September 2004

Musings on the US election

It's the summer of US political conventions, complete with vast armies of riot cops and kilometres of barbed wire. Isn't democracy wonderful?

The Democrats are annointing their Kerry/Edwards slate in Boston, amid much rhetoric about protecting the common people against the wealthy Republicans. In actual fact, the Democratic leadership defends the same capitalist system as their Republican rivals. On many key issues, their differences are vanishingly thin.

But we caution against tendencies to write off Kerry and Bush as "identical." As several reports in our pages show, the worrisome trend towards weakening electoral rights continues to creep forward under the Bush regime, which represents the most ultra-right, pro-fascist elements of the US corporate elite. Another stolen victory by the Bush ticket roll back rights and freedoms for which US working people have shed enormous amounts of blood and tears.

There are other reasons to hope that Bush goes down to defeat on November 2, starting with his illegal wars of aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan. War criminals should be brought to trial for their crimes, and this is certainly less likely while they remain in office.

Not least, the Democrats and Republicans have important differences over social issues such as women's reproductive rights, where the Republican policy is dictated by fanatical religious bigots. This is not a minor matter - it is a crucial question of women's freedom. More Bush appointees on the US Supreme Court could spell disaster, with grave implications for Canada as well.

Nobody expects that a victory for Kerry would mean a swing to the left in US politics. But it would set back the most dangerous political forces on the world stage today. That's an outcome which could give time for the growing people's movements to move back to the offensive before US imperialism destroys our planet

© 2004 Communist Party of Canada