[act-ma] Call for the 'Socialist Contingent' at Oct 2nd Rally in D.C.!

Mon Sep 27 08:01:44 PDT 2010

***Please Forward Widely***

Statement of the Socialist Contingent followed by initial endorsers and information for Washington, DC:

Join the Socialist Contingent on October 2

We March for Jobs, Peace, Justice and the Socialist Alternative That Can Win Them

Hundreds
 of thousands of Americans organized by labor and civil rights 
organizations will gather in Washington, D.C. on October 2 to demand a 
change in the direction that our nation is heading. We are proud to join
 this march to demand jobs, to demand an end to the wars in Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and for a society that is fairer, more equal 
and more just. We believe it important to be in the capital on that date
 to help create a counterweight to Glenn Beck, the Tea Party, and 
Republicans, their reactionary politics, ruthless economics, and their 
racism.

We
 do not, however, share the goals of the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, and other 
organizations which hope to achieve jobs and justice by supporting 
Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in the national elections on 
November 2. We believe that it has become quite clear now that neither 
Democrats nor the Republicans are capable of solving the country’s three
 great crises—the economy, the environment, and the wars—in a way that 
will be good for the American people. The goals of a full employment 
economy, real environmental sustainability, and peace cannot be achieved
 by our capitalist system and the corporations motivated only by profit.
 We need a new direction toward a new system.

The
 two major parties have failed us. During the past two years, the 
Democrats and Republicans have failed to represent us, but they have 
done a fine job of representing the banks, insurance companies, and 
corporations. They saved the banks for the bankers—not those whose homes
 are still threatened with foreclosure or collapsing value. They saved 
the auto industry for the auto CEOs—not for the workers whose plants 
have been closed, whose health insurance contributions have been raised,
 and whose wages have been lowered. They have saved the health insurance
 companies by forcing millions of Americans to buy their policies, while
 denying us a single-payer plan and leaving prices remain uncontrolled. 
They have saved them, but they have not saved us.

We
 join the movement for this march, excited and enthused to see the labor
 unions, the African American and Latino populations, the women’s, gay 
and lesbian and environmental movements taking to the streets. But we 
know that change can only be brought about as it has been in every 
period of American history by independent social movements. And such 
independent movements must find political expression first in 
independent candidates and then in a party of working people and all in 
our society who suffer exploitation, discrimination and oppression.

The
 organizers of this march have called it “One Nation.” The truth is we 
are two nations. One nation of corporate CEOs and Bankers and their 
legions of high level executives, the very wealthy of our country, and 
another nation of working people, many of them now jobless. We are two 
nations: the corporations who run this country and the working people 
who make this country run. We will be marching with the working class to
 end a system dominated by corporations. We march because we believe 
that those working people who make the country run should run the 
country.

We
 know from American history and the history of the world that great and 
progressive changes come about only from below. We know that in modern 
times working people, who stand at the center of our economy and 
represent the majority of our population, represent the crucial force 
capable of making the changes we need. We also know that if we only 
organize movements and fail to create an independent political force, 
the Democrats will harvest all of our organizing. The fruits of our 
labor will be turned against us in Congress.

So
 we march. We march for jobs. We march for single-payer health care. We 
march for free public education from K to Ph.D. We march for an end to 
our racist and class-biased injustice system, and for equal justice for 
all. We march for women’s rights. We march for legalization of all the 
undocumented. We march for LGBT rights. We march for an end to the 
destruction of our environment. We march for an end to the U.S. wars in 
Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. We march for an end to US support for 
Israel's occupation of Palestine and blockade of Gaza. We march knowing 
that the things we march for can only be achieved by abolishing 
capitalism and creating a democratic socialist society. We invite you to
 march with us. Join the Socialist Contingent on October 2 in 
Washington, D.C.

To support and endorse the Socialist Contingent contact us at: socialistcontingentoct2 at gmail.com 

Organizations:

Dan La Botz, Socialist Party campaign for U.S. Senate, Ohio

International Socialist Organization (ISO)

Solidarity: a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization

Socialist Alternative

Socialist Action

Socialist Party of New York City

Socialist Party of Central Virginia

Action for a Progressive Pakistan

Publications:

New Politics: A Journal of Socialist Thought

Individuals:

*Organizations listed for listed for identification purposes only.

