Statements
From SP Boston
Black History Month
- 2 February 2010
- Socialist Party People of Color Commission
February is Black History Month. It's a time when our public institutions, and corporations give a little extra attention to the accomplishments and contributions to the story of the Americas made by Black Americans. Established by Carter G Woodson in 1926, its purpose was to promote the contributions made by Black Americans in an effort to undo the contention that Black people have no history, and have made no significant contributions to the history of the Americas.
Since 1926 this project has come a long way. What started as a one week remembrance of Black American accomplishments has become an entire month. As a child Black History Month began and ended with the ring of the school bell. By the mid 90's McDonalds (if only on BET) began crafting ads for fast food to coincide with the month of February. If we weren't yet recognized as key players in the American experience, our spending power certainly was. As with all things in our country whatever can be turned into a commodity will be turned into a commodity.
The Socialist Party USA is pleased to recognize and celebrate February as Black History month. As socialists we recognize the central role in American, and global history that African peoples occupy. You cannot address the history of religion, science, art, or the study of history itself without beginning with the story of the African. For socialists it is also important to move the stories of Black people out of its box in February and into the larger narrative of American History in order to reconstruct a story of the Americas as seen and experienced from the people on the bottom.
There can be no legitimate account of American history that distinguishes between its peoples contributions based on the color of their skin.
Solidarity with the People of Haiti
- 13 January 2010
- Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA stands in solidarity with the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake that hit the island. Estimates of the dead are more than one hundred thousand and significant parts of the capital city Port-au-Prince's infrastructure have been destroyed. The full extent of the damage will not be known for days and the country seems certain to be thrust into a humanitarian crisis even more serious than the one that exists on a daily basis.
While this disaster has natural origins, it occurred within a nation that had already been ravaged by capitalism. Haiti is a model case for the failure of the neoliberal economic model and the negative legacies of US militarism in the region... read more.
National Day of Action to Defend Education
- 22 December 2009
- Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA (SP-USA) endorses the call for a National Day of Action to Defend Education to be held on March 4th, 2010. SP-USA locals through out the country will participate in organizing political actions in defense of education. The SP-USA endorsement is part of a national call made by student groups responsible for recent campus occupations and student protests in California and New York City.
The call for protest is a response to recent actions by State and Local governments to reduce education budgets as a way to fill in budget gaps. At least 26 states are implementing cuts to K-12 education programs, including Illinois whose cuts will make more than 10,000 children ineligible for early childhood education and Massachusetts, which carried out deep cuts on a number of early care programs. Cuts in other states will result in tuition increases, school closings, privatization, the elimination of after-school programs, and general restrictions on access to higher education.
The SP-USA opposes all cuts to education. We believe that access to free, high quality, public education at all stages of life is a fundamental human right. As such, we fully support the call for a national day of action in order to express our opposition to the education cutbacks taking place throughout the nation... read more.
Faith and Socialism Holiday Greeting
- 22 December 2009
- Josh Hatala, Socialist Party Faith & Socialism Commission
The Holidays are a time filled with stark contradictions. While most religions offer inspiring messages of peace and love, commercial enterprises attempt to put a price tag on every human emotion and social relation. But the shiniest presents in the world can't hide the raw inequalities that exist in our country and across the globe. This Holiday season, as a member of the Faith and Socialism Commission, I ask you to consider what really matters - our communities, our planet and the cause of social justice... read more.
Response to Obama's Surge in Afghanistan
- 3 December 2009
- Socialist Party USA
On December 1st, President Obama has announced that he will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. The justification is paper thin. Far from creating security, the occupation itself has created a state of lawlessness in Afghanistan. The fraud ridden reelection of the puppet Karzai regime has put popularity for the US mission in Afghanistan through the floor, and further inflamed anger in the middle east. Far from building Afghan sovereignty, Obama's policy is to deepen support for an illegitimate regime with tight associations with oil companies, drug lords, and warlords. Americans are waking up to the fact that, like the occupation of Iraq, this occupation isn't making us any safer, nor is it bringing development, democracy, security, or women's rights to Afghanistan. Rather, it is killing Afghan civilians and U.S./ NATO troops while stealing badly needed funds from housing, jobs, healthcare, and climate protection.
