While most Bush nominees are receiving a bipartisan welcome in Congress, several have become the target of factional attack, mainly by the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. The debate revolves around crucial questions for working people--issues at the heart of the "cultural wars" in bourgeois politics--such as a woman's right to abortion, affirmative action, and school desegregation.

As with every instance where the two parties that represent the superwealthy minority in this country begin to debate rights working people have won in struggle--with one side or another posing as defenders of workers, farmers, women, or Blacks--it is important to step back and put the framework of the debate on a working-class foundation.

In attempting to further the assault on the social wage, democratic rights, and other hard-won gains of working people, the new administration will build on inroads made by the outgoing one. Under the Clinton administration blows have been dealt to affirmative action, access by wor-king women to abortion across the country, and school de-segregation. The extension of the death penalty, blows dealt to working women with the abolition of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and assaults on the rights of immigrants are just a few of the "accomplishments" of the previous White House and Congress.

The main line of questioning by Democratic senators of Ashcroft has been whether he will uphold the "law of the land." But there is no law on the books that transcends the class struggle. Whether or not they are "sworn" to uphold the law, capitalist politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike, use their elected or appointed posts to probe to see where they can turn back gains of working people. Employers routinely ignore or seek to circumvent any law impinging on their profits, including by flouting workers' right to organize unions, job safety, environmental protections, and minimum wage and overtime pay regulations. All these are decided in the class struggle and later codified into law, reflecting the relationship of forces. What the Bush administration is able to carry out will depend not primarily on his cabinet appointments or declarations but on the unfolding class struggle at home and abroad.

Tens of thousands of working people have begun to resist the rulers' assault through strikes, street protests, and other actions against the employers and their government over the past several years. These have included mass actions to defend affirmative action and immigrant rights; rallies to oppose the death penalty and to protest racist assaults, including by police in many cities; and mobilizations to defend unions under attack. These struggles point to relying on the collective strength and capacities of working people and our organizations, such as the unions, to defend past gains.

Solidarity--seeing every question as a social question where action by the working class is needed to defend the interests of the majority--will become increasingly important with an economic slowdown and the pressures it brings to bear on the toiling majority. While the capitalist rulers offer increased racism, brutality, war, and assaults on the unions, working people can chart a road toward social solidarity and revolutionary struggle to replace the government of the wealthy minority with one of workers and farmers and to abolish the dog-eat-dog system of capitalism.
 
 
Related article:
Debate flares up around Bush appointees  
 
 
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