The 2004 Elections: War, Terrorism and the Need for Regime Change
By Carl Davidson

It is not enough, however, for an effective 2004 campaign to distinguish itself from Bush on the war, terrorism and related issues only tactically. To defeat Bush, a new majority of both regular voters and new voters must be mobilized. Movements like these require a just cause, not tactical disputes, to become active, grow and win.

Two Campaigns: Theirs & Ours

This is important because the campaign against Bush divides into two. Kerry and the DLC Democrats, for their part, are campaigning--so far anyway--by trying to minimize or even eliminate differences with Bush over the Iraq war and terrorism. Their hope is to win over the ever-shrinking number of undecided Bush-leaning voters in the center. Putting all their eggs in this basket is a strategy that has led Democrats to defeat time and again over the past decade or so.

Our intervention in the election, on the other hand, can move forward and have an positive impact independently of the tactics Kerry and the DLC—even in spite of them, if need be.

Our task is not to make John Kerry into something like Dennis Kucinich; nor is it to show how far apart he may or may not be from us on a range of progressive positions. Both of these projects miss the point.

Kerry mainly has two things going for him. One, his past history in VVAW and opposition to the Vietnam war, which will always distinguish him from Bush regardless of where Kerry stands now. Second, that Kerry represents a multilateralist, globalist faction of US imperialism that is at odds over some key issues with the unilateralist, U.S. hegemonist faction represented by Bush.

The latter point is more important, since it is the one the will enable him to marshal the financial resources needed by November to defeat Bush. In other words, there should be no illusions about Kerry and what he represents, nor any desire to prettify his stands today. It is enough that Kerry can play a role in ousting Bush's gang, since it is not a matter of indifference to us which faction wins. Nonetheless, it is up to us to continue to wage the ongoing struggle for peace and justice against the new gang in the White House, should there be one, from that point on. That's why we must develop tactics maintaining our own independence and initiative both within and outside the electoral arena.

So how do we go about it? Chicago’s Peace and Justice Voters 2004 is providing a positive and successful example. We continue to take part in the mass antiwar mobilizations, but we are also developing an electoral capacity. With nearly 700 deputized registrars in our ranks and over 10,000 new registrations so far, we are implementing our program in three phases: first, we are expanding the electorate in a progressive direction; second, we are educating and identifying our supporters in the electorate on our core values of peace and justice and, third, come election day, we will bring our base of new voters to the polls in a big way. There are several key features to our work: More >>