Crisis of the left in the U.S. - West Coast conference steers activists to Democrats

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"Yes, it's true that the Democratic Party is pro-capitalist," said Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) leader Jim Shock, a keynote speaker at the July 25-27 West Coast Conference on Socialism and Activism held in Berkeley, California. "But it's also true," said Shock, "that the Black, Latino, labor, and women's movements invest their energy in it."

Shock was joined in the main plenary panel titled "Fightback Against Reagan -ism" by Jack O'Dell of the National Rainbow Coalition and Gwen Patton of the Alabama New South Coalition. Shock expressed the deep pessimism of the conference organizers and panelists when he stated, "The reason the Democratic Party is pro-capitalist is that the people are pro-capitalist."

The official conference theme, "Progressive Politics in a Conservative Era," reflected this dim-and incorrect —view of the state of working-class consciousness in the United States. The meeting was officially sponsored by several pro-Democratic Party publications, in -cluding The Guardian, The Progressive, and Socialist Review. It was reported that some 750 people registered for the event.

The unofficial-yet unmistakablegoal of the main conference organizers was simply this: "Stop Reagan and Vote Democrat!" Within this framework, the organizers agreed to disagree on a variety of secondary matters.

Jim Shock of the DSA provided the clearest statement of the conference orientation. "The notion that a large number of people are ready for an alternative to capitalism is a fiction," he said. "If you believe this you're from another planet. There will be no alternative to the Democratic Party until at least the year 2000."

Shock called for a "democratized capitalism" and for support to liberal and left Democrats. He claimed that electing Democrats would "reduce U.S. inter -ventionism, increase social programs, and create jobs."

While Shock gave the required nod to Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition, whose supporters were the most numerous at the gathering, he made it clear that practical politics would eventually require radicals to choose their presidential candidate from among the more mainstream liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

Senators Edward Kennedy and Gary Hart were suggested as the best representatives of this category. According to Shock, Hart had the best voting record in Congress-"better than Berkeley Congressman Ronald Dellums," he declared to the chagrin of many Dellums supporters present.

The Rainbow's "independence"

National Rainbow Coalition repre -sentative Jack O'Dell cut his turf a bit to the left of the middle-class circles in and around the DSA.

O'Dell portrayed Jackson's formation as intimately connected to the mass move -ments in the United States. He spoke of "empowering" the poor and insisted that the Rainbow Coalition was financially and organizationally independent of all political parties.

But when pressed during a question period to define the nature of Jackson's "independence," O'Dell responded: "The question of leaving the Democratic Party is more a question of tactics than principle. If you leave too early," he said, "you'll be all by yourself." For the time being, he concluded, the place to be is inside the Democratic Party.

O'Dell defended Rainbow Coalition support to Walter Mondale's presidential joe Ryan/Socialist Action the ruling-class establishment in Oakland rather than the Riles forces, who were not as well-connected in the Democratic Party hierarchy.

The minority platform adopted by the Democratic Party was issued to placate party dissidents. It represents little more than a scrap of paper. It never saw the light of day in the national elections as Mondale proclaimed his independence from all "special interest" groups. Its planks never found an expression in the day-to-day work of the Democratic Party nor in the legislation passed by Congress when the Democrats held absolute majorities in both houses of the government.

Immediately following the 1984 elections-and despite all the promises to the contrary—Jackson's Rainbow Coalition ceased to exist. With the election of an assortment of local Democrats across the country, its purpose had been served And when the Rainbow was finally revived last April, it was for the purpose of again organizing the Black community and its allies to vote for capitalist candidates-this time in the 1986 elections.

Turn to the right?

One of the main arguments used by the reformist parties of the U.S. left to justify their support to the Democrats is that we TOD

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