T.O. 135: Post-DNC / Gaza Genocide / Tempest on Independent Politics / Assault on Immigrants

The ORGANIZER

Issue No. 135 – August 30, 2024

www.socialistorganizer.org

Please Distribute Widely!

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IN THIS POSTING

• Post-DNC: What Way Forward for Independent Political Action: Four Questions, Four Answers

• Israel, with U.S. Support, Extends Genocidal Gaza Campaign to West Bank — by Friends of The Jenin Freedom Theater (Jenin, Palestine)

• Open Forum: Charting a Strategy for Independent Working-Class Politics – by Natalia Tylim (Tempest Collective)

• Open Forum: Kamala Harris Doubles Down on Policies that Echo the Anti-Immigrant Far Right – by Mijente

• Incarcerated Workers Fight Against Solitary Confinement – by Lisa Knox

• Advocates Escalating Condemnation of Federal Immigration Authorities and Private Prison Co. — by Eunice Hernández

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EDITORIAL – Post-DNC: What Way Forward for Independent Political Action –  Four Questions, Four Answers

(Following is an unabridged version of the interview with Mya Shone and Alan Benjamin, members of the editorial board of The Organizer. The interview was conducted by Jean Allain and was first published in Tribune des Travailleurs / Workers Tribune, France)

Question 1:

1) At the Democratic convention, former President Obama, vice presidential candidate Walz, and UAW President Shawn Fain all spoke about the idea that a Democratic victory would be a fulcrum for workers and unions: What is your opinion?

The Democratic Party Convention kicked off with speeches from presidents of six national unions and the AFL-CIO. Thunderous applause rocked the hall as United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain revealed a bright red tee shirt emblazoned Trump is a scab (strikebreaker).

“For the UAW and for working people everywhere,” the militant labor leader declared, “it comes down to one question: what side are you on? On one side we have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class. On the other side, we have Trump and Vance, two lap dogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves.”

In fact, both parties are funded by and serve “the billionaire class”. Where they differ is in the most effective method to control the working class.

There is no dispute that the Republican Party historically, and even more so with Donald Trump as President, would do all it could to smash unions. But that doesn’t mean that the Democratic Party, despite its rhetoric, has been or ever will be a true “friend of labor.”

It’s a lesson that union misleaders have yet to learn. 

Democrats have not delivered on labor priorities, such as a ban on striker replacement and a federal law to strengthen the right to organize even when the party controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress. Moreover, Democratic presidents have intervened to thwart strikes, just as Biden did in December 2022 against the railroad workers. 

It is long overdue for labor to break with the parties that serve the masters and forge a working-class party that advances and fulfills our interests.

Question 2:

Many Democratic voters, at the instigation of the party’s “left”, had voted “uncommitted” in the primaries to express their outrage against Biden’s policy in Gaza. Was there an attempt to make the convention take a position on the genocide of the Palestinian people?

The Democratic Party platform calls for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire deal” without any reference to an embargo on arms sales to Israel.

The 30 “uncommitted” out of 4,700 delegates did not have the forces to change the Party platform. They focused instead on having a pediatric intensive care doctor describe the horror she witnessed in Gaza. But their persistent attempts “fell on deaf ears”. Their fallback proposal of having a Palestinian American address the convention also was denied.

Not even a last-ditch effort from UAW leadership made a difference.

“If we want peace, if we want real democracy, and if we want to win this election,” the UAW warned in a post on X, “the Democratic Party must allow a Palestinian American speaker to be heard from the DNC stage tonight.”

Instead, Vice President Harris concluded the convention on Thursday by forcefully stressing her unequivocal support for the Zionist state and its security, that is, the longstanding position of U.S. imperialism. Her brief mention of the massive death toll of Palestinians in Gaza and lip service to Palestinian self-determination came across as obligatory throwaway lines.

Nationwide protests stress the connection of U.S. involvement in the war against the Palestinian people and attacks on basic rights, defunding education, housing, and healthcare in the U.S. The logical next step for the movement is to forge a mass working-class party independent of the Democratic Party that is rooted in labor and oppressed communities.

Question 3:

The convention is being held at a time when Ukrainian troops armed by NATO are invading Russia. Were there any voices at the convention against the war and the hundreds of billions poured into it?

No. The opposite was true. The final day of the convention especially paid homage to the U.S. military, U.S. military alliances, and the importance of increasing U.S. military strength. Featured were Democratic Party members of Congress and the Biden administration who served in combat, such as Arizona Senator Mark Kelley, who flew 39 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm, and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs after the Black Hawk helicopter she co-piloted was struck in 2004 during the rampage against Iraq.