Cindy Sheehan, “Peace Mom,” founder Peace of the Action

Steve Early, author of Embedded With Organized Labor, National Writers Union/UAW member

Jerry Tucker, former member, UAW International Executive Board

Nativo Vigil Lopez, National President of the Mexican American Political Association

Fred Magdoff, author of The Great Financial Crisis and Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont

Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums, Professor, Department of Creative Writing, U.C. Riverside

Camilo Mejía, Iraq war veteran and resister and member of IVAW

Naseer Aruri, author of Palestinian Refugees: The Right of Return and Chancellor Professor of Political Science (Emeritus), University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

Keaanga-Yamahtta Taylor, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Joanne Landy, New Politics

Victor Agosto, Afghanistan War resister and member of IVAW

Billy Wharton, Co-chairperson, Socialist Party USA

Jason Schulman, New Politics, Democratic Socialists of America National Political Committee

Paul Street, author of The Empire’s New Clothes: Barack Obama in the Real World of Power

Dave Zirin, Sports Editor of the Nation Magazine and author of A People's History of Sports

David McReynolds, former chair of War Resisters International, Socialist Party USA Presidential candidate in 1980 and 2000

Dahr Jamail, author Beyond the Green Zone, independent Journalist

Anthony Arnove, author of Iraq Logic of Withdrawal, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Michael Hirsch, New Politics: A Journal of Socialist Thought editorial board, member Democratic Socialists of America

Greg Albo, Socialist Project and York University

David McNally, Professor of political science at York University

Sandy
 Boyer, co-host of WBAI's Radio Free Eireann and has led campaigns to 
free Irish political prisoners including the Guildford 4 and Birmingham 
6.

Sebastian Budgen, Editorial Board, Historical Materialism

Paul D’Amato, author of The Meaning of Marxism and Managing Editor of the International Socialist Review

Julie Fain, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Sam Farber, retired professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College

Phil Gasper, Editor of The Communist Manifesto: A Roadmap to History’s Most Important Political Document and editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Joel Geier, Associate Editor of the International Socialist Review

Thomas Harrison, New Politics

Ron Jacobs, Author and Library Worker

Brian Jones, performer of Marx and Soho and editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Deepa Kumar, author of Outside the Box and member of AAUP-AFT, Rutgers*

Micah Landau, New Politics

Paul LeBlanc, antiwar activist and author of Marx, Lenin and the Revolutionary Experience

Jesse Lemisch, Professor of History Emeritus, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of NY

Tom Lewis, editorial board of the International Socialist Review 

Traven Leyshon, President, Green Mountain Labor Council*

Alan Maass, Editor SocialistWorker.org

Scott McLemee, New Politics

Nagesh Rao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English, The College of New Jersey, AFT Local 2364*

Bill Roberts, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Jennifer Roesch, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Herman Rosenfeld, Socialist Project and Labour Studies, McMaster University.

Eric Ruder, journalist for SocialistWorker.org and editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Kristin Schall, National Committee member, Socialist Party USA

Michael Schwartz, author of War Without End: The Iraq War in Context and Professor of Sociology at State University of New York at Stony Brook

Helen Scott, editor of The Essential Rosa Luxemburg and editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Lance Selfa, author of The Democrats: A Critical History and editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Stephen R. Shalom, editorial board, New Politics

Ahmed Shawki, author of Black Liberation and Socialism and Editor of the International Socialist Review

Ashley Smith, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Sharon Smith, author of Subterranean Fire and Women and Socialism.

Zelig Stern, Labor Commissioner, Socialist Party USA

Elizabeth Terzakis, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Jeff Webber,  author of From Rebellion to Reform in Bolivia, Professor of political science at the University of Regina

Lois Weiner, New Politics

Chris Williams, author of Ecology and Socialism
 and adjunct professor of Chemistry and Physical Science, Pace 
University, NYC; Vice President, Union of Adjunct Faculty at Pace; NYSUT
 Local 37-960*

Sherry Wolf, author of Sexuality and Socialism and editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Julia Wrigley, New Politics

Annie Zirin, editorial board of the International Socialist Review

Join us at the rally:

Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

At 12th and Constitution (NW)

Washington, D.C.

Following the rally, 5PM:

Join the ‘Socialism for the 21st Century’ forum with Dan La Botz, Keaanga-Yamahtta Taylor and others. 

Location TBA: 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130523846996239&ref=ts

For more information and updates visit:

http://socialistcontingentoct2.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143310705712188&ref=ts

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