I was assigned by People’s World to cover the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston that nominated John Kerry for president. The other big part of my assignment was to report on the mass protests outside the Fleet Center convention hall urging the Democrats to oppose the Iraq war.
The weekend before that convention, anti-war and social justice protesters gathered at UMass Boston to prepare for the demonstrations they planned both outside and inside the DNC. People from every conceivable mass organization were there, including members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).
The CPUSA sponsored a workshop in one of the UMass classrooms, and I was asked to be one of the panelists. The discussion was focused on building a strong and independent grassroots movement—one strong enough to defeat the extreme right, force an end to race and gender oppression, win world peace, a cut in the Pentagon budget, and the transfer of billions in tax dollars to programs that meet human needs like universal health care and affordable housing.
The classroom was packed with over a hundred people. Among them were plenty of ultra-leftists, just champing at the bit to challenge the CPUSA for “tailing” the Democratic Party.
We made our pitch, urging a broad united front of all left, progressive, and center forces to defeat the ultra-right and win major gains for our multiracial working class.
One guy standing at the back was practically jumping up and down in his eagerness. He was called on. Loudly, in a sarcastic, sneering voice he said: “The CPUSA are shameless toadies to the Democrats. I challenge you to name one real Communist who has ever endorsed a capitalist politician. Name me just one!”
There was a moment of silence among the panelists. Then I gestured to the chair to hand the microphone to me.
I stood.
“Well, how about Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels?” I said.
“They endorsed Abraham Lincoln. Marx called Lincoln a ‘son of the working class.’ Marx corresponded with Lincoln. And Lincoln thanked Marx for his role in mobilizing the British working class against England siding with the Confederacy.”
The expression of scorn disappeared from the ultra-leftist’s face. He turned beet-red, shouting, “But that’s different! Lincoln was NOT a capitalist!”
His shouting and gesticulating were in vain. The crowd was applauding my answer.
As for the CPUSA endorsing capitalist politicians, it’s never done that. But the party did in 2004, as in elections before and since, work to mobilize opposition to the ultra-right, a strategy at the center of my deepest values for as long as I have been a political activist.
Most of my time was spent outside the DNC in Boston covering the street protests and a big rally that packed Faneuil Hall, where the grassroots leaders of the American Revolution had met in 1776.
The person I interviewed who expressed my views perfectly was David Cline, a leader of Veterans for Peace and a founder of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He’d been severely wounded in Vietnam and was a winner of many medals for combat valor.
David had joined other Vietnam veterans in throwing his medals at the base of the statue of Chief Justice John Marshall on the West Steps of the U.S. Capitol when VVAW staged its march on Washington to protest the Vietnam War.
He was standing in the crowd of about 2,000 anti-war protesters outside Faneuil Hall when I interviewed him.
“We have to remove the neo-conservatives from the White House and Congress,” he told me. “We have to have a movement with longevity to push for progressive change in foreign and domestic policy.”
Amen!
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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