File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1996/96-11-09.204, message 24


Date: Thu, 07 Nov 1996 08:11:46 +0000
From: Richard Bos <Richard.Bos-AT-hagcott.meganet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: M-I: American Elections


Justin Schwartz wrote:

> 
> The vote total for the two main parties and Perot was 88,951,101. That's
> about 49% of the eligible electorate, the lowest since Coolidge's election
> in 1924. The breakdown, from the Chicago Tribune, and including minor
> oparties, is as follows:
> 
> Clinton, William Jefferson Democrat 44,300,236 49%
> Dole, Robert J. Republican 36,985,693 41%
> Perot, Ross Reform 7,665,172 8%
> Nader, Ralph Green 549,950 1%
> Browne, Harry Libertarian 451,213 1%
> Phillips, Howard Taxpayers 175,178 1%
> Hagelin, John Samuel Natural Law 106,348 1%
> Moorehead, Monica Gail Workers World 28,227 1%
> Harris, James Democrat 12,057 1%
> Collins, Charles Edwin Republican 7,128 1%
> Feinland, Marsha Peace And Freedom 3,601 1%
> Hollis, Mary Cal Socialist Workers 3,271 1%
> White, Jerome Socialist Equality 2,275 1%
> Dodge, Earl F.  Prohibition 1,122 1%
> 
> Alas, American "democracy" may be in decay, but it's not anywhere near
> terminal in the sense of there being any foreseeable prospect of an end to
> the Republicrat rule.
> 
> --JUstin

I was shocked to see just how low the vote was for the Left candidates
in the US election. How many members, and how much support does the left
in general have in the US?

The NCPB never stands candidates for a number of reasons that we have
been into before. One of which was that we would get a pathetically
small vote for the effort, and expence put in. It costs 500 pounds
sterling per parliamentary seat I think (maybe more). Even so, I reckon
a small organisation like this one could get more votes nationally than
all the US left combined.(If we had that kind of money, I could think of
far better ways of spending it though.) We would still be behind
Screaming Lord Sutch and the Official Monster Raving Looney Party!

Is it that most of the American left boycott the elections? Is it
because they do not stand in all States?

It would be of interest to many of us outside the USA to know in a
little more depth about the state of the left in the USA. Organisations;
influence; how they relate with each other; class structure of
activists; do parties work together; moves towards unity etc. etc.

Seeing the figures made me realise that there is very little of this
kind of analysis on this list, and the old list, about the US scene.
There has been more about Britain and Australia, and almost nothing from
other parts of the world.

If the left in the major imperialist countries is so weak then we should
really understand this. We should study the parts of the world were it
is growing.

When we have done all that; we should get off our buts and bloody well
do something about it!

Comradely,

Richard.                     
      New Worker Online http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2853



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