Even before the election, Obama refused to counter McCain's assertion that the surge in Iraq had worked. Instead he said US policy should turn toward Afghanistan. One year into his administration and we are on course to double the number of troops in Afghanistan from Bush Administration levels.
The anti-war movement is slowly and painfully learning several important lessons. First, that these occupations do not represent the mistaken policies of a peace-loving government, but rather are due to a global system emanating from Washington that can only be addressed in their entirety. And second, the Democratic Party will not move one inch toward a less belligerent policy... read more.
The Hyde Amendment and Obama’s Health Care Bill
- Two Wrongs Make a Disaster for Abortion Rights
- 20 November 2009
- Socialist Party Women’s Commission
A major provision of the health care bill being put forward by the Obama administration -- and opportunistically maneuvered through the House of Representatives, and next the Senate, by the Democratic leadership -- shows just how disregarding the US government continues to be when it comes to abortion rights.
This provision would expand the scope of the Hyde Amendment -- that nasty piece of national legislation that since 1976 has prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion -- to include private health insurance plans partially subsidized by the federal government. This means that additional millions of women would be denied abortion as one of their health care options. Its inclusion in the health care bill is an outrageous capitulation by the Obama administration to the Catholic Church, religious fundamentalists, and Congressional conservatives and hypocrites of both the Democratic and Republican parties. We must fight back: No national health care system that denies the right to abortion on demand! Repeal the Hyde Amendment! Read more.
Vote No on Obama-care! Healthcare is Our Human Right!
- 14 November 2009
- Socialist Party USA
While citizens in most other industrialized nations enjoyed the benefits of publicly administered healthcare from the aftermath of WW II forward, Americans have suffered under a healthcare system dominated by private corporations. For-profit healthcare has produced negative health outcomes at all levels of the system. More than 48 million people have no health insurance, 30 million more are underinsured and 6 out of 10 Americans report that they have either delayed or deferred a necessary medical procedure in the last year. Americans are more than ready for publicly-run healthcare that guarantees access at all levels of the system.
Unfortunately, the bill recently passed by the House of Representatives, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act (HR 3962), and the proposals being considered by the Senate will not provide the relief Americans so desperately need. Instead, these reforms were shaped and, in some cases, authored by the very same private interests who have spent decades collecting massive profits by restricting access to care. As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama sensed the growing public anger about healthcare and scored many popularity points for promising "universal healthcare coverage". Once in office, after taking millions from the healthcare lobby, his rhetoric shifted to the neoliberal promise of "choice and competition" in healthcare... read more.
Response to the November 3, 2009 LGBTQ Referendum Results
- 9 November 2009
- Jim Sanders, Chair SPUSA Queer Commission
Referendums effecting the lives of LGBTQ people were on ballots all over the country this week. A few of the higher profiled ballot questions included:
Voters in Maine overturned by approximately 53 to 47 percent, a law passed by the Maine legislature that established same-sex marriages in order to end marriage inequality in Maine. The failure to attain marriage equality in Maine is particularly disheartening, but the fact that 47 percent of the voters in Maine supported marriage equality is significant... read more.
Honor the memory of Rosie Jiménez
- 13 July 2009
- Socialist Party Women’s Commission
- Take to the Streets on Saturday, October 3rd!
- Honor the memory of Rosie Jiménez: Demand the Repeal of the Hyde Amendment; Abortion Access for All Women!
On October 3, 1977, Rosie Jiménez, from McAllen, Texas-- a low-income 27 year old mother of a 5 year old daughter-- died from complications arising from an unsafe abortion. Due to the Hyde Amendment, banning the use of Medicaid funds for abortion, Ms. Jiménez was forced to choose between diverting money from her college education to the cost of a clinic abortion, and having a cheaper procedure. For the sake of a future as an educated, self-supporting single-parent, she risked the more dangerous alternative. Rosie Jiménez was the first known victim of the Hyde Amendment. Her death came only weeks after this statute took effect, and days after the first anniversary of its initial passage... read more.
