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P.O. Box 10328

Oakland CA 94610

Youth for

Socialist Action

P.O. Box 16853

Duluth MN 55816

Socialists & Elections

Introduction: We believe in independent working class politics. We are 100% opposed to the twin parties of capitalism – the Democrats and Republicans – and don’t believe that third parties, such as the Green Party, represent a real working class alternative. We believe that there is no community of common interests between workers and bosses, and therefore working people need their own party, that they control. That is why we call for a labor party based on the unions.

Currently Socialist Action has one elected official, Adam Ritscher, who was elected to the Douglas County Board of Supervisors in northern Wisconsin in April of 2006. We also recently ran Jeff Mackler for U.S. Senate in northern California in the fall 2006 elections.

We’ve set up this page to highlight and explain some our views and commentary of local and national elections, and the theory behind our approach. We welcome any feedback to the materials posted here!

Election News & Views:

A Reply to Howard Zinn on the Elections: Howard Zinn, in his column for “The Progressive” (March 2008), has written a political analysis that deplores the current “election frenzy.” In its place he offers a guide to action based on the understanding that presidential elections, in and of themselves, do very little to solve social problems. Unfortunately, his overall argument is flawed by its inability to break free from the lure of the two-party system in general and of the Democrats in particular. continued

Is Obama an “Antiwar” Candidate? Credit Senator Barack Obama and his staff for running an enormously successful primary campaign. Shrugging off a disappointing defeat in New Hampshire, he has, by late February, beaten former frontrunner Hillary Clinton in 11 straight primary and caucus elections and is poised to capture his party’s nomination for president. continued

What John McCain Stands For: A good way to discover the truth is to compare the mistruths and lies. Recently, the likely Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, let slip a prediction that the American military would remain in Iraq “for a hundred years.” continued

Should We Look to Democrats to End the War? On Sept. 26 the Democrat-controlled Congress passed its second blank check for war in Iraq. Three days later in a debate between leading Democratic presidential candidates, Clinton, Obama, and Edwards were each asked to commit to withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq by 2013 if elected president. All said that they could not. continued

What Can Labor Expect From the Democrats’ Victory: In November, Democrats won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years. As always, big business contributed the most money but labor did their legwork. Hundreds of thousands of union volunteers from the AFL-CIO and Change to Win made millions of calls and distributed tens of millions of flyers. continued

A Shift to the Left in Latin American Elections: How should revolutionists respond to the current electoral shift to the left in Latin America? A series of elections in Latin America—including Brazil, Nicaragua and Venezuela—have led or are expected to lead to victories of left or neo-populist candidates. The most polarized vote will undoubtedly be in Venezuela on Dec. 3. continued

Jeff Mackler Launches Campaign for U.S. Senate: Socialism means a society, the first in human history, where the basic decisions affecting our lives will be made by us, for us, and through institutions that we control on a daily basis.
Join the fight for a socialist future! Join Socialist Action! Vote for Jeff Mackler for the U.S. Senate! campaign website

S.A. Member Elected to County Board: In April of 2006 Adam Ritscher, a member of Socialist Action and Youth for Socialist Action, was elected to a two-year term to serve as the District 6 representative on the Douglas County Board of Supervisors. Ritscher, who ran openly as a Socialist, is Socialist Action’s first elected public official, as well as being the first member of any socialist organization elected in this region in several decades.