Markin comment:
In 2007-2008 I, in vain,
attempted to put some energy into analyzing the blossoming American
presidential campaign since it was to be, as advertised at least, a watershed
election, for women, blacks, old white anglos, latinos, youth, etc. In the
event I had to abandon the efforts in about May of 2008 when it became obvious,
in my face obvious, that the election would be a watershed only for those who
really believed that it would be a watershed election. The four years of the
Obama presidency, the 2012 American presidential election campaign, and world
politics have only confirmed in my eyes that that abandonment was essentially
the right decision at the right time. In short, let the well- paid bourgeois
commentators go on and on with their twitter. I, we, had (have) better things
to do like fighting against the permanent wars, the permanent war economies,
the struggle for more and better jobs, and for a workers party that fights for
a workers government . More than enough to do, right? Still a look back at some
of the stuff I wrote then does not a bad feel to it. Read on.
************
MR GORBACHEV (OOPS!),
MR. BUSH TEAR DOWN THAT WALL-FULL CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS
SOME COMMENTARY ABOUT
THE IMMIGRATION STRUGGLE AND A FOOLPROOF PLAN FOR SOLVING THE IMMIGRATION
CRISIS.
FORGET DONKEYS,
ELEPHANTS AND GREENS-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!
Forgive the writer for taking
a page from the late, unlamented Ronald Reagan’s playbook but with all this
talk on Capitol Hill about walling in the Southwest I got carried away. The
point however is that such a scheme as is currently proposed in the House
version of the immigration bill is flat out crazy. And that, my friends, is a
true political fact. No militant can
support any of the immigration bills before Congress and if we had workers
party representatives in Congress we would emphatically and loudly vote such
measures down.
A few thoughts on the struggle for full citizenship rights for all immigrants.
As I write these lines there
have been a couple of weeks of massive demonstrations for immigrant rights
spearheaded by the Hispanic populations of the West and Southwest followed by a
massive May Day boycott and further demonstrations. Noteworthy, in Chicago at
least, were contingents of Polish, Irish and other nationalities. All these
developments are steps in the right direction and points out the stark reality
of immigration in America. In the final analysis all real victories for working
people come from the streets not from the Congress.
Let’s face it, one way or
another, in the near or remote past, almost all of us came here as immigrants
from someplace else. I will confess that, as far as I know, my father’s
forbearers were run out of England as horse thieves in the early 1800’s. My
mother’s forbearers came over from Ireland on the ‘famine ships’ in the 1840’s.
Thus, my family tree is a little shaky on what passed for green cards in those
days. The point is that people generally do not leave their countries of origin
without extremely good reasons to leave. Those who want to shut the door on
immigrants here, unless their surnames are Chief Joseph, Red Cloud or Sitting
Bull, should be very, very circumspect about their positions. In fact, let us
check THEIR green card history. Sorry, even arrival on the Mayflower is not
good enough.
It is particularly important that the last
waves of immigration gain the same rights that those of us who have been here
longer. This is especially true for working class people who have been
victimized by the same divide and conquer strategy by the capitalists who run
this government and the country. Let’s put the onus where it belongs, on the
capitalist who do benefit from such policies. Immigrants do not threaten our
livelihoods. Failure to struggle against the bosses does.
One aspect of the current
bills is the ‘guest worker’ plan. Let us be clear- THIS IS INDENTURED SERVITUDE-
and must be opposed by militants. It is noteworthy that the major labor
federations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win Coalition as well as such an august
figure as the National Chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean have
expressed at least half-hearted opposition to this portion of the bills. They
believe they are being progressive and pro-worker by such a stand. And such a
position would be truly progressive- in the 1700’s. For militants today that is not nearly
enough.
It is rather ironic that one
of the most impoverished sections of the working class-Hispanics- is leading
the struggle. This is not accidental, for many of the foreign born militants
leading today’s struggles come from countries where they have participated in
class struggles against their own boss class (and under less than democratic
conditions, including loss of life). It is up to the American labor movement,
especially the organized trade union movement, to lead the fight for full
citizenship rights for all immigrants in its own self-interest and
self-defense. Even a cursory look at the history of social struggles in this
country demonstrates that to win any demands sharp class struggle methods are
needed. Yesterday’s labor struggles to win union recognition in the 1930’s were
not gifts but fought for in the streets, by strikes, sit-downs and other
militant methods. The lesson-If you do
not fight you cannot win. This battle can be won. Let’s win it.
The writer has been asked
what type of immigration bill he would support. Well, I have a simple one point
plan. Give each immigrant a local map, and depending on individual economic
circumstances, bus fare, train fare or money for a car rental and head him or
her to the nearest federal courthouse to be swore in as a citizen. Enough
said.
FULL CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS FOR
ALL THOSE WHO MAKE IT HERE! NO REPRISALS AGAINST DEMONSTRATORS! DROP CHARGES
AGAINST ANY ARRESTEES!
BRING MOTIONS TO SUPPORT THESE DEMANDS BEFORE
YOUR UNION, STUDENT GOVERNMENT, POLITCAL ORGANIZATIONS OR RELGIOUS GROUPS. URGE
A NO VOTE ON ALL CURRENT IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION BEFORE CONGRESS.
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