The holiday season has brought news of great joy to countless people. President Donald John Trump is now officially impeached. Millions of people could not have asked for a finer Christmas present. It is just too bad that such a gift cannot be wrapped and placed under the tree.
The cheers and celebration of the progressive people on the Left stands in stark contrast to the weeping and wailing of the reactionaries on the Right. The day the House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment is a day which will ”live in infamy”. They are afraid this is the beginning of the end of the American Empire. We can only hope and pray they are correct.
The House of Representatives, or the Congress, is currently controlled by the Democratic Party, led by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. The Democratic Party presents themselves as the party of the middle class, the ”little guy”. By contrast, the Republican Party is presented as the party of the rich, the business people, those who are responsible for creating wealth and jobs. This great wealth of the capitalists is supposed to ”trickle down” to the ”less fortunate”.
This fairy tale is a world of fantasy which the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, have created. In their dream world, there is no working class, the proletariat, just as there is no capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. The only class they refer to is the middle class, and that includes almost everyone. It may help to think of this as a Sesame Street for adults.
This imaginary creation of the capitalists stands in stark contrast to reality. The fact is that we live under capitalism in its highest form, that of monopoly, technically referred to as imperialism. Those who support monopoly capitalism, imperialism, are of course referred to as imperialists. These people are completely reactionary. There is absolutely nothing progressive about imperialism. The imperialists, and those who support the imperialists, are concerned only with the maintenance of the wealth and power of the class they represent, the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie. That is the point which has to be driven home to the vast majority of working people, the proletariat.
The two mainstream political parties, Democrats and Republicans, serve the same class. The party bosses, those who are card carrying members of the parties, are those who work ”behind the scenes”, and ”call the shots”, or ”pull the strings” of their ”puppets”, those who are elected to political office. Excuse the metaphors, but the use of such popular terms may be the best way to persuade the vast majority of working people, the proletariat, of the existence of classes, of the antagonism between the classes, and the absolute necessity of becoming politically active.
As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has long resisted the calls from the progressive members of her party, the Democrats, to impeach Trump. No doubt the Democratic party bosses decided not to impeach Trump, as they decided that is not in the best interests of the class they serve, the bourgeoisie. Yet the pressure ”from below”, which is to say the members of the public, the working class, proletariat, and the middle class, technically referred to as the petty bourgeois, was so intense, she was forced to take action. Hence, two articles of impeachment.
So far so good, all in accordance with the law of the land, the Constitution, which states quite clearly that it is up to the House of Representatives to impeach a president who is suspected of being guilty of ”Treason, Bribery or Other High Crimes and Misdemeanors”. Now it is up to the Speaker of the House to send those articles of impeachment to the Senate, so that Trump can go on trial and be judged by that Senate. All of this is in accordance with the Constitution.
It is not by accident that Nancy Pelosi was dressed in black at the time of the passing of the articles of impeachment against Trump. Such attire is traditionally worn at funerals, as an indication of mourning. She also scolded the members of the Democratic party who started to applaud, much as a school teacher corrects a class of students who are misbehaving. Shame on you, members of The Squad!
Now Nancy Pelosi is looking for a loop hole, some way to prevent or at least delay such a trial. She is quite cheerfully pointing out that the Constitution makes it clear that the articles of impeachment must be referred to the Senate, but it does not say when those articles must be sent. This tactic of stalling is characteristic of the bourgeoisie. Perhaps they think the working class will lose interest and forget about such little details as removing Trump from office.
The journalists are reporting that this stalling on the part of Pelosi provides her with ”leverage”. Perhaps a reality check on the part of the journalists is in order. Even the Senate majority leader, a fellow Republican of Trump, is wondering just what ”leverage” there is in not forcing him to not conduct a trial, one to which he is dead set opposed! He is being threatened with not having to deal with the articles of impeachment, which is the very thing he so desperately wants!
No doubt Pelosi will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate at the point when the pressure ”from below”, from the members of the public, the working class and the middle class, becomes sufficiently intense. As the working people are so focused on this impeachment process, that should take place any day now.
The details of the trial have yet to be worked out, and that is a bone of contention. The Democratic senators want a proper trial, complete with witnesses and documents. The Republican senators want a ”kangaroo court”, a quick vote to acquit Trump of all charges, ignoring all evidence to the contrary. Such a procedural detail requires a simple majority vote, and as there are fifty three Republicans but only forty seven Democrats, it will require four Republican senators to ”cross the floor” and vote with the Democrats, in order to have a proper trial.
By contrast, two thirds of the Senators have to vote guilty in order to have Trump removed from office. In effect, the Senate is the jury, but not to be confused with an impartial jury, as is required in a court of law. The majority leader of the Senate made it quite clear that he will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented, and will pressure the members of his party to also vote to acquit. We can expect nothing better from such people.
