When Will the US Have Democratic Elections?

The US Ruling Class seems intent to continue with its phony election, even though discontent with the political system is at an all-time high.

The two candidates that they want us to choose between are Democrat Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., 80, and 77-year old, Republican Donald John Trump.

No matter that Biden is exhibiting signs of senility and Trump was convicted of sexual abuse on May 9. The Democrats are doing their best to discredit the former Republican President. This strategy may backfire on the Dems the next time the Republicans are in power. Most politicians are susceptible to illegal or reprehensible personal behavior.

“Your abilities are too infant-like for doing much alone.” – Shakespeare

The Democrats have avoided criticizing or charging Trump with his real crimes, such as illegally lobbing missiles into a country, Syria, which the US was not fighting in a war. Neither has he been charged with the deaths of US and Afghani soldiers and civilians in an illegal war. In his administration, he supported inhuman treatment of immigrants that had begun under Barack Obama (and continued under Biden).

There may not have been a president since World War II who has not been guilty of breaking the law as defined by International covenants and US laws. The rise of the US Empire in recent decades has caused a belligerence among the US ruling class which defines America’s role in the world, according to Madeleine Albright, and others, as the “indispensable country.” Unfortunately for the US Neo-conservatives, not many world leaders and intellectuals abroad believe such propaganda.

Along with being the indispensable country, goes the right, so the Neo-cons believe, that they can make the rules of international behavior, regardless of the law. A case in point is the US supplying weapons to Ukraine, even though it is not a belligerent in the war, while warning China that there will be consequences if it supplies weapons to Russia.

In today’s world, what countries can and cannot do is decided solely by the United States. Such behavior, also known as a unipolar world, is about to end as Russia and China, with the support of most of the world’s population, take steps to create a tri-polar world, including the US.

Here at home, the Ruling Class has constructed, by laws and propaganda, a two-party system which supports the status-quo. For the last 80 years or so, the mainstream media has bragged about our bipartisan foreign policy, as if it is a wondrous creation.

There is growing opposition, both at home and abroad, to United States diktat. The instruments of government, including the military, the state department, the CIA and multiple other agencies have been joined in lockstep by the mass media, many of whom have former experience with the CIA, either as agents or in training seminars.

For many years, union leaders, the National Students Association (NSA), and numerous non-profit organizations, also called Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) were on the CIA payroll. The NSA was the premier student group until March 1967 when Ramparts magazine exposed its funding by the CIA.

While those groups have cleaned up their act, many others have joined forces with government policy and activities. There are persistent rumors that “spooks” still haunt the halls of the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications of influence. Even notables such as Bob Woodward and Pete Buttigieg worked for Naval Intelligence before assuming their roles as famous journalist and cabinet secretary, respectively. Of course, the unpredictable ones are those we don’t know about.

Can Third Parties Save Us from the Washington Steamroller?

The numbers say it is possible for a third candidate to win the president election. Fully one-third of potential voters, in 2020, didn’t bother to vote, mainly because they don’t trust the two parties. That amounts to 80 million people. Biden won with a record 81 million votes. With three candidates, it would not have been possible for anyone to achieve that many votes.

According to the California Secretary of State, Democrats represent 47 percent of all registered voters in the state, Republicans have half as many, 24 percent, but those who are registered but chose not to align with a party are 23 percent of the voters. I’m betting that a large fraction of Democrats would vote for a left third party that presented its program in an exciting and forward-looking manner.

Still, people are more likely to go with a third party if it is part of a mass movement. There are quite a few mass movements that could be gathered together around an active and committed party. They include anti-war, anti-capitalist, a decent income, the environment, free health care, and many other issues that our country and state can afford but are not a priority with the Ruling Class.

There are, of course, legal hurdles that have to be overcome by any third party. Most states and cities make it difficult for parties to be on the ballot. While Democrats and Republicans, with huge resources at their disposal, find it easy to pay for filing fees and to collect petitions, if needed, to get on the ballot. Third parties, on the other hand, find it difficult to qualify for the ballot. Even if they qualify, many states and cities require them to do it all over again for the next election.

If third parties are fortunate enough to gain ballot status they are faced with a barrage of TV, radio, mailers, buttons, yard signs and celebrity endorsements. This overwhelming political assault can sink a third party before it has a chance to present its program to the public.

The answer is public financing of elections. This would even the playing field dramatically. The courts have ruled in Citizens United that everyone has the right to spend billions on an election. This is meant to provide some kind of weird equality for all voters. But if no one is allowed to contribute during the election process that, too, is equality. It is also the only way third parties are going to have a chance in a capitalist society where money rules.

How Can We Build A Third-Party?

The Democrats and Republicans are both considered to be right-of-center parties around the world. The Democrats are moderately rightwing because of many of the political stands they take, and because of who they represent. One could say that they are a working class party, and that may have been true once upon a time. Today, they are firmly in the grip of Wall Street and the super rich, and they hold the unions in their grip, not vice versa.

The Republicans can easily be defined as far-right of center, as was demonstrated during the Trump Administration.

It’s only fair that those who are not right of center put their support behind a left of center party. There are many possible parties to choose from, but none of them is an obvious candidate because they are all much smaller than the two major parties.

The Green Party is a moderate, even centrist party. They used to have a slogan, “Neither Left nor Right, but Straight Ahead.” This was popular with many in their party about 20 years ago. Today, the times have changed. A third party must call for a revolution of some sort that will attract multitudes who have sat on the sidelines until now. A party that will propose bold action for Medicare for All, an end to foreign adventures, an end of poverty, etc. Most importantly, such a party must overcome our age-old curse of racism and discrimination.

While some would say that the Left has disintegrated, a better way of looking at it would be that the Left has been divided. Whoever takes on the task of building a third party must pay attention to reunifying the Left so that it can be a serious contender in ensuring elections.

There are quite a few minor Left parties. Some many have only about 20 people or so. The largest are the Committees of Correspondence, a split off from the Communist Party, and the Communist Party, itself. Each has about 1,000 members.

Then there is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) which claims about 92,000 members. However, the DSA is more of a pressure group on the Democratic Party, than a real party itself. If its members can wake up from their impossible dream of turning the Democrats into a working class party they could be a valuable asset to a third party movement.

The largest Socialist Party in the US is the California Peace and Freedom Party, with 123,037 certified members, just in California, as of Oct. 2022. P&F has been on the California ballot for years, but has been plagued by all the problems enumerated above and by a lack of dynamic leadership.

There are other parties that I have omitted for lack of space, however, those discussed here are all parties with proven track records of difficult struggles in a capitalist environment and should be respected. Our goal is not to pick and choose among them, but pressure them to unite.

What’s Next?

A national convention should be convened that would bring together these parties and leftwing individuals who would decide on a basic program and candidates for the 2024 election. Building a viable national political party on the left should be considered an urgent task. Filing dates close early in many states. A presidential slate is important, but just as important is building a grass roots base throughout the country. Wherever the exploiters and oppressors gather, we should be there, too.

A national left party can change this country for good. But it can’t be done just by talking, or writing, about it. If we decline to do the hard work, we can always listen to Biden and Trump debate each other.

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