One of the major points made by former Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger, one of several prominent Republicans who spoke at the DNC, was that “The Democrats are as patriotic as us.” While Kinzinger said that he may differ with Democrats over some policies, he asserted that “they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been.”

Year in and year out both political parties approve the defense spending budget without question even while they carry on interminable arguments over the crumbs they allocate for childcare, education, housing, and the environment. More than one-half of the U.S. discretionary budget is devoted to past, current, and future wars — $916 billion for 2023 — such that U.S. military spending constitutes 40% of total military spending worldwide. 

Rather than decry the impact of the cost of war, Kamala Harris stated instead, “I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.” 

Question 4:

One of the notable speakers at the convention was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading figure of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). What are her policies and objectives?

AOC, as she is commonly known, is a rising star in the Democratic Party as well as a central leader of DSA. She was a featured speaker on opening night of the convention, where she passionately urged the American people to support Harris and Walz. She has been co-opted fully into the Democratic Party leadership and is clearly aiming to rise in its hierarchy.  Her only comment about Gaza was that there were both dead Israelis and Palestinians and Kamala Harris is working tirelessly for a ceasefire. An open leader of one of the twin parties of U.S. imperialism, she remains a top figure in DSA.

Independent voices of union activists, however, were heard in Chicago’s streets throughout the four-day convention. The Real News Network spoke withs unionists gathered behind a banner that read: “Organized Labor Stands with Palestine.” A Chicago teacher unionist told TRNN:’

 “I think we have to do things like take work action — action on the docks that are providing shipping services to bring material to Israel’s war. We have to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, but we must also to stop sending aid to Israel. Stop sending bombs and weapons. …

“The [Democratic Party] candidates are not going to get a guaranteed vote from everyone just because we don’t want Trump. Obviously, we don’t. Nobody wants another four years of that nonsense, but it’s sad that these are our only two options. I see Kamala as just Biden 2.0. We need to have a Labor Party. We need to have other parties that can have candidates that people will want to support and vote for.”

We agree. The trade unions must break with the Democratic Party and build a Labor Party rooted in the unions and oppressed communities.

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Israel, with U.S. Support, Extends Genocidal Gaza Campaign to West Bank

Appeal issued by the Friends of The Jenin Freedom Theater (Jenin, Palestine)

Israel has seized the moment to extend its genocidal Gaza campaign to the West Bank. As of this morning (August 29), Jenin city was surrounded by the Israeli army, all three hospitals were blockaded, the city’s infrastructure – roads, sewage, electricity, water – were again destroyed. Civic and religious institutions were attacked. All exits from the refugee camp were barred.

Dozens have been arrested across the West Bank and more than eighteen killed. There is no daily life for the people living there.

We paid for this massive attack targeting the northern West Bank! The billions in US military aid we taxpayers have provided are terrorizing Palestinians, forcing them to leave and allowing their land to be seized.

THIS MUST STOP.

Ahmed Tobasi, of The Freedom Theatre, speaking on Democracy Now! said this morning, “It is a genocide from the Israeli army. [settlers] are attacking everywhere…We are facing crazy people who want to kill more and more.” He added, “I am sure Israelis could not do this if they do not have the green light from the US government… I’m calling to the American people, please you are the ones who have to move now. You have to stop sending bombs to Israel.” You can listen to the whole interview here.

The US government has proven it has no red lines in supporting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. It’s left to us to stop the flow of weapons that enable Israel. The most important thing you can do is contact your elected representatives and demand an immediate arms embargo. Do it now. You can call them here.

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OPEN FORUM

Charting a Strategy for Independent Working-Class Politics

Introduction

Following are excerpts from an article published in Tempest magazine on August 12 titled, “Lesser-evilism is not a vote–it’s a strategy,” by Natalia Tylim. The Tempest Collective editors introduced the extensive piece as follows:

“Tempest’s Natalia Tylim explains how pinning our hopes on the presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris against Trump is misguided and how the task is to build an infrastructure of resistance to both parties of capitalism and empire and make the case for a socialist horizon.”

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By Natalia Tylim (Tempest Collective)

The question before us is what strategy is actually going to be needed to stave off the growth of the far right and advance the struggle against genocide. Lesser-evilism is not about how individuals vote; it’s an insidious strategy that disarms our side, one that wrongly claims that supporting a liberal whose goal is to protect and serve the ruling class is how we stop the spread of far-right ideology, imperial violence, and draconian social policy.

