(Photo Stewart Alexander, one of seven Peace and Freedom Party presidential candidates.)

Liberation News Voting Recommendations for The February 5, 2008 California Primaries

State Ballot Propositions

Proposition 91, Transportation Funds – Vote NO

Prop 91 will force the governor and state legislature to use the billion collected annually from the gasoline tax only for transportation uses. It doesn’t address the need for higher subsidies for public transportation nor other measures necessary to curtail global warming. Vote NO.

Proposition 92, Community College Funding, Governance and Fees – Vote YES

Prop 92 will reduce community college costs to per unit, and freeze it there, while also sending more state money from the general fund to community colleges. This measure is also supported by the California Federation of Teachers and the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. Vote YES.

Proposition 93, Limits on Legislators’ Terms in Office – Vote NO

Prop 93 will reduce the current term limit of 14 years to 12 years for California state legislators. This is a useless proposition that will not address the undemocratic nature of U.S. elections, ruled by the money of donations by big capital, ruled by the propaganda of the corporate media, and ruled by winner takes-all elections as opposed to proportional representation. If voters want to continue to re-elect particular politicians, that should be their democratic choice. Vote NO.

Propositions 94, 95, 96, and 97, Amendments to Indian Gaming Compacts – Vote YES

This is a question of Native sovereignty. The State of California has no right to tell Native people how to run their nations. These measures would allow the Pechanga, Morongo, Sycuan, and Agua Caliente bands to add more slot machines to their casinos. Native people in the United States, as compared to whites, suffer much higher infant mortality, lower life-expectancy, and higher unemployment. This is due to American racism, land theft, and genocide against Native people. The ability of Native people to use their status of sovereignty to their advantage and make money from gaming is a good thing. One drawback is that a number of California First Nations will not get any of the money from this gaming because they are not federally recognized. Yet, what needs to change is having federal recognition of tribes currently denied. In addition, casino workers deserve higher pay and union protections. Yet, the fact that gaming money should be more evenly distributed and that casino workers should be better able to organize unions, doesn’t change the fact that Indian gaming has helped Native people, and that the fundamental question here is one of Native sovereignty. Vote YES.

Presidential Candidate Recommendations

Democrat and Republican Parties, Not Recommended

On Principle, Liberation News opposes both the Democrat and Republican Parties as capitalist parties funded and controlled by big capital. Continued corporate control of America will only bring more wars, environmental destruction, exploitation, racism, sexism, homophobia, and a further erosion of democratic rights. All Democrat and Republican candidates, with exceptions of Democrat Mike Gravel and Republican Ron Paul, are pro-war. All Democrat and Republican candidates are also opposed to socialized medicine, and only Mike Gravel is for single payer medicine.

Also see:

Pro-War Democrats Battle for the Presidency

http://people.tribe.net/steveargue2/blog/685fff76-d834-41f1-8187-d280883740dc

The Case for Socialized Medicine in the United States, and the Struggle to Achieve It

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/01/212284.php

Green Party, Not Recommended

While the Green Party and its candidates generally have fairly good immediate positions on the war and a number of other social issues, Liberation News does not support Green Party candidates because the Green Party is a capitalist party.

The Green Party is clear in their program. They state that they are for a system of small capitalism. Yet the small capitalists commonly have a smaller profit margin and often exploit workers worse than the big capitalists. In opposition to such a vision of small and inefficient capitalist exploiters, Liberation News looks to labor struggle and the nationalization of industry under democratic workers’ control, with universal suffrage and democratic rights, as the way to fight and neutralize the corporate exploiters and bring justice for the working class.

It was a massive and fighting labor movement, led to large extent by socialists, that forced the American ruling class and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to carry out the New Deal reforms in the 1930’s. This was out of fear of further unrest and potential revolution. It is the position of Liberation News that the most meaningful reforms do not come from reformism, such as that of the Green Party, but from revolutionary and working class struggle.

Peace and Freedom Party, Recommended

The Peace and Freedom Party has seven candidates. While the Peace and Freedom Party is socialist in its program, many members have a propensity towards supporting liberal capitalist candidates at times. This is reflected in the choices registered Peace and Freedom Party members will be deciding between. Those seven candidates will now be briefly evaluated.