Statement in Solidarity with the People of Honduras
- 7 July 2009
- Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA condemns the coup recently carried out in Honduras by the military and backed by a section of the Honduran elite. We call for the immediate reinstatement of democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. We also support the call made by pro-Zelaya protesters to have all charges against Zelaya dropped. Finally, we demand an independent investigation into the brutality and murder carried out by the Honduran military while repressing pro-Zelaya protests... read more.
Statement on Iran
- 29 June 2009
- Socialist Party International Commission
The brutal repression of the popular upsurge against Iran's ruling clique of Islamic clerics only postpones the inevitable. Iran's theocracy has lost the confidence of its people, as militant protests continue on the streets of Tehran.
The Socialist Party USA stands with the people of Iran in demanding an immediate end to arbitrary rule and the holding of genuinely free and open elections. We believe that the complete separation of religious institutions and the state is an essential prerequisite for a democratic society. Every resident of a nation should have the same rights and privileges, no matter what her or his religious belief may or may not be... read more.
Statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion
- 9 June 2009
- Socialist Party Queer Commission
- Remember Stonewall?
- Do we even know what Stonewall meant?
The Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian neighborhood bar with a large number of African American and Latino patrons, was also well-known as a safe space for those who did not conform to gender norms: butch lesbians, effeminate gay men, and transsexual and transgendered persons before the terms were in popular use. All of these factors brought the police to Stonewall in 1969 for the purpose of illegally raiding the bar, and arresting its occupants -- an action not unknown in New York in the 1960s... read more.
May Day 2009 -- Stop the War at Home
- 1 May 2009
- Socialist Party Women’s Commission
Stop the attacks on immigrant workers, on the unemployed, on students, on working people swindled by the banks, on women facing all the consequences of human service budget cuts, on veterans of U.S. wars and occupations. Enough!
We demand an end to the policies and practices of the U.S. government that ignore our right, and deny us our ability, to survive.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, and Mexico who are casualties of U.S. and U.S. –funded wars of conquest and occupation (including the so-called “war on drugs”)... read more.
Message to all Workers on Their Day
- 26 April 2009
- Socialist Party USA
On this International Workers Day, the majority of the workers find themselves in a great dilemma. It is obvious that free trade and deregulation have caused millions to lose their jobs. Even the United States, once the major economic power of the world, is in the process of an economic collapse. Today, more than ever, is a time to consider casting off the chains of capitalist crisis.
The truth is that the majority of the workers understand very well the economic depressions are a permanent part of capitalism. The majority of the workers are intellectuals in an organic way. Without any type of formal economic education, they know what is going on because they are forced to live capitalist economics. It is irritating to hear so many socialist intellectuals pontificate that all workers have to do is realize that they are being exploited and it will light their revolutionary fire. Workers understand that they are being exploited, what is lacking is the organizational means to ignite the spark... read more
Wars Abroad, War at Home
- Building a Socialist Feminist Response to U.S. Militarism and the Global Economic Crisis
- 26 April 2009
- Socialist Party Women’s Commission and War at Home Committee
In this period of rising unemployment and economic turmoil, an increasing number of people are being drawn to radical concepts and are ready to consider radical strategies for social change based on the link between the severe problems we face at home, the actions of the U.S. military world-wide, and the destructive nature of global capitalism.
Clearly, what we face right now are not only wars abroad, but also a war at home. In both cases, masses of people are living under siege as a result of actions by the U.S. government to perpetuate the inhumane capitalist system. In both cases, a collective, activist, response is called for: a response consisting of energetic, grassroots organizing based on a coherent analysis, a radical program, and internal democracy rooted in socialist feminist principles and practice... read more.
Obama at Le Juene
- Military Occupation or Soft Power in Iraq and Afghanistan?
- 27 February 2009
- A Socialist Party statement written by Billy Wharton, Editor of The Socialist
New York, NY: The war and occupation of Iraq has been a brutal affair. Casualties estimated to range as high as one million Iraqis, atrocities associated with Abu Ghraib prison and the introduction of violence to the everyday lives of millions of Iraqis all highlight the abject failure of US military ambitions. While a road away from these politics of pre-emptive strikes and military occupation is welcome, the Socialist Party USA calls for more immediate actions. We demand the immediate and unconditional removal of all US military forces from both Iraq and Afghanistan.
