Posted June 5, 2008
Motion from Solidarity National Committee
(Passed 5/17/08)
Solidarity endorses the Cynthia McKinney campaign in the Green Party as the most viable option for an independent political alternative in the 2008 presidential election. We make this choice in the context of the following considerations:
1) We fully recognize that the political space available to independent politics in this election is
small, and we are not anticipating or banking on a
mass “breakthrough” or indeed a showing on the scale
of Ralph Nader’s campaign in 2000. Supporting
independent politics is an important statement of
principled opposition to the parties of corporate
capital.
2) The choice of supporting a McKinney candidacy in
2008 over other options, in particular the independent
campaign of Ralph Nader, isn’t because we see
fundamental differences in principled politics between
them. It’s our assessment that the McKinney campaign
has a greater potential “upside,” particularly in
advancing the possibility of the Green Party becoming
a people of color-led formation with a chance to
develop real social roots. Again, this is not a
question of expecting the McKinney or any other
independent campaign on the left to be a mass
phenomenon this time around.
3) We respect the fact that for a number of reasons,
our assessment isn’t shared unanimously by committed
activists for independent politics. We respect those
in particular who are working for the Nader campaign
and we’re committed to helping ensure that differences
among IPA forces over strategy for 2008 don’t become
barriers to unity in struggle over the long haul.
4) We have to recognize that choosing “our” candidate
for 2008 isn’t the only issue for us, and indeed not
the most important. We need to address ourselves
critically and sympathetically, but without illusions,
to the mass sentiment among African Americans and
among youth of all races rallying around Barack Obama.
There are powerful and valid reasons why the Black
community – which is overwhelmingly loyal to the
Democratic Party – sees the need to defend Obama’s
nomination for president from being “hijacked” by
party superdelegates. Black Americans know that
failing to do so now would be to sacrifice an
opportunity that will not come around again for a long
time to come, if ever. They know that ANY Black
politician’s pastor could be attacked like Jeremiah
Wright. And they know that throwing the nomination to
Hillary Clinton on grounds of “electability” would be
saying that the Black vote can be taken for granted
but white voters have to be carefully massaged.
5) The most important thing for us is to
simultaneously present our critique of Obama – which
is not complicated, it’s simply that he’s a centrist
corporate Democrat – with a defense of the Black
community’s (and young people’s) defense of Obama. We
suggest the approach taken in the ATC 134 editorial
and Malik Miah’s article on Obama, Wright and Black
Liberation Theology.