21st Century Party launched by feminists at D.C. conference

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12 SOCIALIST ACTION OCTOBER 1992 The founding convention of the 21st Century Party took place in Washington, D.C., on the weekend of Aug. 29-30.

The first session began with speeches by Delores Huerta, acting chair of the 21st Century Party and co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America; Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW); Mel King, co-founder of the Rainbow Coalition; and Eleanor Smeal, president of the Fund for the Feminist Majority. This was by far the largest session of the convention.

Although 233 people registered, only about 150 participated in the working groups and the Sunday plenary.

Working groups met to discuss the draft platform and draft constitution and by-laws. Participants in these sessions carefully considered the draft documents line by line, offering many additions and modifications They set up sub-committees, which held lengthy meetings to further refine their proposals for the Sunday plenary.

Working groups urged that the platform not simply detail the problems of the present, but stress a positive vision of the future. While many participants argued that the blame for current problems needed to be placed on the economic system, others argued that such socialist" language would unnecessarily narrow participation in the 21st Century Party Many participants urged language explicitly rejecting support for any Democrat or Republican politicians. Others argued that the language requiring publicly endorsing the 21st Century Party platform and adhering to its goals was sufficient.

Regional working groups were charged with discussing, "How to build, expand, and organize the party (by region)." In addition to discussing the need to research each state's ballot laws and organizing on state and local levels, these groups discussed ideas for the party as a whole.

CHICAGO-In what the press called a "stunning upset," Carol Moseley Braun rode a wave of women's anger to win the Illinois Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate in March. The incumbent, Alan Dixon, had outraged women when he voted with the Senate majority to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.

A triumphant Braun told supporters after the primary, "This proves that democracy is alive and well, and ordinary people can have a voice with no money."

She addressed the giant April 5 pro-choice rally in Washington, D.C., stating, "The people of Illinois three weeks ago proved that ... all we have to do is take power in our hands to make this government respond to us."

The National Organization for Women (NOW) and many others in the women's movement see Braun's campaign, and that of hundreds of other women candidates, as the way to secure women's rights.

The message of Braun's campaign, of NOW's campaign to "Elect Women...for a Change," and of other groups endorsing Braun-from the National Women's Political Caucus to WAC-is clear: To defend our rights, go to the polls.

Braun is the first African American woman to be nominated for the Senate by a major political party. There are currently two women, and no Black people, in the Senate.

Hardly a radical outsider But will electing Braun to the Senate pose a serious challenge to the attacks on the rights of women, Blacks, and working people?

NOW encouraged Braun to run after the Thomas nomination, making a Campaign contribution even before she declared her Following a speech by Illinois state legislator Monica Faith Stewart, a Democrat, the Sunday plenary discussed and adopted the founding platform and constitution and by-laws. Despite the earlier assurances that the written documents were simply drafts to provide a framework for discussion, the leadership intervened to make sure that modifications from the working groups remained within acceptable limits. While minor language changes and additions were readily accepted, Eleanor Smeal, Delores Huerta, and Monica Faith Stewart continually took the floor to argue against substantive working-group proposals.

An attempt to include working people in a list of those not represented by the Democrats and Republicans failed overcandidacy. "We learned in September 1991, at the Thomas hearings that we couldn't rely on anyone but ourselves to defend our rights," Eleanor Smeal told the June NOW conference. "Illinois Senator Alan Dixon voted to confirm Clarence Thomas in November. And a surprised former Senator Dixon woke up in March 1992 to discover he'd lost."

Braun's Republican opponent, millionaire Richard Williamson, has been an advisor to Reagan and Bush. He denounces her as "a liberal machine candidate." His ads stating she was "Harold Washington's voice as a state legislator" and a Jesse Jackson delegate, and denouncing her stand on "welfare cheats" and the death penalty, play on racist fears.

Braun, a state legislator for 10 years, earned a reputation as a liberal. Pro-choice circles were familiar with her. She campaigned for and got the AFL-CIO endorsement. She has spoken at union meetings and rallies for the homeless.

But Braun was hardly a radical outsider, even among Democrats. Like former Mayor Harold Washington, she, too, was a regular moderate Democrat, serving as assistant Illinois House leader for 10 years before being portrayed as the rebel who unseated Dixon. She started her career as a prosecutor in the state attorney's office.

While Braun has garnered much pro-choice support in the current campaign, her general campaign literature does not even mention abortion or the right of a woman to choose.

While Braun calls for support to the Freedom of Choice Act, she has had nothing to say on the fight going on today to whelmingly after Monica Faith Stewart argued that this would be pandering to racist white males, the Reagan Democrats, and the "Joe Six Packs."