This is not to say that the anticipated trial by the Senate does not concern us. Far from it. Our goal, the goal of Marxists, conscious people, Communists, is to raise the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat. We want them to become aware of themselves as a class, with interests which are diametrically opposed to the interests of the capitalists, the bourgeoisie. The best way to do this is to use examples of that which concerns them, and that certainly includes the anticipated trial by the Senate. We must make it clear that Trump is not the problem. Whether he remains in office or not, the class he represents, the bourgeoisie, will remain in power. Nothing of substance will change.
With that in mind, we can also suggest that all American citizens, members of the public, working people as well as middle class, take that one extra small step of joining the two political parties, Democrat and Republican. After all, the capitalists say that if we do not like the way things are, then we should ”change it from within”. The least we can do is take them at their word. What better way of changing the system from within than by becoming card carrying members of both parties? As party bosses, American citizens can flood Washington with Leftist people. Just think, Leftist people running for office on behalf of both parties. This should keep campaign expenses down to a minimum, as such people will be running against themselves. Who cares if they go to Washington as a Democrat or as a Republican? For that matter, both parties can endorse someone such as Sanders for president. As for those who are concerned with the age and health of Sanders, bear in mind that other Leftist people are available. Such people include Michael Moore. I think that lad would make a fine candidate for president.
Incidentally, I am not joking. I have the utmost respect for that gentleman. He is clearly a self made man, a member of the working class who has become successful as a result of great sacrifice and hard work. He truly cares about working people.
Of course, the choice of a person to run for president is a little detail for Americans to decide.
Most members of the public, including the most advanced members of the working class, are confused concerning the events unfolding in Washington. Most reasonable people would assume that the members of the White House Resistance, those who published an editorial in the New York Times, would welcome the impeachment and removal of Trump from office. After all, they announced their intention to stop Trump ”one way or another”. What better way to stop Trump than by impeachment and removal from office?
Yet those same people have decided against that course of action. Much as they would love to remove Trump from office, they are even more afraid of the revolutionary motion which is sweeping the country. They are well aware that almost all Americans are watching this impeachment process. Their greatest fear is that those same Americans will in turn become politically active. In short, the bourgeoisie are afraid of revolution.
The situation is certainly revolutionary. Many millions of Americans, those who were formerly apathetic, are now becoming politically active. They are taking an interest in the impeachment process and the anticipated trial by the senate. It is safe to say that the vast majority of these people are honest, hard working, law abiding, tax paying citizens. It is also safe to say that the vast majority of politicians who represent these people are anything but honest, hard working, law abiding, tax paying citizens. Now it is a matter of persuading these honest working people that they are members of a working class, with interests which are diametrically opposed to the interests of the capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. Most politicians serve the class of capitalists, and that class is determined to hold onto power, at all costs.
The anticipated trial by the senate of President Trump should help to raise the level of awareness of the working class. At the very least, it gives conscious people, Marxists, the opportunity to explain that which is taking place. The fundamental principles of Marxist revolutionary theory have to be explained. We can use this as an example of bourgeois democracy, which is nothing more than democracy for the bourgeoisie. At the same time we can compare this to proletarian democracy, in the form of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, which is a far superior form of democracy.
The fact is that many millions of people have been closely watching the impeachment proceedings. The reason they are so interested is that they are deeply dissatisfied, not content to live in the old way, demanding change. They are instinctively gravitating towards socialism, as yet unaware of that which they are experiencing. By contrast, the capitalist, the bourgeoisie, are supremely well aware of that which is happening. They know that they cannot live and rule in the old way, must now change their method of rule, but are unsure how to proceed. This is the very definition of a revolutionary situation.
It is just a matter of time before the crisis matures to the point of explosion. The working class could spontaneously revolt at any time. It could happen any day now, or the capitalists could force the issue, perhaps with a declaration of martial law. Either way, the revolution can best be understood as a force of nature, an act of God, because that is exactly the case. It is not about to hold off until the working class, the proletariat, is prepared to seize political power. It is absolutely essential now to prepare people for the revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. Workers now must be trained for the duties they will have to assume after the revolution. What better way to train them for leadership roles than by becoming card carrying members of the two parties, party bosses?
No doubt there are a great many people, including those who consider themselves to be Marxists, who are of the opinion that the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, can be overthrown by the ”democratic process”, that of voting into power Leftist people. Such is not about to happen, and the best way to persuade the millions of working class people of this fact is to encourage them to do just that. It will no doubt be interesting to see the response of the bourgeoisie to this challenge to their authority.
The point we want to drive home – not only to the working class but also to the optimistic middle class intellectuals – is that it does not matter how many Leftist people we send to Washington. Our goal is to raise the level of awareness of the working class. With that in mind, our goal and our slogans should read:
Prepare For the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 