Communist Party USA
The following is based on a report given by Joe Sims and adopted by the National Committee on Feb. 13, 2022.
It’s been little over a year since Trump’s assault on the Capitol, and while the coup failed, everyone knows the danger is far from over. Since that terrible day in January, Trump’s forces have been busy holding rallies, raising money, organizing truckers to wreck the economy, terrorizing students at historically Black colleges with bomb threats, and passing voter suppression legislation. So far some 34 states have passed laws restricting the right to vote. Make no mistake: the extreme right has its eyes on the prize of the midterm elections. One can only imagine what’s in store for the country should they win. A question arises: just what is the Republican Party becoming? Has it been completely captured by national chauvinists, authoritarians, white supremacists, and neo-fascists? Or does it remain a coalition with center-right forces and if so to what degree? An answer was provided by the National Committee of the GOP itself the other day when they declared that January 6th was “legitimate political discourse.” There you have it: the Trump forces are now normalizing insurrection, normalizing counter revolution and armed right-wing revolt. And while it’s true that debate inside the GOP remains ongoing, with McConnell, along with Pence, Cheney, and Romney, pushing back against the tide, it’s also true that today they are but minnows in a sea of sharks. Now this isn’t the first time the country’s been surrounded by sharks. But the situation since January 6th is at an entirely new level — the question is what to do about it? Our history suggests, as the National Committee knows, that the first thing that must be done when surrounded by fascist sharks is to cast a wide net — a net wide enough and strong enough to yank these sharks out of the water. And if you think about it, that’s what the all-peoples electoral front and vote is: a net of collective action wide enough and strong enough to yank fascist sharks out of the water. This collective unity of action is stitched together in voter registration drives, fundraising initiatives, rallies, occupations, door knocking, picket lines, phone banking, and get-out-the-vote efforts. It’s woven in the process of contacting neighborhood associations, PTAs, lodges, women’s rights groups, and environmental organizations along with reaching out at grocery stores, bars, pool halls, barber shops, beauty salons, dry cleaners, and county fairs. And it’s sewn into an unbreakable thread by demonstrating, sitting in, and writing letters to the editors, outlining the issues and supporting candidates who back them — including when possible our own party candidates. In our opinion, workers have to lead this effort. And where they’re not leading it, the Communist Party has to fight for such leadership — that’s our “plus,” that’s the role we have to play. Thus, we should have no fear of working in broad coalitions. In fact, in this situation, the broader the better. What we’re afraid of is what happens when we lose sight of fighting for working-class leadership of these coalitions. While advancing the cause of working-class leadership, narrow, sectarian approaches should be avoided at all costs. This electoral coalition is not a united front of the left or Marxist groups — that’s not what Lenin, Dimitrov, or Gus Hall was talking about. Rather, what was advocated was a unity of action of the broad masses based on the issues. What issues? Issues like ending racist police murder, voter suppression, health care, cancelling student debt, and stopping the drive towards…
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Democracy cannot be sacrificed for the profits of the 1%