Running For President

Recently, I received an invitation to join the Communist Party of Massachusetts, from the State Committee of that stone-cold dead political entity. Actually, the meeting (at the Center for Marxist Education) was held this morning. It doesn't feel like a missed opportunity. I was, of course, a member and officer of the Socialist Party for many years, and as amazing as it sounds the SPUSA is vital by comparison. It's likely that both parties will go the way of the Whigs, but being a Socialist and an romantic I like to imagine that my political ideals have a future. If they do, however, it will most likely be through the Democratic Party. Trying to set up a viable third-party in the USA is a fucking nightmare. Trust me. Right now, I'm a member of Democratic Socialists of America, which is not a political party but an organization that tries to raise awareness and pretty much acts as an insurance policy for the Democrats in case socialism makes a return. The devolution of radical left parties in this country, as they have become more sectarian and less relevant, is incredibly complicated and painful to behold if you actually give a shit about worker solidarity, national health care and civil liberties. I have no doubt that, had I stayed in the SPUSA, I would have lost years off my life and suffered from psychosomatic illnesses.

But it's not much better in the Democratic Party, if it's better at all. Hillary Clinton? Are you fucking kidding me? She'd support mandatory nipple removal if she thought it would get her the presidency. Whomever wins that office will have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars. I actually personally know two people who ran for president, and neither of them are millionaires (J. Quinn Brisben and David McReynolds), which is why you've never heard of them. David made history by being the first gay man to run for the highest office in the land, back in 1980. Both men are fantastic human beings, but I'm not sure if they would have been good presidents. Back in 1992, Quinn got about 3,000 votes. Mary Cal Hollis, whom I've met but don't really know, got about 5,000 votes in 1996. The last campaign I worked on in any capacity was for David in 2000, when he ran again and got about 6,000 votes. That doesn't sound like much, but keep in mind that they were only on the ballot in a few states. Getting a third-party candidate on the ballot is almost impossible in most states. The only successful office-seeking Socialist I knew was Frank P. Zeidler. He was very old when I met him in 1992, and died just a couple of years ago. He was the mayor of Milwaukee between 1948 and 1960. I'm so proud to have worked with him at a couple of conventions, and for our correspondance.

The Democratic Party offers no experiences like that. I've worked for Dukakis and Kerry and some other Democrats in my life, and it's an absolutely thankless experience unless you plan on using your volunteer efforts to get experience and later seek paid work within the party. Or to run for yourself. That's why I don't regret joining and working for the SPUSA, because I met brilliant wonderful people. For years I lied to myself that socialist's like myself would surpass the success of Eugene V. Debs...I'm not sure if I ever really believed it.

Political blue balls.

Running for president is pretty sexy, but there are a lot of people who worked hard and won lesser seats, or lost lesser seats. Third parties can't package a message, or a candidate, and put on a pretty bow. They rely on activism and real passion. Naturally, they've withered in this environment of apathy and misplaced faith in capitalism. But that's a post for another day.

I'm sure a lot of fascinating people met this morning in Cambridge, and that they are willing to work hard for their noble goals. As for me, I slept in and then went out to get the paper.