Response to: “Response to: ‘Are anarchism and sectarianism compatible?’”, “ZZ believes in his prophetic abilities”, and “Response to: ‘History Lessons’”, etc.

 

By James Thompson

 

ZZ’s thoughtful response to several responses to his instructive article “History Lessons” was very much appreciated by the Houston Communist Party website. Discussion and dialogue as well as constructive criticism are generally productive and lead to clarification.

 

ZZ makes an excellent point when he maintains that the Democratic Party typically subverts progressive Democratic party candidates. An example of this in recent times would be the defeat of Dennis Kucinich.

 

ZZ chooses a very relevant quote from Lenin about elections in the early 20^th century. The last sentence is very instructive “That is why it is in the bourgeois Parliament, from within it, that we communists must tell the people the truth about the relation between classes and parties, and the attitude of the landowners to the farm laborers, of the rich peasants to the poor peasants, of big capital to employees and petty proprietors, etc.” Please note that Lenin explicitly states that the agitation should take place “within the parliament.”

 

In order for any agitation to occur within a legislative body, there must be elected representatives willing to agitate within that body. This means that the legislators must be elected, i.e. they must run for public office and win. If a potential legislator runs for office and loses, they cannot agitate within the legislative body.

 

It is agreed that the party platform of the Green party is much more palatable than the Democratic or Republican parties. However, to my knowledge, the Green party has never represented itself as a proletarian, non-bourgeois party. It is primarily a petty bourgeois and/or bourgeois party with a progressive bent. It is a given that the GPUSA is far stronger than the CPUSA which is continuing to split splits in its quest to become a party of two.

 

We must keep in mind that the anti-democratic electoral laws in the United States today make it impossible for third parties to win national elections. Although the Green party has a quarter of a million members, which is great compared to the CPUSA, this represents 0.062% of the US population according to rough calculations. The Green party (or any other third or independent party) is only on the ballot in less than 50% of the states. In Texas, for example, the Green party is on the ballot due to the efforts of the Texas Republican Party who paid about $500,000 for a company to gather sufficient signatures to get the Green party on the ballot.

 

Since no third-party has ballot status in all 50 states, only Democrats or Republicans can win a national election. The Green party has never elected a single US senator or member of the US House of Representatives.

 

So, in order to elect legislators who can agitate within the U.S. Congress, we must first elect progressive Democrats or Republicans. The first agenda would be to reform US election campaign laws so that progressive, workers parties are not automatically excluded from ballot status. One important reform that is necessary for progress would be to reverse all the anti-Communist laws nationwide. The Houston Communist Party has fought for this reform with very little support from other communist organizations around the country. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/repeal-the-anti-communist

 

We see the mission of the Houston Communist Party website to be a venue for open discussion on the left. Our focus is on the political struggle. We do not see ourselves as Democrats, Republicans, Greens or any other political party. We have posted articles in an effort to educate potential voters about various candidates, to include Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott and others.

 

The website is not opposed to the GPUSA. In fact, the Houston Communist Party website endorsed Green party candidates in local elections. http://houstoncommunistparty.com/houston-communist-party-endorsement-of-green-party-candidates-a-first/  That may be a first for communist formations in the United States.

 

The Houston Communist Party website continues to support the excellent websites, “Marxism Leninism today” and “ZZ’s blog”. We find the deterioration of the CPUSA repulsive and disgusting. Their activities are a shining example of what a Communist Party should not do.

 

We would like to support the development of a Workers Party, but a Workers Party that can win elections. In our view, this will be an important part of the struggle to elevate the working class to the ruling class in the United States.

 

Although we may support local Green party candidates from time to time, it is unlikely that the Houston Communist Party will support any candidates of any party who have 0% chance of winning a particular election.

 

Again, we express our sincere gratitude to ZZ for his willingness to engage in constructive dialogue. We welcome constructive dialogue from other people as well.