[Marxism] Obama-mania and the left

[Anthony Boynton]

Okay, now there really is Obama-mania. The South
Carolina primary proved that.

What does this mean for political consciousness, and
class consciousness, in the United States of America?

And what does this mean for the left, particularly the
Marxist left, in the United States of America?

In the first place Obama is almost certainly the
leading edge of a new mass movement that has been
accumulating in the United States at least since the
invasion of Iraq began.  He has accurately sensed the
mood of a very large part of the people of the United
States, and is skillfully mobilizing those people to
vote for him.

He has no intention of mobilizing any sort of mass
movement for change, but by mobilizing people to
campaign for him, and to vote for him, he is raising
their expectations that his election can really bring
about change that matters to them, and in a way that
does not rock the boat very much or harm the system.

His message of change within the system -“Change we
can relieve in” – is finely crafted to match the
consciousness of the youth, and the working class.
Obama is proud to be part of the system and to embrace
the system, he says it every time he opens his mouth
and in every piece of campaign literature.

Part of Obama’s great appeal is the fact that he is
not an outsider. He is a Democratic Party politician
not that different than the rest of them, with a
program not that different than the rest of them, and
with strong ties to, and sponsorship from, more than
one powerful group of capitalists.

Nevertheless, Obama is NOT the choice of the most
powerful factions within the Democratic Party who are
represented by the New York Times and the other
Democratic Party newspapers. Hillary Clinton is their
choice.

What’s their problem with Obama? I would bet that they
are not afraid of Obama the man, but of what will
happen when the expectations that his candidacy is
raising are not met, starting with expectations that
he will somehow stop the war in Iraq.

While Obama is not the leader of a mass movement, and
has shown zero inclination to becoming a true leader
of the masses, his candidacy is bringing together the
tinder that could be ignited into an uncontrollable
fire.

In a sense he is much more like John Kennedy than
Martin Luther King. Kennedy, for all of his Catholic
conservatism, and deep and corrupt ruling class links,
ignited the hopes of the youth of the United States
and of black America. His assassination was the real
turning point that unleashed the mass movements of the
1960’s – hopes for change within the confines of the
electoral system had been dashed and smashed. 

Of course they would have been if he had not been
killed, but the illusions of change through the
Kennedy administration would have lasted longer, and
unraveled in a different way.


There is no doubt now that illusions in, and
enthusiasm for, Obama will now continue to grow up
until the Democratic Party nomination for President is
determined, either through an accumulation of
delegates in the primary process, or by a vote at the
convention.

Whether or not Obama is nominated will be a decisive
turning point in how the new mass movement emerges.

If Obama wins the nomination, enthusiasm and illusions
in Obama will grow until the elections in November.
This is true even though he will almost certainly move
to conciliate with his defeated opponents, especially
the Clintons and their backers.

If he is not nominated, and Hillary is (or someone
else), we will have to wait and see what Obama does.
He will have two basic choices, make a deal, or not.
If he makes a deal enthusiasm for him will probably
stop growing, but will not fall. If he does not, very
unlikely in my humble opinion, then we will have a
very unpredictable situation. 

Can Obama win in November, probably against McCain? 
Almost certainly. Against any other Republican, even
more certainly.

The election of Obama will raise expectations to a
very high point. And they will not subside in the
first months of his presidency, especially if he moves
to fulfill some part of the expectations of those who
voted for him.

What happens next is anybodies guess, but the
determining factor might not be the war, it might be
the economy.

Could Obama be a repeat not of Kennedy, but of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

What does all of this mean for the left?

The left has to recognize the dynamics of what is
happening in the USA, Obama represents a shift to the
left within the bourgeois-imperialist consciousness of
the masses. That  shift is very likely to translate
into a mass movement when expectations of important
change are not met, exactly how and when this happens
is the key question for how the movement will develop,
what shape it will take, and what organizational form
it will take.

For now, the left should enter the electoral arena
with all of whatever strength it can muster, with the
message that we need change, and the Democratic Party
is not a vehicle of change. 

The best vehicle to do this is the Presidential
campaign of Cynthia McKinney.

The dividends from this work will be paid after Obama
begins to disappoint his followers, not before.

Anthony







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