It’s because we understand the threat of the growth of Trumpism that we absolutely cannot concede any ground to Harris and her firmly centrist coalition.

Liberal politics not only strengthen the right’s policies (see the Democrats adopting Trump’s immigration policy), they also, in the absence of a visible and clear left alternative, leave nowhere for radicalizing people to turn except to the vile solutions of the far right. Is it any wonder that Trump is attempting to make inroads into working class, Black and Latinx communities given the parade of merely symbolic “equality” and “change” under a Democratic administration?

Nowhere can we see this slide away from stated goals than where the social democratic strategy (centered on Sanders) has landed since the height of national influence in 2016?

Once hailed as attempting to oppose the Democratic Party right, now the squad’s main role has been to serve as the last defenders of Biden at exactly the time when millions of people were questioning the ability of the Democratic Party to take on Trump.

In exchange for trying to pressure Biden to support canceling debt, the Squad (Tlalib excluded) sold out genocide and any semblance of building something to the left. The Democrats are experts in absorbing and neutralizing those who claim to be changing it from the inside. This time was no exception.

This is an indication of how far to the right national politics have shifted since 2020. In 2020, with the George Floyd uprising and in the context of the Democratic Party primary, Harris didn’t think she could speak to her strength as a prosecutor without losing support. But now, fitting with the co-optation of that movement, Harris’ campaign is preparing to project itself as “tough on crime” in defense of “security” both in our communities and as the leader of this empire.

And it’s not like there has been any reprieve of state-defended police killings, as the murder of Sonya Massey reminds us. Another example of the rightward shift is how Biden and now Harris align themselves with the murderous politics of “border security.”

The point here is that rather than push things to the left, the lesser-evilism of 2020 pulled the forces of the Left most focused on Biden – and the entire mainstream continuum – to the right, with many moving away from the acknowledgement of lesser-evilism as a problem to now cheerleading a rightward-moving liberalism.

I’ll never vote for Kamala Harris. But, again, I want to stress that I’m also not going to spend my time or resources arguing with individuals about how they vote as individuals out of their fear of Trump.

What I care about is how left organizations, unions, and publications use their resources, time and energy. Are we seriously going to sell “Copmala” Harris as the way we build a pro-Palestine, immigrant rights, anti-racist, tax-the-rich Left?

Within 36 hours of Biden dropping out, Harris raised more than $100 million, double what the Biden-Harris campaign had on hand at the end of June. Imagine what the developing organizations of the Left, movements, and unions could do with even a fraction of those resources.

Instead of throwing the weight behind getting out the vote/campaigning for Harris, imagine a scenario where thousands of independent organizations were positioned to talk to millions of people about why we can’t put our life in Harris’ hands. We could have an impact by advocating the need to organize ourselves to confront the far right regardless of who wins.

Imagine if even a fraction of the time, energy and money that goes to Harris were directed toward rebuilding the institutions of the working class and oppressed that are actually capable of confronting the absurd pretense of democracy that is so clearly an apparatus of the ruling class that plays with our lives like pawns. That is something that we could do in the 2024 election cycle.

There is nothing subjective preventing broad left and progressive forces from taking a strategy that is honest and clear about who Harris is and what we need to build. It’s a political choice, and not making that choice has gotten us where we are.

It’s honestly sad and pathetic that the discussion on the Left is so limited even when we are talking about a political apparatus that supports genocide and demonstrates undying commitment to the ruling class in its successful stabilization of the economy on our backs. But such is the U.S. Left.

Until we are able to build the constituent parts of a Left and independent political alternative, the strategic argument for rebuilding the independent institutions of working-class organization, however small our forces are today, becomes all the more important. We will never magically get where we are trying to go, which is why we cannot let go of our horizon.

We need to build a Left that is clear on a strategy, that sees the participation and ideas of the working class and oppressed in democratic, independent organizations – not their vote – as what is needed to stop the march of far-right victories and to win demands in the name of solidarity and justice. When you give up on that strategy, you give up on the possibility that we can change the world in exchange for pragmatism.

Strategies are how we get from A to B. We’ve seen where the strategy of deferring our demands down the road in the service of a liberal against the right gets us. It is time we focus on what it is going to take to build more organizations, publications, and struggles that refuse to bend to the pressure to compromise on liberatory demands in the service of our oppressors.

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OPEN FORUM

Kamala Harris Doubles Down on Policies that Echo the Anti-Immigrant Far Right!

