ColdBlooded said:
Do you really want to start quoting Lenin w/ me again? Last time you got the ether.
What the hell is this supposed to mean? Are you referring to the Socialism/religion thread? Didn’t we basically agree?
I'm surprised you don't see the hypocrisy in your arguments. You say you support Nader because he can reach more people than a socialist, but bad mouth people that support Kerry because he can reach more people than Nader?
No, no, no. You’re twisting it. Yes, I said Nader can reach more people but I’m talking about a certain layer of society- the radicals, left-wingers, the anti-war crowd, the open-minded etc. My argument is that socialists need to appeal to this layer, this small layer of society and sway them to socialist ideas. It is this layer of society that has the potential to breath life into the already left leaning Democrats, youth and workers of America.
You criticize people that are voting for Kerry that are far left because they see him as a lesser evil than Bush, but you support Nader because he's less evil than Kerry even though he's a capitalist which you swear you're against?
I don’t see Nader as “evil” at all. Nader is a radical left wing candidate, it’s not like I’m supporting some random capitalist- Nader is anti-corporation, anti-war, anti-israel, pro-environment etc. He has many socialistic ideas such as universal healthcare; he opposes NAFTA, WTO etc.He speaks about nationalizing certain industries. His running mate, Peter Camajo, is a socialist and has written brilliant socialist literature in the past. I suppose you can think of it this way: it’s like supporting Hugo Chavez... Chavez is a radical, left wing individual who has done some great things, and most socialists like him and support him, but at the same time we are quick to criticize him and point out his mistakes and what he should be doing.
Remember comrade, I believe revolution is the only way real change can be made. My goal is not to one day elect someone like Nader into office and naively think real change can be made under a capitalist society, as in the case of Hugo Chavez. That’s not the case at all; I simply believe we need to build a strong base for the future so that we can have strong movements and one day, a revolution.
You say a socialist isn't ready as a candidate in America because they don't have resources and funding, yet choose not to help build and support that, and instead support Nader?
I don’t understand this at all. Who is to say we are not funding the socialist parties? By using Nader we are able to receive much more money than if we had our own candidate. As I explained before, by supporting Nader the Socialist parties are able to reach 100X more people than without supporting Nader. All of the literature, newspapers, stickers, etc. are purchased at rallies, speeches, marches etc. with large turnouts, because of Nader. This is money for the Socialist party.
Say not to support Brown because he’s only on a few ballots and support Nader, yet criticize people that support Kerry while Nader is only on a few ballots?
You left out a crucial part of my statement, I said “NO ONE IN AMERICA KNOWS WHO BROWN IS.” That was my point. Who has heard of Brown? 1% of the population? Who has heard of Nader? Tens of millions. My arguement is that we socialists can get our message and our ideas out to greater amounts by participating in Naders campaign.
Being realistic, “socialists” seeking some kind of electoral victory in this country will never see one unless they are willing to contribute support/resources/funding to a socialist party/candidate instead of giving it to someone else.
Should I be disagreeing with this statement?
Being realistic, “socialists” seeking some kind of electoral victory in this country will never see one unless they are willing to contribute support/resources/funding to a socialist party/candidate instead of giving it to someone else.
I understand completely if you don’t see my logic or are confused or frankly don’t agree with me. I’m fine by all this, I just think you should come out and ask so we can have a civilized discussion and learn from each other rather than dishing little insults here and there.