US President Barack Obama argued correctly today that the military occupation of Iraq, "cannot be sustained indefinitely" and that America could no longer see the war "in isolation" from what he identified as other national priorities such as solving the economic crisis. Yet, as the saying goes, the devil is often in the details. Obama’s plan calls for the removal of US combat brigades by August 31, 2010 but, he also intends to leave 35-50,000 US trainers, counterinsurgency troops and military advisers in the country until the end of 2011... read more.
New President -- Same Government
- 15 February 2009
- Socialist Party of Massachusetts
The dissonance between hope and reality with the swearing in of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States is truly an amazing accomplishment of modern propaganda. After eight years, the "anybody but Bush" crowd has finally gotten a new president. Unfortunately, the entire spectrum of political debate has moved to the right. Once we cut through Obama's fluffy rhetoric about change, and the irrational elation of his liberal supporters, we see very few campaign promises for which we would actually want to hold him accountable.
Under the pretext of a "War on Terror" the United States is fighting a war in Iraq, another in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and sponsoring a third by proxy in Palestine. While oil companies and military contractors are making record profits, corruption and malfeasance in the financial sector has pushed the economy to the edge of an abyss. The capitalist economy and its primary custodian, US imperialism, have remained stunningly rigid despite growing pressure to adapt to this crisis... read more.
Socialists Confront the Economic Crisis
- 25 January 2009
- Socialist Party USA
The current financial crisis is not just a temporary setback, nor is it caused primarily by the lack of regulation in the financial sector. The collapse of the financial sector is indicative of the total failure of the capitalist economy.
In recent years, the leading recipients of the recent bailout have attempted to justify their "Washington Consensus" of decimated social safety nets, massive cuts to wages and benefits, and privatization of public services in the name of mercilessly strict adherence to the "tough love" and "sacrifice" of the "free market". This deregulation and dismantling of any social protections was a logical step for the capitalists represented by the Republican and Democratic Parties.
The call now for regulation of the markets is a hypocritical action by those who continue to promote the "free market" as the solution to all ills. The same power brokers and politicians who demanded the near complete deregulation of the financial sector under "free market" principles, are now calling upon all tax-paying U.S. workers to "come together as Americans" and take "collective responsibility" for their boundless greed and ultimate financial failure under the very standards they themselves imposed... read more.
End the Massacre in Gaza -- No Solution Through Violence
- 1 January 2009
- Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA unequivocally condemns the ongoing Israeli military offensive against the people of Gaza. We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all sides and an immediate end to the blockade of the Gaza strip. We encourage US citizens to assist the process of peace in the region by demanding that the US government end all military aid to Israel and other Middle Eastern governments.
The Israeli military is involved in a massacre of the people of Gaza. More than one million people are trapped in the region, penned in by the Israeli Defense Forces on one side and the Egyptian military on the other. Over the past few days, more than 400 people have been killed and thousands more injured as a result of Israeli military aggression. This has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis which has put the entire population of Gaza at risk. Today, Gaza City is a squalid ghetto under attack by overwhelming military force intent on the inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian people "to the bitter end"... read more.
Our Love Is Worth Fighting For
- 4 December 2008
- Socialist Party USA
The recent passage of anti-gay referendums in relation to equal marriage rights, adoption, and related areas points out the ongoing power of the anti-gay religious right. This is a time for all of us; gay, straight, white, people of color, young, old, religious, non religious, men, women to take a stand in support of equal rights for all peoples, in this case; LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans) people. As socialists we call for economic democracy, grassroots politics, and emancipatory liberation. As feminists we oppose patriarchal systems that attempt to enforce artificially one type of gender expression or sexual identity. As anti-racists we oppose white supremacy and it's divide and conquer tactics that attempts to split up the unity of the working class. We call for the repeal of all anti-LGBT laws and statutes and call for the rights of minorities to not be up to recall by a sometimes misled majority. We will work with groups working to overturn these anti-gay decisions and call for unity of all the oppressed in our shared vision of a just society; which we believe will be fulfilled by moving towards a socialist society. A society where people will be in cooperation with each other through their direct participation and able to benefit from the fruit of their labor to the benefit of themselves and all in society.
