Sanders has officially announced his candidacy for the presidency, and not everyone is too pleased with that. He may continue to run as an Independent Socialist or as a member of the Democratic Party. To run as a Democrat would require Sanders to become a member of the Democratic Party, which is a mere formality. The only requirements for membership are to be an American citizen, at least 18 years of age and not certifiably insane. Sanders certainly meets those requirements.
There are currently a great many people who are determined to run for president, as a member of the Democratic Party, and Sanders is not one of them. Yet Sanders is considered one of the top contenders to receive the endorsement of the Democratic Party. Even though the election is a year and a half away, not to mention that the first state primary is still a year away, the election is in ”full swing”.
Within the Democratic Party there are people who work ”behind the scenes”, and they ”call the shots”, as is the popular expression. Such people are referred to as the ”party bosses”, as is indeed the case. These people are not elected officials, and yet they determine the Party member to run for office, and lay down the law to those Party members who have been elected to office. At least, that is the way it used to be. Now the situation has changed, and quite dramatically. The registered members of both parties, the rank and file, are now standing up to the party bosses.
As a result of the revolutionary upsurge of the people, the party bosses all across the country have lost control of ”their” elected officials. This is nowhere more clear than in Washington, in the House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the Congress. The last two Speakers of the House, both Republicans, have been forced to resign, as they lost control of ”their” members, which is to say, members of the Republican Party.
The current Speaker of the House, a Democrat, is facing a similar situation, trying to keep control of ”her” members, fellow Democrats. As each member of Congress serve two year terms, such members are painfully well aware that their constituency, which is to say the voters of the district they represent, are keeping close track of the manner in which they vote, and if they vote against the wishes of their constituency, then in two years time, they will not even be able to run for re-election.
In the Senate, it is not quite so obvious, as members of the Senate serve six year terms, but they too are feeling the heat. There are only one hundred senators, with fifty three Republican Senators. Yet in a recent vote, in which Trump ordered the Senators to vote against, fifty nine senators voted for the measure. Simple math tells us that twelve Republicans ”crossed the floor”, as it is called, and voted with the Democrats. Even they are being influenced, feeling the ”pressure from below”, as they refer to the revolutionary mass movement.
This is significant, as the only way to remove a sitting president from office (of course I am referring to Trump), is by a vote of two thirds of the Senate, which is to say that sixty seven Senators would have to find him guilty of ”high crimes and misdemeanors”, as specified by the constitution. This means that a mere eight more Republican Senators are required to ”cross the floor” before Trump can be removed from office. In the unlikely event of such a removal, the Vice President would then take office. As the current Vice President could well double as a mannequin, it is likely no one would notice a vast improvement.
As a Marxist, I maintain that capitalism is the problem, not Trump and the Republicans. I have made my position quite clear in that respect, but I do not expect everyone on the Left to agree with that assessment. I do expect everyone on the Left to agree that we can all support Sanders for president. He is a socialist, and having a socialist in the White House can only be a good thing.
On the other hand, most of the ”bosses” in the Democratic Party are dead set against supporting Sanders for president. They consider that he is too far to the ”left”, and they are in favour of a more ”centrist” candidate. The mud slinging has already started, although not from the Republicans (at least not yet), but from the Democrats.
The Democratic bosses are of the opinion that the only way to defeat Trump and the Republicans in the upcoming 20-20 election is by moving to the centre. If anything, precisely the opposite is the case. The best way, if not the only way, to defeat Trump is by supporting Sanders and those who are referred to as ”Left Democrats”.
The fact is that as a result of the revolutionary movement of the working class, the country is deeply divided. Most working class people have, at least instinctively, gravitated towards socialism. Granted there are a good many working people, somewhat less advanced, who still support Trump, but even they are becoming ever more disillusioned. There is really no point in appealing to the centre, as there is no centre.
As for people on the Left who disagree with my assessment that the problem is capitalism, I can only say that I respect your belief. Even so, no doubt such people want to remove Trump from office, and replace him with Sanders, as do I. The best way to elect Sanders to the White House is to support him completely, as well as other Left Democrats. We can expect the attacks on Sanders to continue, becoming ever more frequent and intense. That man needs our support.
Let us face the fact that there are a great many people who are now ”on the Left”, so to speak, as a result of the revolutionary movement. Many such people are members of a political party, group or organization, while a great many others are not. In addition, the Left tends to be deeply divided. The right wing reactionaries have noticed this, to their great delight. In the interests of ”raining on their parade”, I am urging all members of the Left to unite in the common goal of removing Trump from office, and replacing him with Sanders.
