Vote Socialist on Tuesday!

by Andrea Pason and Billy Wharton – co-chairs Socialist Party USA

http://www.socialistparty-usa.org/votesocialist2010.html

America’s re-introduction to socialist politics continues this Tuesday as voters head to the ballot booths. In many parts of the country, Socialist and other Independent candidates will offer viable alternatives to the budget cutting politics of Democrats and Republicans. Instead of endorsing budget cuts and war or casting a vote for one corporate funded candidate or another, voters can vote for a democratic socialist alternative that places human needs at the top of the political agenda. The center of this struggle is the state of Ohio, where veteran labor activist Dan LaBotz is running an innovative grassroots campaign for US Senate as a Socialist Party USA candidate. At first, LaBotz’s campaign seemed novel in that it was pitched as a united left endeavor. All stripes of radicals were welcome to contribute to the effort to put socialism on the ballot. Indeed, Socialist Party USA, International Socialist Organization and Solidarity members have been joined by remnants of the Labor Party, radical trade unionists and even some disaffected Democrats to push the campaign forward. Opportunities to present a fresh vision of democratic socialism were expanded by this momentum and the fact that the Democratic Party candidate exited the race early on. LaBotz’s “Buckeye Socialism” was soon being spread throughout the state at Youth Progressive Conferences, at LGBT organizing meetings, at worker’s meetings and even at a local mosque during a forum organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

On Tuesday, thousands of people will vote for Dan LaBotz on the Socialist Party USA line to be their US Senator. Thousands more are still undecided. They should consider LaBotz’s anti-war message, his commitment to worker’s rights and his ironclad pledge to put the unemployed back to work. Consider also that something much larger than an election in Ohio is going on. We believe that socialism is an idea whose time has come. We have a plan for bringing democracy to the economy through worker’s control and ownership of their workplaces. This will put people back to work in mass numbers. We have a different vision of the US in the world, as a peacemaker not a war maker. We will bring the troops home, close military bases in other countries and cut the military budget by 50%. Finally, socialists have a strong commitment to civil rights – we believe that people should both have rights and be able to use them. We will dismantle the growing security state, break up the media monopoly where six corporations own 90% of the media and guarantee rights for all people. Dan LaBotz is not our only candidate.

In Michigan, socialists are running as Green Party candidates for the Boards of Regents and Supervisors for the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. In Vermont, socialists will appear on both the Socialist Party USA and Liberty Union lines. In Connecticut, socialist DJ, Todd Vachon is calling for voters to join a “write-in revolution” by writing in his name for US Senate. And, in New York State, Socialist Party USA member Howie Hawkins is waging a determined campaign for Governor on the Green Party line against a right wing Democrat who is preparing massive budget cuts. All of these candidates support the basic ideas of democratic socialism – things like democratic workplaces, free access to healthcare, and free education. Each also has the ability to offer socialist solutions for local problems. On this Election Day, we ask you to consider joining the thousands of other people in this country who will be voting Socialist.

Equally important, we ask that voting not be your only political act. The Socialist Party USA’s goal is to create a radically democratic society in which participation and solidarity become bedrock principles. Getting involved in political activities beyond the ballot box is critical to such a transformation. We invite you to contact us to begin the process of freeing our society from the seemingly never-ending cycle of war and economic crisis under capitalism.

Vote Socialist on Tuesday!
Join the struggle for Democratic Socialism!
www.sp-usa.org