Statement on the Post-Election Racist Attacks
- 20 November 2008
- Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA condemns the racially motivated attacks which have followed the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States. People of color have been targeted throughout the country by small groups of racist whites. Acts have ranged from a cross burning, simulated lynchings and even violent attacks in some instances. Mainstream news sources report that hundreds of incidents have occurred.
The election of Barack Obama was undoubtedly an important historical event. Millions of Americans rejected the race and red baiting tactics of the McCain-Palin campaign and cast their vote without regard to race-status. The election therefore drew from the long-term progressive cultural impact of the civil rights movement. Viewed entirely from this perspective, the election of Obama represents a potentially progressive moment in American race relations.
Sadly, the Obama presidency will offer little of the "change" and "hope" it promised throughout the campaign. Early indications are that his administration will be directed by a free-market capitalist agenda and his policies will seek to enhance the profitability of corporations at the expense of working-class America. People can expect little in the way of fundamental change in healthcare, militarism or wealth redistribution. Winning these much needed changes will be the duty of broad social movements... read more.
2008 Massachusetts Ballot Questions
- 5 October 2008
- Socialist Party of Massachusetts
The Socialist Party of Massachusetts takes the following positions on the three statewide ballot questions in 2008.
- Vote NO on Question 1, which would eliminate the state income tax. Eliminating the income tax would require both severe budget cuts as well as increases to regressive taxes such as property taxes and sales taxes. In combination, this would further devastate our communities, already under pressure from harsh neoliberal economics and the mortgage meltdown. The Socialist Party calls for steeply graduated income taxes and other progressive taxes, to fund social services and a livable guaranteed annual income.
- Vote YES on Question 2, which would decriminalize possession of small amounts (one ounce or less) of marijuana. The Socialist Party calls for the decriminalization of all drug use and an end to the destructive and counter-productive "war on drugs". We view drug abuse and addiction as medical, not criminal, problems, and call for treatment through comprehensive community-based, client-controlled rehabilitation programs.
- Vote YES on Question 3, which would ban dog racing. The Socialist Party recognizes the rights of animals to live free from unnecessary pain and suffering of the sort inflicted upon racing dogs. Opponents of Question 3 argue it would result in lost jobs. We call for full employment policies to create jobs in socially beneficial and non-exploitative industries.
No to the Wall Street Bailout
- 29 September 2008
- Socialist Party USA
The current "financial crisis" is not just a temporary setback or because of the lack of regulation in the financial sector. The collapse of the financial sector is indicative of the total failure of the capitalist economy. In recent years, the leading recipients of this proposed bailout have attempted to justify their "Washington consensus" of decimating social safety nets, massive cuts to wages and benefits, and privatization of public services, in the name of mercilessly strict adherence to the "tough love" and "sacrifice" of the "free market." This deregulation and dismantling of any social protections was a logical step for the capitalists represented by the Republican and Democratic Parties. The call now for regulation of the markets is a hypocritical call by those who continue to promote the free market as the solution to everything. In demonstrating the cynical facade behind the unwaivering economic ideology they've peddled for decades, these same power brokers and politicians who demanded the near complete deregulation of the financial sector under "free market" principles, are now calling upon all tax-paying U.S. workers to "come together as Americans" and take "collective responsibility" for their boundless greed and ultimate financial failure under the very standards they themselves imposed... read more
Statement on Iran
- 3 August 2008
- Socialist Party International Commission
A military attack on Iran is a real possibility. George Bush, in the waning days of his Administration, may launch an attack on Iran, or Israel, with the US blessing, may launch such an attack on its own. Another scenario is that this administration may ratchet up the pressures on Iran, leaving it to the next administration, either Obama or McCain, to initiate a military attack and occupation. In any case, the Socialist Party opposes the use of military force or economic sanctions to deal with the problems involving Iran... read more.
