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

[Louis Proyect]

Fred wrote:
>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.

Lenin's writings on electoral politics, unlike the vanguardist sects 
of today, were very much engaged with the immediate tasks of the mass 
movement and not defining "principles".

This excerpt from a 1909 article on "The Last Word of Russian 
Liberalism"is fairly typical:

Inadvertently the Cadet conference has signally confirmed the tactics 
of our Party. We must survive this new historical period when the 
autocracy is trying to save itself in a new way and is plainly 
heading for bankruptcy again on this new path. We must survive this 
period, systematically, persistently, patiently working to build up a 
broader and stronger organisation of the more politically conscious 
masses of the socialist proletariat and the democratic peasantry. We 
must utilise all conditions and opportunities for Party activity at a 
time when, both the Black-Hundred Duma and the monarchy are obliged 
to take the path of partyism. We must use this time as a period for 
training fresh masses of the people, on a new basis, under new 
conditions, to wage a more vigorous revolutionary struggle for our 
old demands. The revolution and the counter-revolution have shown 
that the monarchy is quite incompatible with democracy, rule by the 
people, freedom of the people—we must carry out among the masses 
propaganda for the abolition of the monarchy, for republicanism, as 
the condition without which the people cannot be victorious, we must 
make the slogan of "down with the monarchy" as popular a "household 
word" as the slogan of "down with the autocracy" became as a result 
of the long years of persistent work by the Social-Democrats in 
1895–1904. The revolution and the counter-revolution have shown in 
practice the full power and significance of the landlord class—we 
must sow among the masses of the peasantry propaganda for the 
complete abolition of this class, the complete destruction of 
landlordism. The revolution and counter-revolution have shown in 
actual fact the true nature of the liberals and bourgeois 
intelligentsia—we must ensure that the masses of the peasantry 
clearly understand that the leadership of the liberals will ruin 
their cause, that without independent revolutionary mass struggle 
whatever the Cadet "reforms", they will inevitably remain in bondage 
to the landlord. The revolution and counter-revolution have shown us 
the alliance of autocracy and the bourgeoisie, the alliance of the 
Russian and international bourgeoisie—we must educate, rally and 
organise in three times greater numbers than in 1905 the masses of 
the proletariat, which alone, led by an independent Social-Democratic 
Party and marching hand in hand with the proletariat of the advanced 
countries, is capable of winning freedom for Russia.

full: http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1909/dec/24.htm