The Midterm Elections: A Return to Politics as Usual
Nobody could have been happier than I was to see the forty Republican governors and members of Congress get booted out of office this past election night. The election results of November 7th mark the end of a long nightmare that began with the "Gingrich Revolution" of 1994. This election also signals the beginning of the end for the neo-conservative clique that exploited fear of terrorism to further their ambitions of global hegemony imposed by military force. In February 2003 (nearly four years ago!) the Labor Party's statement of opposition against the impending invasion of Iraq anticipated that "[t]he Bush doctrine of preemption will not make the world safer for our children. It will not protect us from real threats to our security. Preemption means permanent war. And with permanent war comes the loss of civil liberties and economic well being." Sadly, all that has come to pass.

As David Olive points out in the Toronto Star, "The neo cons' grand design lies in ruins, having accomplished nothing other than to shrink America's stature in the world." Already, President Bush has offered up Donald Rumsfeld as the sacrificial lamb of a chastened administration. By the end of the year, Olive predicts, the administration will begin implementing its own version of the "cut and run" strategy. "The only questions are how rapidly the Americans will leave, and which honeyed words the Bush administration will use in trying to dress up failure as success."

Last week's election results have the potential to offer at least a two-year reprieve from Bush's pre election promises to privatize Social Security and give more tax cuts to the rich. And it is likely that the Democratic majority in Congress will undertake real investigations of fraud and corruption and other forms of malfeasance in war contracting as well as federal response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The More Things Change
The labor movement played a crucial role in this upset. As always, they provided the ground troops, and untold tens of millions of dollars, that made the victories possible. More importantly, the passion and commitment of the activists who worked on the campaigns gave substance and credibility to a Democratic Party that had long ago run out of any real ideas. But one doesn't need a crystal ball to predict that nearly all of the hopes and dreams of the activists who made this incredible election victory possible will be betrayed before the next round of cherry blossoms bloom on the National Mall. Past experience should tell us that the new Congress will do nothing to confront the impact of the growing concentration of corporate power on the lives and aspirations of working people. Refreshing as the election results may seem, working people will soon be reminded that the Democratic Party, as well as the Republican, remains dominated by corporate interests.

Although minimum wage and anti-war ballot measures passed in numerous states, more fundamental challenges to corporate power such as California's Clean Money and Fair Elections Act (Proposition 89) did not prevail. "Across the board, the biggest winner on Tuesday in California was big money," said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association, which sponsored Proposition 89. This bi-partisan commitment will continue to bring accelerated globalization, outsourcing and plant closures, declining real incomes and no end in sight to a failing health care system. Working people will remain stuck in the political wilderness with no one to speak for our needs and aspirations. And we will remain in that wilderness until we find a way to build a party of our own to confront the corporate power that continues to control the political agenda of both parties.

South Carolina Labor Party Founding

What just might be the most exciting development of this election season happened on September 23rd. Delegates from nearly every major labor organization and section of the state came together to build a new kind of party accountable to the working people of South Carolina. "Our candidates will pledge to enact and enforce laws that benefit the vast majority of South Carolinians who work for a living," declares the statement of Founding Principles. "Unlike other parties, we do not need permission from corporations and major funders to do what is right for the people of South Carolina. Unlike other parties, we will be active before, during and between elections, building solidarity in our communities and workplaces."

As exciting as this development is, it is only a beginning. Much hard work will be required for the South Carolina Labor Party to realize this promise. The national Labor Party has committed to raise the funds and resources necessary to give this young state party a fighting chance. We believe that this local movement can grow into a force alters the nature of politics in South Carolina. If we are right, it could also point the way to a national movement to enable working people to take the political offensive. This election shows that working people are ready for a new political vision. With adequate resources, the Labor Party initiative in South Carolina can be a vehicle for crafting and pursuing that vision. Help give the SCLP a fighting chance. Click here to contribute to the campaign.