Statement on Religious Freedom
- July 2008
- Socialist Party Faith and Socialism Commission
After watching the candidates of the two capitalist parties involve themselves with religious leaders and subsequently turn their backs on them, it is important for us to make observations from a Socialist perspective concerning religious freedom... read more.
Statement on Bolivia
- 5 June 2008
- Socialist Party International Commission
The Socialist Party USA expresses its solidarity with the workers, campesinos and indigenous communities of Bolivia who are struggling to create a new vibrant socialist project in their country. The possibilities of achieving such a goal were greatly accelerated by the election in 2005 of the government of Evo Morales, representative of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party. Now, two years into Morales' first term, the MAS government faces serious challenges from the right delivered in the form of a movement for "autonomy" coming from a bastion of the old oligarchy in Santa Cruz... read more.
Child Care as a Social Justice Issue
- 11 April 2008
- Socialist Party Women's Commission
For many women these days, child care is a major issue. As parents, they face formidable, sometimes insurmountable, hurdles trying to find affordable, high-quality care for our young children. As child care workers, they commit themselves to a career characterized by low status, low pay, and insufficient benefits. This should not come as a startling revelation, since an abundance of documentation exists on both these issues. In fact, the solution is also clear: uniting for quality child care means linking affordability and accessibility to the right of child care workers to good wages, benefits, and working conditions; it means expanding the struggle for quality child care to include the quality of the program, the quality of the workplace, and the quality of society as a whole. Demands and action must occur in all these areas if our communities are ever to create and maintain a just, equitable, and compassionate child care system... read more.
Statement on Tibet
- 26 March 2008
- Socialist Party International Commission
The unfolding events in Tibet are a tragedy. The Chinese government has occupied Tibet for more than fifty years, using every conceivable method to incorporate the occupied territory into an integral part of China. Tibetan cultural and religious sites have been desecrated and Buddhist monks have been forced to sign a pledge of allegiance to China. In its desire to extract the valuable natural resources of Tibet, the Chinese government has ignored essential environmental safeguards... read more.
Support American Axle Workers
- 9 March 2008
- Socialist Party Labor Commission
The Socialist Party USA stands in solidarity with the American Axle workers as they carry out a strike in defense of their wages and benefits. The American Axle Corporation has attempted to reduce wages to $14/hour from $23/hour and cut retiree pension benefits. An almost 40% wage decrease is intolerable under any circumstances, but in a time of financial surplus - when American Axle is able to pay a hefty dividend to its shareholders it is simply unconscionable. This episode is the most recent example of the overall offensive waged by corporations against manufacturing workers in America... Read more.
Statement on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- 16 December 2007
- Socialist Party International Commission
The United States bears direct responsibility for the Israeli aggression in the Occupied Territories. It was U.S. military and economic aid that made Israel into one of the most powerful military states in the world. The United States should terminate the five billion dollars a year it gives the Israeli government. At the same time, the United States should end military aid to all of the Middle Eastern countries. It should also stop providing Israel and the Middle Eastern countries with military equipment and logistical assistance. The Socialist Party also supports legislation that would ban investment in the Israeli economy until Israel withdraws from the Occupied Territories. The United States should also end its "special relationship" with Israel... read more.
Support the Screenwriters Strike
- 8 November 2007
- Socialist Party Labor Commission
When the irreverent early 20th century comedian W.C. Fields was once caught reading the bible he explained that he was "looking for some loopholes." On Monday November 5th, 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) took a bold strike action to sew up some of the loopholes which have allowed the entertainment industry to make exorbitant profits from their labor. The Socialist Party USA (SP-USA) stands with the WGA and calls upon the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to concede to the WGA's demands for a just contract... read more.