Although one delegate explained that she felt manipulated as she witnessed the long hours of work and carefully considered changes from the working groups ignored, most delegates willingly deferred to the leadership's arguments.

Delores Huerta was elected as chair of the 21st Century Party. Eleanor Smeal was elected as secretary and Paula Craver as treasurer. The vice chairs elected were Roger Craver, Patricia Ireland, Mel King, Sara Nelson, Christine Rice, and Monica Faith Stewart.

Several local activists had restore abortion services at Cook County Hospital.

While she received overwhelming support in the Black community, her campaign has been marked, according to the Chicago Tribune (March 22, 1992), by "her unwillingness to pander to Blacks, women, or people upset at the confirmation hearing for Clarence Thomas."

Right after the primary, Braun reversed her longstanding opposition to the death penalty. After the Los Angeles rebellion, Braun gave high marks to the Chicago Police department for its "racial sensitivity," saying it was "light-years ahead of Los Angeles in how to handle racially-tinged issues."

This is in the city where Fred Hampton was murdered, and where one police commander, Jon Burge, is currently on trial for torturing prisoners.

What is Braun's program for labor? According to her campaign brochure, "She'll support business incentives to spark a sluggish economy."

"Riding their skirttails"

More important, however, is that whatever her own intentions, she is running in the party that confirmed Thomas and backed Bush on every important question-from the Gulf War, to the abortion Gag Rule, to attacking the railroad unions, to the S&L bailouts.

She is running with Clinton, a right-towork presidential candidate who just announced his draconian plans for reforming welfare.

Commenting on the prominence of women candidates at the Democratic contative Council." They were shocked to learn that it was not elected. Delegates simply had the right to affirm or reject a 16-member slate proposed by the leadership. No additions or changes could be made to the slate.

Although the final agenda item was titled, "Call to Action," no proposed action campaign came out of the convention.

Despite NOW's continued support for Democrats, and the role of NOW leaders in squelching explicit language of non-support for all Democrats and Republicans, many local NOW activists sincerely believed that they were participating in an historic event.

They were attracted by the words of this new party, which in its constitution dedicated itself to "equality between women and men as well as people of all races and ethnicities; banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, religion, creed, disability, or marital status; non-violence; restoring a healthy environment; the elimination of exploitative labor practices that are reinstituting conditions of virtual slavery, indentured servitude and child labor; demilitarization of all societies; the elimination of poverty, hunger, and homelessness; and the pursuit of liberty, justice, and happiness for all people."

This desire for real change, which brought many sincere activists to the convention, was expressed by Greater Cleveland NOW Co-president Terry Halfacre when, at the Great Lakes Regional Working Group meeting, she explained, "When reporters call and ask who I'm voting for, I think this time we still have to vote for what we don't want [ie., Clinton], but next time we'll have our own party and finally be able to vote for what we do want."

Well-intentioned activists will soon find that, like the Democratic and Republican parties, the 21st Century Party is not what they want or need. Instead they will find it to be an ineffectual attempt to pressure the Democratic Party to be more responsive to the women's movement.

They will find it a diversion from independent mobilizations in the streets that can defend and extend existing rights. Similarly, they will find it a diversion from building a labor party truly independent of vention, a Clinton staffer made clear the importance of campaigns like Braun's when he stated, "We'll be happy to ride their skirttails to victory."

Women, Blacks and other oppressed groups, and working people in general, are profoundly disillusioned with both the Democrats and Republicans. Campaigns like Braun's are essential to pull these disillusioned voters back into the Democratic fold.

The Democratic Party has nothing to offer women. Anti-women policies, from cutbacks in social services to the confirmation of Thomas, are bipartisan. What Malcolm X told Black people years ago is equally true for women: "You put the Democrats first, and the Democrats put you last."

For an electoral victory to serve women's interests, it must be independent of the two capitalist parties. It simply isn't possible to get the parties of "the fat cats" (as Eleanor Smeal called them) to defend the interests of woman, Blacks, gays and lesbians, or working people in general.

What great gains could be made if the energy channeled into electing Democratic politicians helped elect a woman as part of a labor party or a Black party slate!

Until that time, the strength of the movement to defend women's rights lies in mobilizing our power independently of the ruling rich and their two-party system. That is the only way ordinary people actually do have "a voice with no money."

At a recent rally to support the restoration of abortion services at the public hospital here, one candidate for Senate did speak up. Kate Kaku, Socialist Workers Party candidate for Senate, called for independent political action, and to mobilize in the streets to defend the right to abortion. Kaku will be on the Illinois ballot.