Stewart Alexander, Recommended

Liberation News recommends a vote for Stewart Alexander, the best activist candidate with a clear socialist and democratic program. He is currently in the Peace and Freedom Party and he is the Executive Director of the African American Civil Liberties Union and was the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2006. He is clearly for an immediate end to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, supports fully socialized medicine, and is in favor of a socialized economy with the resources of society used for human and environmental needs as opposed to the profit and exploitation of capitalism. YES on Alexander.

Gloria LaRiva, Not Recommended

Gloria LaRiva is a clear socialist and dedicated activist against U.S. imperialist wars and racism as well as other socialist causes. This makes her worth considering. Besides running in the Peace and Freedom Party primaries, Gloria LaRiva is the Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate for president. Yet, her party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, is not clear, as Stewart Alexander is, about the need for socialism to be democratic. While a number of countries did better with undemocratic forms of socialism than how they were doing under capitalism, including Cuba today, the abuses that have also occurred in undemocratic socialist societies have proven the need for universal suffrage and full democratic rights in socialist societies.

Brian Moore, Worth Considering

Brian Moore is a socialist and dedicated activist against the war. Besides running in the Peace and Freedom Party primaries, Brian Moore is also the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party. He calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq and has helped organize an important coalition against the war in Florida. Generally, however, Stewart Alexander does a better job of using his campaign to explain the root evils of capitalism and the need for socialism.

Ralph Nader, Not Recommended

Ralph Nader is a liberal millionaire capitalist, and not a socialist. He agrees with the capitalist Green Party program. In addition, he will not run unless Hillary Clinton is nominated. If that happens he says he may run for president to oppose her. Earlier in the primaries he also endorsed Democrat John Edwards. Yet there is little difference between pro-war, pro-“PATRIOT” Act, and anti-single payer healthcare Obama and Edwards, and pro-war, pro-“PATRIOT” Act, and anti-single payer healthcare Clinton. Still, Nader spreads illusions that various war-mongering corporate Democrat candidates are worth supporting. This is one of the reasons Nader is not worth supporting.

Stanly Hetz, Not a Serious Candidate

Stanly Hetz does not call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, nor does he call for socialized medicine or single-payer healthcare, and instead calls for suing insurance companies under certain situations. He also seems to have a late start in his campaign and does not yet even have a website up. Hetz is not worth considering for such a serious post as winning people to the program of socialism through his electoral campaign.

Cynthia McKinney, Not Recommended

Cynthia McKinney was a congressperson of the Democrat Party for twelve years. She has since broken with the Democrats and is running as a Green Party candidate, but was also put on the Peace and Freedom Party primary ballot. While McKinney takes a number of good stands against the war and for single payer healthcare (not fully socialized healthcare), she is presently in support of the program of the Green Party, a party for a system of small capitalism. Yet the small capitalists commonly have a smaller profit margin and often exploit workers worse than the big capitalists. In opposition to such a vision of small and inefficient capitalist exploiters, socialists look to labor struggle and the nationalization of industry under democratic workers’ control, with universal suffrage and democratic rights, as the way to fight and neutralize the corporate exploiters and bring justice for the working class.

John Crockford, Not a Serious Candidate

In the official California voter guide John Crockford uses the precious space available to him to repeatedly say that he will be best qualified to represent the San Joaquin Valley. Yet he’s running for president in a socialist party where he should be putting forward an internationalist program to end capitalism, imperialism, and the environmental destruction of the planet. Crockford is not worth considering for such a serious post as winning people to the program of socialism through his electoral campaign.

Summary of State Recommendations:

Proposition 91, Transportation Funds – Vote NO

Proposition 92, Community College Funding, Governance and Fees – Vote YES

Proposition 93, Limits on Legislators’ Terms in Office – Vote NO

Propositions 94, 95, 96, and 97, Amendments to Indian Gaming Compacts – Vote YES

Presidential Candidate recommendation:

Stewart Alexander, Peace and Freedom Party



These are the recommendations of Liberation News, subscribe free:

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