Socialist Party Nominates Brian Moore for President
- Antiwar Activist Nominated on Third Ballot at Party's National Convention in St. Louis
- 21 October 2007
ST. LOUIS — Antiwar activist Brian P. Moore of Spring Hill, Florida, was nominated for President of the United States at the Socialist Party USA national convention in St. Louis late Saturday afternoon. The 64-year-old Moore, a former independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, defeated longtime party activist and author Eric Chester of Massachusetts, a retired economics professor, on the convention's third ballot to win the party's nomination. Stewart A. Alexander, a longtime civil rights activist from Murietta, California, was tapped as Moore's vice-presidential running mate. Alexander was the Peace & Freedom Party's candidate for lieutenant governor of California in 2006... read more.
Mobilize to Support Autoworkers
- 24 September 2007
- Matt Andrews, Chair of the Labor Commission of the Socialist Party USA
On Saturday September 24th over 73,000 UAW workers across the country walked out in the first nationwide GM strike in 37 years. The Socialist Party USA calls upon its members and allies to demand a decisive victory for striking UAW workers and upon the entire labor movement to mobilize in solidarity... read more.
Solidarity with Protesters in Burma
- September 2007
- Socialist Party Faith and Socialism Commission
The Faith and Socialism Commission of the Socialist Party USA reaffirms its commitment to nonviolence and its abhorrence for violence and militarism. We encourage diplomacy for resolving conflicts.
We would like to express our support for the Buddhist monks and others who are engaged in peaceful demonstrations in Myanmar (Burma). We are saddened to learn that the military dictatorship responded violently and caused numerous fatalities. Furthermore, the government imprisoned many citizens and monks, and the whereabouts of many citizens are still unknown. In addition, the military government is responsible for looting and destroying many Buddhist temples and monasteries... read more.
The Socialist Party of Boston Endorses Matt Geary for City Council
- 2 September 2007
- Socialist Party of Boston
Matt Geary is running for Boston City Council as a socialist candidate. The Socialist Party of Boston has gotten to know Matt and his organization, Socialist Alternative, through our common efforts to oppose US militarism at home and abroad. Matt also came to one of our local's meetings to discuss his campaign... read more.
Statement of Solidarity on the Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion
- 28 June 2007
- Socialist Party Queer Commission
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided a Greenwich Village bar: The Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian neighborhood bar with a large number of African American and Latino patrons, was also well-known as a safe space for those who did not conform to gender norms: butch lesbians, effeminate gay men, and transsexual and transgendered persons before the terms were in popular use. All of these factors brought the police to Stonewall in 1969 for the purpose of illegally raiding the bar, and arresting its occupants -- an action not unknown in New York in the 1960s. On that fateful day, however, the Stonewall’s patrons had enough. Nobody knows who threw the first bottle that day. It may have been Sylvia Rivera, a transgendered activist and later a founding mother of political movements on behalf of transgendered and transsexual Americans. It may have been a still unidentified butch lesbian arrested in the bar. Over 2000 GLBTQ Americans clashed with 400 police officers on June 28... read more.
May Day Greetings 2007
- 1 May 2007
- Rune Lund, Member of the Danish Parliament, representing the Red-Green Alliance.
- Eric Chester, Convener of the International Commission of the Socialist Party USA.
May Day is a day to be in the streets, reaffirming our commitment to a truly just society. It is all too easy to forget the sacrifices made by past generations to win significant improvements in the wages and working conditions that have been enjoyed by many workers in the industrialized capitalist countries. It is also a time to remember that colonialism and imperialism have kept most of the working class in the less industrialized countries in dire poverty. The spread of a globally integrated capitalist economy is further undermining the well-being of working people. As a few become grotesquely wealthy, and powerful, the many confront acute poverty and economic insecurity... read more.
Not a Dime More for War
- April 2007
- Tom Mooney (Western Massachusetts) Local of the Socialist Party USA
John Olver refuses to listen to his constituents. The people of western Massachusetts are clear: we want all U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq right now. The United States had no business invading Iraq, and we have no legitimate reason to remain.
The United States is in Iraq to secure the vast oil reserves for Exxon and the other major oil corporations. For too long, the lives of our young people have been sacrificed for the profits of the avaricious rich... read more.
US Out of Iraq
- 16 January 2007
- Socialist Party International Commission
President Bush's declaration that he intends to send an additional 20,000 combat troops to Iraq represents yet another step further into the quagmire. The United States had no legitimate reason to invade Iraq in March 2003, and there is no justifiable ground to prolong the occupation now.
