[Marxism] Last-minute stab by rightist Dobson against Obama

[Fred Feldman]

On Joaquin's points, I have come to the conclusion that voting for a
bourgeois party or a coalition involving bourgeois forces is not a
PRINCIPLED question. Even aside from the many circumstances in the
semicolonial world where this is just a sectarian dead end. 

The Bolsheviks never held this principled position, to my knowledge.

Anyway, I tend to view my support for McKinney in this election as a tactic
derived from a strategy, not as a principled question. And if I was in
Joaquin's position I would feel a lot of moral qualms about NOT voting for
Obama.

Although I like to think in terms of tactics and strategy, I think our
present position kind of makes voting more a matter of conscience, and even
personal witness. This list exists in part because most of us has no
organization, and really cannot carry out electoral political action
collectively. And a lot of the discussion here is in terms of personal
witness. I understand the factors that impose this on us, although I dislike
that approach to voting.

Does voting for Obama cross class lines? To me the answer to that is  YES. I
think that is obvious.

Does that mean it is wrong from a working class or social-revolutionary
standpoint to do that in all questions. I don't think that is so. It is
determined concretely. A great deal of class-collaboration takes place every
day, and has to. Was the Soviet Union wrong to fight world war II in a
military alliance with US imperialism? No, that was a necessity of survival
-- and it was a necessary political act, not just a military one. How the
Soviet bureaucracy used that alliance against revolutionary struggles is
another question.

The fact that Truman drop atomic bombs on Japan is a fact and a crime
against humanity.

The fact that Kennedy went ahead with the US-controlled Bay of Pigs invasion
of Cuba, and later blockaded Cuba and threatened world nuclear war was also
a crime against humanity. He decided to not use US planes as air cover --
thus refusing to commit US forces at the Bay of Pigs unless the
counterrevolutionaries could win a foothold on their own -- and later
decided not to invade Cuba and to settle the conflict without world war.
These are also facts. 

I will add something else: a broad swathe of bourgeois public opinion has
reached the conclusion that McCain is less cool-headed and rational under
pressure than Obama, and that his rationality in a critical situation is
more trustworthy. That does not mean that he will not take responsibility
for or be responsible for killing lots of people. I see every reason to
believe he will. He is an imperialist candidate of an imperialist party to
rule the last world empire

But I see nothing wrong with Walter noticing the facts about what Kennedy
did, both his readiness to risk war to deal blows to Cuba and his decisions
to back off. This is one reason why the Miami mafia hate his memory so much,
and why a few of them may have done more than just hate him. Lajny has to
get used to the fact that the days when radicals could reasonably argue that
in some sense a more peaceable party than the Democrats are gone. I remember
entertaining this idea myself back in the 50s, when I was relatively
pro-Eisenhower and absolutely loathed Stevenson and the Kennedys. There may
have been an empirical basis for this idea back then, but the Republicans
are all caught up now.

I think Joaquin under the circumstances should vote his conscience, coupled
with whatever tactical and strategic considerations he uses. Arguments that
this is a vote for war and so on are empty moralizing.  We don't get to vote
on imperialist wars. No sense pretending that we do, and then beating each
other over the head about its our fault if more war happens. More war is
going to happen regardless of how we vote, including voting for McKinney and
Nader.

Our problem is that only one class contends for power in the elections --
the ruling section of the capitalist class. Everything else is
propagandistic campaigning, not contention for power. We are not in that
game yet.

I think the election of Obama is not simply a lesser evil, but an actual
step FORWARD for the people of  this country. One of the points I keep
making is that Obama does not just advocate change. Because of his
nationality, HIS ELECTION IS CHANGE AND FOR THE BETTER. And it is taking
place as part of a broader shift that is more favorable to us.

My support for McKinney and Clemente is based on estimating them as a
vanguard expression of this process.

If some comrades think that crossing class lines in a polling booth is some
mortal sin, well, I don't. But just in case, Joaquin can always go to
confession on Sunday and be absolved.

He's lucky. I would have to wait for Yom Kippur.
Fred Feldman