As I write this, the current death toll in America, due to the Corona Virus, is approaching 250,000, a quarter million! The press is reporting that in the previous week, an additional one million Americans were infected with the virus. The medical professionals anticipate the death toll to sky rocket, as soon as the flu season arrives and people are infected with the virus as well as the flu. It is further anticipated that most hospitals in the country, which are currently working at near capacity, will be overwhelmed at that time.
In response to this humanitarian disaster, the Trump administration has remained almost entirely silent. The suffering and death of so many Americans is a subject upon which they are completely indifferent. They clearly have other priorities, such as preparing the American public for a second four year term of Trump as president.
By contrast, the press is mainly concerned with the presidential election. They are determined that Trump ”lost the election”, and that he refuses to admit defeat. They refer to Biden as the President Elect, and are counting down the days until he will be sworn in as president. It is a subject upon which various journalists are deeply passionate. Perhaps someone should break it to these people that passion does not elect a president. The Electors elect the president.
In all fairness to the journalists, it is clear that they are aware of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. On occasion, they refer to it, almost in whispers, so to speak. No doubt they are as yet, not prepared to face the fact that the Twelfth makes no mention of the popular vote. They desperately want to believe that the states have the authority to force the majority of Electors to vote for Biden.
All states have laws which require the Electors from any particular state to vote for either the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate. None of these state laws has ever been challenged in court, at least not before now. Very soon, that will change. The lawyers who work for Trump will see to that. They have already prepared the arguments for the Supreme Court, to the effect that the states do not have the authority to interfere in a federal election. In the mean time, they are advising the Electors that they have the legal authority to vote for any qualified American, for the office of president, as they see fit.
The idea is not so much to ensure that Trump will win 270 Electoral Votes, but to make sure that Biden does not win that same amount of Votes. If no candidate wins the majority of votes, then the presidential election goes to the House of Representatives, in which case, each state has one vote. Trump is sure he can get twenty six states to vote for him, thus ensuring another four years in office. That remains to be seen.
In the mean time, the people who work for Trump are busy, creating as much trouble and confusion as possible. They are disputing the popular vote count in various states, and in each case the courts are ruling against them. They are also organizing demonstrations, particularly in the capital of Washington, D.C. The slogan they are using is ”Stop the Steal”, and a great many Trump supporters are taking part in these marches.
Without doubt, someone very clever is behind this, a ”Propaganda Minister”, so to speak, a modern day Joseph Goebbels. The plan is to create confusion, get people worked up, persuade them they have been cheated and to use the courts for this purpose. That ”clever someone” rules out Trump, as he has the attention span of a hyper active two year old. That also narrows it down, to possibly his ”personal lawyer” or even his ”close associate”, individuals who are very bright and equally devoid of principle.
The press is also focused on a few key dates. They assure us that all court challenges, at least concerning the election, have to be settled by December 8. Try telling that to the Supreme Court! They also say that the Electors have to vote on December 14, and that the ballots have to be in Washington by December 23. Then on January 6, the full Senate and House of Representatives, otherwise known as ”both Houses of Congress”, will meet. On that day, the President of the Senate, who is also the Vice President, Mike Pence, will open each and every sealed ballot, in their presence, and announce the candidates for office of President and Vice President. The press is hoping and praying that Biden, whom they rather optimistically refer to as the President Elect, will receive 270 Electoral Votes. We will see.
As the ballots are sealed, it is very likely that we will not know the election results until January 6. By that time, the ”propaganda minister” for Trump may have his supporters worked up into a proper frenzy.
It is perhaps worth mentioning that the one date they are not mentioning is December 11, the day the federal government runs out of money, unless the national debt is raised, once again. Then again, concerning the manner in which the politicians are squabbling, it may be difficult to get them to agree on this. Another government shut down can only add to the tension.
It is clear that the reactionaries are aware of the strength of the working class movement and are determined to divert it. Their goal is to divide working people, to create a pro Trump faction and a pro Biden faction. Ideally, they would love to see the two factions involved in ”physical altercations”, which is to say, to fight each other. As the Trump supporters are now demonstrating, there is a distinct possibility that they may collide with Biden supporters. It is up to Marxists to make sure that does not happen.
It is necessary to organize demonstrations to further the socialist cause, to raise the level of awareness of the working class, complete with banners to that effect. As well, such banners should read ”Neither Trump Nor Biden”. This is to let the rank and file, among the Trump supporters, know that we do not regard them as the enemy. We have a common enemy, the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, and we want them to join with us, against our enemy.
It may help to consider the pro Trump supporters, or at least the rank and file members, as less advanced members of the working class. Many of them are quite passionate in their beliefs, just as many Biden supporters are equally passionate in their beliefs. The Biden supporters may perhaps be a little more advanced, but the supporters for both camps are mistaken. Both Trump and Biden serve the same class.
With that in mind, it bears repeating the words of Engels: ”Without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary motion!” As well, it was Lenin who stated, quite clearly, that ”the role of vanguard can be fulfilled only by a party that is guided by an advanced theory!”
As yet there is no true American Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, but no doubt it will soon be created. As the crises in capitalism continues to intensify, ever more members of the middle class are becoming financially ruined, forced into the ranks of the proletariat. Many of these freshly minted proletarians are intellectuals, aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. It is up to them, in fact it is their duty, their moral obligation, to take part in the creation of a Communist Party.
To such people, I can only say that I have complete confidence in you. Your past will not be held against you. March proudly in the footsteps of previous great revolutionaries, most of whom were middle class intellectuals. That includes Marx and Lenin. If they can do it, you can do it!
Bear in mind that ”the stakes are high”, to use a popular expression. American imperialism is among the most powerful in the world. It has to be destroyed. The American proletariat is now among the vanguard of the international revolutionary proletariat. Further, it is being led by women, for possibly the first time in history. I have no doubt you ladies will rise to the occasion and lead the American revolution to a successful conclusion, to the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 