The United States is not occupying Iraq to free the Iraqi people or to somehow impose a non-sectarian regime in a country deeply divided by religious and ethnic enmities. These are just pious platitudes intended to cover the true goals of U.S. foreign policy. Already, the U.S. backed government is preparing to open Iraqi oil fields, among the richest in the world, to private investment. Oil giants such as Exxon will be granted thirty-year leases to restore production, thus enabling them to reap bonanza profits. The lives of our young men and women are once again being sacrificed to the rapacious greed of the wealthy few... read more.
Repeal the Hyde Amendment
- 3 October 2006
- Socialist Party Women's Commission
In June 1976, three years after the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Health, Education, and Welfare budget banning the use of Medicaid funds for abortions. This is known as the Hyde Amendment, named for its sponsor, Representative Henry Hyde (R-Ill). When the amendment failed to pass in the Senate, the issue reached an impasse.
Although President Gerald Ford had indicated he would veto such a provision, he reversed his position once the 1976 Presidential campaign swung into full gear, and Jimmy Carter, the Democratic nominee, emphasized his personal opposition to abortion and made it clear that he favored the restriction of federal funding for abortions. Without the opposition of President Ford, the Senate passed the Hyde Amendment on September 30, 1976. It went into effect in August 1977, after court challenges to its constitutionality were rejected... read more.
Solidarity with the Cuban People
- 1 August 2006
- Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA defends the right of the Cuban people to self-determination. While undergoing surgery, Fidel Castro has ceded power to his brother, Raul Castro, and the future of his health is uncertain. Fidel Castro is almost 80 years old and has been the Cuban head of state for 47 years. Even if Castro recovers his health and returns to power for now, Cuba must soon develop a plan for life after Castro. Imperialist policy makers in Washington DC and Cuba's old exiled ruling class are salivating at a possible opportunity to return Cuba to its pre-revolution condition of subjugation under US hegemony. A survey of other Caribbean nations proves that this is not a path to prosperity, security or freedom. Capitalism will only continue to cause misery for the majority of the world's marginalized and working classes... read more.
On the Middle East Crisis
- July 21, 2006
- Socialist Party International Commission
The crisis in the Middle East is only the latest in a long series of military confrontations that have devastated the region during the last five decades. The use of violence cannot resolve the complex problems that plague the relationship between Israel and its neighbors. As a first step, we call for Israel to stop bombing Lebanon and for Hezbollah to stop launching missiles into Israel. In both cases, civilians suffer most of the casualties from these attacks. A cease fire arrangement will also have to include an exchange of prisoners, as Hezbollah and Hamas return the three Israeli soldiers and Israel releases some of the many political prisoners it holds... read more.
John Roberts and Rosie Jimenez
- August 28, 2005
- Socialist Party Women's Commission
This Fall, while the liberals and the mainstream women's rights organizations are spending millions of dollars on a public relations campaign to block the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, those of us on the radical left will be organizing for Rosie Jimenez Day and for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, the law responsible for the death of Ms Jimenez and so many others unable to get a safe,legal abortion simply because Medicaid in their state wouldn't pay for it... read more.
Dump the Democrats
- July 26, 2004
- Prepared and delivered by Susan Dorazio, Convener of the Women's Commission of the Socialist Party-USA, at the "Dump the Democrats" rally in Government Center, Boston, during the Democratic National Convention
Hello everybody. Here in Massachusetts we have a state legislature comprised overwhelmingly of Democrats -- the so-called friends of working people.
Well, as a child care worker in the Western part of the state for the past 27 years, I can tell you that the friendship of the Democrats in the State House is a charade. As I say to my fellow workers, they are playing us for fools, and they have been for as long as I've been trekking to Beacon Hill for the perennial Lobby Day, and taking part in numerous phone call and letter writing campaigns for legislation that never gets passed, or if passed never gets funded. And the same is true for every other working person in Massachusetts as well. It's past time for us to say enough is enough, join forces, and stand up for our rights... read more.