to present 15,000 names that support your
nomination. They thought we couldn't and, in the end, we surpassed
that number. The SWP presented 30,000 signatures of support".


A WEEK OF BLACKOUTS IN QUEENS

"We proposed the socialization of the health system which is now is,
practically, a business of private institutions.

"We also call for forming new unions. Those today are weakened
because their traditional leaderships serv the bosses, not the
workers. Then, this has to change and more so since the majority of
the workers in the United States are not unionized and suffer long
working ours, cuts in benefits and can even lose the right to
retirement. For this to happen, all that is needed is that a company
declares bankruptcy, as has occurred in aviation.

"Another demand is for the de-privatization of the energy sector.
Electricity companies can take over your lives with total impunity.
There are great conflicts over the subject of electricity. A short
time ago there was a week long blackout in New York. And until now no
one has offered a valid explanation".


TWO MILLIONS WHO SHOOK THE WORLD

Manifestación de inmigrantes que portan un cartel que dice en inglés:
Nosotros somos americanos"They ask me if new demonstrations can occur
in the United States like the one of two million immigrants during
the first half of the year. I say, yes, more so when a third of the
population have no medical insurance and the working class is not
used to saving. The financial bubble bursts, what will happen to
them?

Un hombre de espalda con un pullover que dice en español y en inglés:
Apoyar, Educar, y Fortalecer la comunidad del inmigrante "Although
answers from the capitalists must be awaited, what will they be? One
is to direct the fight against terrorism at the workers. That is
already happening. When the time comes, they will use it against
strikes. With this alleged battle, the presence of the army in cities
is legalized. Before it was strange to see the National Guard in the
streets of New York and now it is becoming routine.

Manifestación de inmigrantes chinos"However, this scenario has its
own contradictions. The terrorist warning alerts are good for
neutralizing unrest and to insure longer working hours and cuts in
worker's benefits. But this exploitation pushes the workers to take
action. These demonstrations are proof. Had they waited for union
support, they never would have happened. So, the workers took the
initiative".


BUSH, THE REPUBLICAN-DEMOCRAT

"When talking of torture and the possible adoption of fascism by the
United States government, some points are often forgotten. Bush is
not independent. The Republicans can do nothing without approval of
the Democrats. There are even members of this party that are more
reactionary than Bush.

"What happens is that U.S. bourgeoisie has to compete with rivals of
other countries. But that requires a great internal control to assure
production of capital and to manage the energy reserves of the world.
It is a bi-party policy, not one of a sector, nor of one person who
can be considered crazy and much less of a political organization.

"The legalization of torture is a part of this. There is amazement in
the world; but what it is, in fact, is the legalizing of what is
normal in U.S. prisons. What was seen in Abu Ghraib and proven in the
Guantanamo Base occurred in the penal institutions of the country.
The same happens with executions. New York police go into Black
neighborhoods and act like judges, including applying the death
penalty.

"Now, I don't believe that fascism will be installed in my country.
The bourgeoisie cannot afford losing the façade of democracy. But
there is something else. The people of the United States have a long
tradition of struggle for civil rights. There was the effort to give
the Blacks the right to vote, when the Civil War was over. The same
thing happened with the feminist movement during the early 20th
century. Still remembered are the protests of the 60s. Conservatives
have always tried to take away our rights and never have been able to
do it. For one simple reason. The workers have never let them".