The notion that John Forbes Kerry is either better or a “lesser evil” than George Walker Bush, however, is false from the standpoint of the interests of workers and farmers.

Kerry’s own campaign and record leave little room for this argument. The Democratic candidate trumpets his credentials as a “war hero” for fighting against the Vietnamese people in the last major war that U.S. imperialism lost. He backs Washington’s unceasing economic war against the Cuban Revolution and calls for carrying out more aggressive measures against Venezuela than the Bush administration has taken. He voted for Washington’s invasion of Iraq and backs the occupation, calling for an increase in the number of U.S. troops there. He quickly joined Bush in endorsing the Israeli settlement plan, which Tel Aviv is using to maintain permanently some of the largest settlement blocs in the West Bank and refuse the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land. And Kerry tries to out-do Bush on how effective he will be in fighting the “war on terrorism”—the code word used by all the imperialist powers to warn anyone standing up to their domination that an Iraq-like treatment may be around the corner. In other words, he “can do better” at defending the profits of America’s Sixty Families in the world.

On the home front, Kerry’s war cry has been “homeland security.” Under this banner, the Democrats have been leading the drive to centralize the functioning of the federal police agencies. (Here it’s appropriate to make a correction. In last week’s editorial and main headline we said the Democrats are leading the drive for “increased police spying.” This is misleading, however. There is no evidence that the Democrats are pushing for more spying than the Republicans. Under both parties, working people have and will face widening dragnets, intensified domestic spying, and attempts to roll back the rights of the accused and convicted.) Kerry is also following the antilabor footsteps of his predecessor, William “end welfare as we know it” Clinton.

With a solid four-year record of carrying out these policies on behalf of the U.S. ruling class, it’s not surprising that Bush’s prospects for re-election do not seem bad. At this point, barring a sharp economic downturn before November, it’s up to the Bush campaign to win or to lose.

Middle-class radicals who are trying to convince working people to stick with the Democrats argue that by helping to elect Kerry they’ll be able to nudge the Democratic Party to the left. What a dismal perspective—like pleading with the slavemaster to soften the crack of his whip.

It’s not who votes for a party that determines its character. The class that a party votes for in its program and policies is what determines the nature of the party. By this criterion the Democratic Party, like the Republicans, is a party whose purpose is to uphold the interests of the U.S. ruling class and of American imperialism.

Furthermore, it’s not individual politicians, such as Kerry or Bush, or even their parties, that are the root of the problem. The problem is that American capitalism—as well as French, German, and Japanese capitalism, for that matter—are not only incapable of solving the ills facing humanity but are the main cause of them: from economic dislocation, to hunger, racism, the oppression of women, and war.

The only working-class alternative in 2004 is the Socialist Workers ticket. We urge you to support the socialist campaign—a campaign you can be for. Distribute its literature. Arrange speaking engagements for SWP candidates. Join other socialist campaigners at plant gates and street corners in reaching out with the message of the socialist campaign. And vote Socialist Workers in November.
 
 
Related articles:
Nebraska: socialist campaigners meet ballot drive goal, get support from meat packers, other pro-union workers
Socialists file for Mississippi ballot
$43,000 collected for socialist campaign, funds still needed  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home