Socialist Alternative and the Presidential election

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There is a huge political vacuum in U.S. society. The situation is ripe for a strong challenge by the left in this election. Conditions are such that if a sizeable radical political party of the working class and poor existed, it could win significant support. A strong working-class candidate for president, who already had a good base among the public, could begin to lay the basis for transforming U.S. politics. Unfortunately that does not exist in 2012.

The two corporate parties should not be let off the hook. Socialists need to argue as widely as possible for the left to seize this opportunity by running a credible candidate and mounting the strongest possible campaign that can bring the message of Occupy into this election and thus shift the debate in this country.

In this election year, we will argue following key points:

  • Obama and the Democrats are big-business representatives that workers and the left need to break from.
  • We need to build mass movements in the streets that fight for our independent interests as opposed to limiting our demands to what is acceptable to the Democratic Party.
  • We need a new broad left-wing, anti-corporate party that fights for the interests of the working class.
  • Both major parties represent the failed capitalist system, and we need to build a socialist movement.

We will point to how the two main parties are corporate parties that are trying to distract the public from the real issues that exist. We will point to the role of the Democrats as left “gatekeepers” for capitalism, and how they will try to disengage activists from struggles and entrap them in the graveyard of the Democratic Party.

We stand for building the strongest left-wing challenge to the Democrats and Republicans to speed up the process of workers breaking from big-business politics and beginning to build their own independent political voice and the creation of a party of workers and young people.

At present Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson are seen as the main independent left candidates. Unfortunately, they are not well known, and have so far not been able to break into the mainstream debate. As part of supporting the strongest possible left challenge to the two corporate parties, are calling for a vote for Jill Stein as the best way for workers and young people to register a left-wing protest against the two parties of big business in this election. This is based on her stronger program and more activist orientation compared to Rocky Anderson. At the same time we should have a very friendly approach to supporters Rocky Anderson.

Where possible we should run our own candidates or support other independent left candidates as a concrete alternative and as an example of what needs to be done. At the same time we should raise the need for a campaign for a party for workers and youth. While supporting Jill Stein, as in the past, we will not limit ourselves to her politics, but will boldly advocate our socialist policies.

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