Libertarian Viewpoint

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Op Ed: Communist Party chair endorses ‘lesser of two evils’

by R. Lee Wrights

BURNET, Texas (Aug. 7) – Even though he said he was “disappointed” by “some aspects” of President Obama’s domestic and foreign policy, the chairman of the Communist Party has endorsed the President for reelection in 2012. Writing in The People’s World, CPUSA chair Sam Webb said, “In our view, the differences between the two parties of capitalism are of consequence to class and democratic struggles.”

At first, my reaction was to think, laugh and mutter, “So what;” not only has history irrefutably established that communism is a failed and unworkable political system, with leaders like Webb there is no way it will ever be considered a viable or meaningful political force in the United States. Then I thought that this was a classic example of a third party leader advocating a vote for the “lesser of two evils,” thus ensuring that the party he leads will never, ever be viable.

First, Webb admits that neither the Democratic nor the Republican Party are “anti-capitalist,” criticizes the president for caving in to “conservative pressures coming from some congressional Democrats and members of the administration,” and makes excuses because President Obama has to govern “in a very hostile political environment in which the right is laboring overtime to wreck its initiatives at every step of the way.”

Then he claims it does make a difference which of the two major parties wins because “despite the many frustrations of the past two years, the election … was historic and gave space to struggle for a people’s agenda.” Webb doesn’t seem to understand that if you decide to vote for the “lesser of two evils” you still will get evil. Webb is so obsessed with the “far right” and its agenda to “bring this administration and country to its knees” intent on returning to “racist, anti-labor, anti-women, homophobic and militarist” polices that he’s blinded to the clear example of the very same evils prevalent in the Democratic administration.

President Obama has waffled, waived and dragged his feet on his promise to end the homophobic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays in the military. He has not only expanded the war in Afghanistan, but started a war against Libya, and bombed at least seven countries, including supposed U.S. allies, killing thousands of innocent people while dismissing these murders as “collateral damage.” Most egregiously, President Obama has claimed the immoral and unconstitutional right to murder American citizens he calls terrorists.

Under the Democratic Attorney General, the U.S. Justice Department has harassed and intimated anti-war protestors, busting into their homes in early morning raids and confiscating their belongings. Federal drug agents continue to harass, raid the homes, arrest, jail and prosecute sick people for legally using medical marijuana under the laws of their state. The government makes war on its own citizens. The same citizens who keep voting for, hoping for and praying for a lesser evil.

No doubt some people will harp on the CPUSA endorsement as further proof that President Obama is a “communist.” That would be unfortunate and misleading, since the tactic of “guilt by association” is so often used to discredit and hence marginalize any political person — including libertarians. It is also irrelevant because what matters is not labels but actions. By his actions, President Obama has shown himself to be no friend of the “oppressed” people Webb and his comrades revere – and certainly no friend of Liberty and Freedom.

Will this endorsement impact the next presidential election? Probably not, but who knows? Either way, I would not even expect the president to give it a second thought. I know I wouldn’t if I were he. Something else I also know, President Obama will welcome the Communist Party members to come vote for him on Election Day, and he will not care why they vote for him.

So sadly lost in all the political prancing of partisan posturing is the fact that, great or small, voting for evil begets evil. Always has… always will. As long as we continue to vote for the lesser of two evils, evil “always” wins. Nothing else has a chance to win but – evil. If one of the choices offered is not “no evil at all,” then there really is no choice at all. It is better that we stand united in insisting that we deserve a true choice.

“If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, everyone pursuing the path he thinks most direct,
we become an easy conquest to those who can now barely hold us in check.”- Thomas Jefferson

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R. Lee Wrights, 53, a libertarian writer and political activist, is seeking the presidential nomination because he believes the Libertarian message in 2012 must be a loud, clear and unequivocal call to stop all war. To that end he has pledged that 10 percent of all donations to his campaign will be spent for ballot access so that the stop all war message can be heard in all 50 states. Wrights is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and co-founder and editor of of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., he now lives and works in Texas.

LEE WRIGHTS FOR PRESIDENT
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