The best way to do this, if not the only way, is to join the Democratic Party. The Democratic Socialists of America have already endorsed Sanders, and I am hoping that every member of the DSA joins the Democratic Party. In addition, I am hoping all members of the Socialist Workers Party, the American Party of Labor, the CP(USA), the CP(ML), the Green Party and various other parties and organizations on the Left, which includes the anarchists, join the Democratic Party. There are others, such as Black Lives Matter and members of the Me Too movement, smaller groups and various individuals, all of whom are disillusioned with capitalism. All together, they very likely total several million people, and if all join the Democratic Party, then the Left is sure to make a difference.
The important thing to remember is that in order to join the Democratic Party, it is not necessary to first resign from a different party. It is possible to be a member of two parties. The difference is that as a member of the Democratic Party, a member of the Left can be responsible for helping to ”change the system from within”, as the American government leaders maintain is possible. On the other hand, if as I believe, it is not possible to ”change the system from within”, then that too will be proven. Either way, the political situation will be changed, as many people on the Left, as well as a great many working people, will be convinced of the correctness of Marx.
If all people on the Left were to join the Democratic Party, then the Party would be flooded with socialists and Left people, which is to say people who are at least sympathetic to socialism. That would most certainly make a huge difference, if for no other reason than force of numbers. After all, each and every member of the Democratic Party has a vote, and the candidate to run for any particular office has to first face a primary. In that primary, the registered members of the party vote for the candidate of their choice, as best I can gather. The winner of the primary then goes on to run in the election, as a member of the Democratic Party.
Among other things, this means that every two years, all Democratic Party candidates for the House of Representatives must first receive the endorsement of their party, by a majority vote of the rank and file members of the Democratic Party, for that district. Then there is the candidates for the Senate, Governor and various state and local officials, which vary from state to state.
That brings us to the Republican Party, otherwise known as the GOP, the Grand Old Party. Contrary to popular belief, the leaders of the Republican Party are not more reactionary than the leaders of the Democratic Party. Both serve the same class, the bourgeoisie. Members of the public have been led to believe that the Democratic Party represents the middle class, the ”little guy”, while the Republican Party represents the upper class, the more successful business people. The capitalists would have us believe there is no working class, just as there is no bourgeoisie. The two party system is a method of rule, one which has worked quite well for a century and a half. Except that now the working class is in revolt, and the two party system is breaking down.
In both parties, Democratic and Republican, the party bosses have lost control of their registered members, the rank and file. In the interests of furthering the revolutionary movement, the least we can do is join both parties, as card carrying members, and deepen the division. Just as Left people can flood the Democratic Party, we can also flood the Republican Party. There is no law that says we cannot be members of both parties. We can expect the rank and file of the Republican Party to be less advanced than their counter parts in the Democratic Party, but the fact remains that the two previous Speakers of the House, both Republicans, were forced to resign. This indicates that there is also widespread discontent within the Republican Party.
It would appear that the Republican Party is every bit as anxious to increase their membership as is the Democratic Party. The requirements for membership are similar to those of the Democratic Party, which is to say a living, breathing American citizen.
Further research has revealed that a registered voter cannot vote across party lines in a primary election. It may well take a Philadelphia lawyer to explain all the legal details, but as best I can determine there is no rule that says Americans cannot become members of both parties. Assuming that is the case, we can urge Left people to join both parties and do our best to ensure that socialists, or at least Left democrats, run for office on behalf of the Republicans as well as the Democrats.
At the moment, this is out of the question, but if we are able to flood the Republican Party with Left people, then the situation could change dramatically.
Within both parties, we can expect to find members who are deeply dissatisfied. It is natural to expect to meet more advanced working people, as well as more progressive middle class people in the Democratic party. There is a very good chance we can work with such people, even bring them around to our way of thinking.
The Republican Party is considered to be more conservative, which is a polite way of saying more reactionary, than the Democratic Party. As a result of this, more reactionary middle class people, as well as the less advanced members of the working class, tend to gravitate to the Republican Party. That is no reason to ”write off” the working class people within the Republican Party. Such working people merely require more patience.
It is also natural to expect the party bosses to be completely reactionary, as they serve the completely reactionary bourgeoisie. There is no chance that we can work with those people. We can safely regard them as the enemy they are.
In summary, I am suggesting that all Left people put aside their differences and support Sanders for president. By extension, we can also support all socialist and Left candidates for other political offices. I am also suggesting we embrace the two party system which has been established by the American capitalists as the preferred method of rule. We can take the advice of the American capitalists and join both parties, en mass, and try to ”change the system from within”.
Whether or not we succeed in ”changing the system from within”, I guarantee something will change.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 