(excerpts from a Statement issued by Mijente)

Dear immigrant rights activists,

Last week, when Vice President Harris accepted the candidacy for President at the DNC, it became evident that the Democratic Party is taking a troubling and increasingly dangerous direction on immigration. Today, she announced that she wants to continue to build Trump’s border wall. It’s time we address this.

In her acceptance speech, Vice President Harris highlighted her immigrant parents and envisioned a United States “for the people who work hard and chase their dreams.” However, when it came to policy, she not only failed to make a real commitment to immigrant communities, but she also doubled down on policies and language that echo far-right ideologies—prioritizing immigration enforcement in ways that promise more harm than protection.

This shift isn’t just disappointing; it’s dangerous. It puts countless lives at risk, validates narratives promoted by the far-right, and undermines the safety and security of immigrant communities and thousands of mixed-status households.

Vice President Harris’ promise during her DNC speech to bring back the border security bill and sign it into law translates to a more militarized and restrictive border policy, compromising the rights and freedoms of immigrants. Let’s be clear about what “security” means in the context of this new border bill:

Increased Enforcement: More border patrol agents, increased funding for technological advances, and more resources funneled to ICE, including funds to add 50,000 more detention beds—a 47% increase from 2023.

Asylum Restrictions: Tougher standards and procedures for asylum seekers, making it significantly harder for the most vulnerable to find refuge. This policy, framed as “closing loopholes,” effectively shuts the door on those who need safety the most.

A “Border Emergency Authority”: This rule activates when the number of people at the border hits a specific daily limit, meaning many could be sent back to their countries without a chance to explain their need for asylum, simply based on the number of crossings that day. This can happen at any time and is not required to be publicly announced.

This strategy is weak and ineffective, perpetuating the very threats it claims to dismantle and playing directly into the hands of those who uphold white supremacy.

Regardless of what happens in November, we’re staying organized and preparing to hit the ground running. By mobilizing our people, educating voters, and building the skills of our base, we’re ensuring that the momentum in the fight for just and humane policies continues from day one.

Thank you for standing with us.

En la lucha, 

Mijente 

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Incarcerated Workers Fight Against Solitary Confinement

By Lisa Knox

On August 19, formerly incarcerated people and activists rallied at the California Capitol Building to demand the state put an end to the unchecked use of solitary confinement against incarcerated people. 

Solitary confinement is one of the most harmful and dangerous practices used in US prisons and detention centers. The World Health Organization, the United Nations and many other international bodies recognize that solitary confinement is harmful and can constitute torture. People with disabilities, pregnant people, youth, and the elderly are all at heightened risk from this harmful practice. 

Yet, every day in California, this practice continues. Right now in California’s Central Valley, migrants protesting their labor exploitation have been thrown in solitary confinement to break their hunger strike. These migrants are paid pennies an hour to perform essential labor in their detention by GEO Group, the corporation that operates the detention centers for profit. Dozens of workers have refused to continue working to line GEO’s pockets, and many are now on hunger strike. 

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, refuses to take action and has blocked all efforts to end this barbaric practice. Newsom has twice refused to sign the Mandela Act, a bill that would limit solitary confinement and prevent its use as a tool to suppress worker organizing.

Like politicians from both ruling class parties, Newsom is funded by the capitalist ruling class, which profits from the prison-industrial complex and its super-exploitation of incarcerated workers. 

Solitary confinement is torture, and we must end its use in California and beyond.

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Advocates Escalating Condemnation of Federal Immigration Authorities and Private Prison Co.

By Comité de Solidaridad

Advocates are escalating their condemnation of federal immigration authorities and a private prison company that operates ICE detention facilities in California, where dozens of detained men have waged months-long protests over what they say are sub-standard and abusive conditions.

At a protest in San Francisco Wednesday outside the office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, several dozen activists called on the agency’s field director to meet with detainees who are waging hunger and labor strikes inside two Kern County facilities: Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center and Golden State Annex.

After ICE ended free phone calls earlier this month, dozens of people resumed a hunger and labor strike they have waged intermittently for more than two years. The detainees began by protesting $1/day pay for cleaning dormitories and bathrooms and then used the strikes to call attention to what they say are sexually abusive pat-downs, retaliatory use of solitary confinement and substandard care and conditions. Advocates say eight people are still refusing food.

Eunice Hernandez Chenier, an organizer with Pangea Legal Services, said waging a hunger strike shows how serious the concerns are for people living inside the two privately operated immigration jails.

“It is obviously a very big sacrifice and a decision that one does not take lightly,” said Hernandez Chenier. “So you can imagine how terrible conditions and treatment are in the facilities in order for someone to make such a decision.”