On Fri, 02 May 2008 04:19:22 -0700, rab <rogeralanblackwell@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
> On 1 May, 21:44, Vngelis <meberr...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> On May 1, 5:27 pm, rab <rogeralanblackw...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>> Voting isn't a panacea. One must know when to vote and when not to
>> vote.
>
> So it's a question of 'when not to vote is it?' Those that refuse to
> defend the previous gains of the working class will not be able to
> make new ones - that's the principle here!
>
>> Livingstone is standing on a pro-globalist ticket on how 'successful'
>> and multicultural London is, as if that has any meaning when the City
>> of London dominates and Brown is bending over backwards handing
>> workers money to the bankers, a move the SWP actually sup****ts.
The usefulness of a parliamentary boycott is pretty much limited to those
times when sma****ng parliament is on the agenda, that is, to periods
rather the opposite of the present--at least with the hindsight of the
British returns this morning. So I can't agree with vngelis. I think I too
would call for a vote for Labor. And notwithstanding David's remarks, I
cannot detect even a touch of ultra-leftism. What the OCI calls
"self-proclamation," definitely. But not ultra-leftism, such as vngelis's
at least refre****ng abstentionism. And again pace David, I think the
correct perspective for this election round would be propagandistic. The
reasons vngelis gives for boycott seem to me actual reasons for a
propagandistic approach.
My problem with the editorial is that it gives uncritical sup****t to
Livingstone. One reading it without knowing the WRP's position would think
there's a progressive faction in the Labor Party and a reactionary
faction, and workers should unite behind the progressive Livingstone to
get rid of the reactionaries and take on the Tories. Yes, defend past
gains, but uncritical sup****t of Livingstone is no real defense, as the
results showed.
I would tell the workers honestly, "Look, blokes, we know Livingstone is
barely worth the couple of hours it will take to vote for him. But you can
make an afternoon of it, meet your mates after voting, have some beer, and
it won't be all that bad. Labor will have the same objectives as the
Tories, but they will have to move just a little slower. That's reason
enough to waste a few hours on the clown, isn't it?"
srd
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