Mid-term elections do not mean a shift to the right in US

From the website of Socialist Alternative, co-thinkers of the Socialist Party in the USA

The significant gains made by Republicans in the mid-term elections, in particular taking control of the US Senate, have caused alarm for working class and progressive people across the country. The Republicans also solidified their control of the House of Representatives.

But Republican gains cannot obscure the fact that the whole political establishment is discredited. This election showed frustration and disappointment with the Democrats – not support for Republicans.

Before the election, one poll showed 70% supporting the idea of throwing out all incumbents. The gap between the frustration of working class people and what’s on offer from reactionary Republicans and pro-corporate Democrats will inevitably force working people to find other ways to express their needs. We can expect struggles on a range of fronts.

Jess Spear campaign

Jess Spear

Jess Spear   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Socialist Alternative candidate Jess Spear’s campaign against Frank Chopp – the most powerful legislator in Washington State – was strong enough to force Chopp to perform a bizarre masquerade. The 20-year Democratic incumbent and Speaker of the House for the past 16 years portrayed himself as a “progressive activist”.

Under the pressure of the Spear campaign, Chopp hypocritically claimed to be for rent control; an early advocate in the fight for $15 and a champion of school funding.

Jess Spear soundly defeated Chopp in all the debates. The campaign mounted a strong grassroots effort mobilizing volunteers, distributing over 50,000 leaflets, putting up thousands of posters and yard signs, and raising a phenomenal $76,000 in donations from over 650 people without taking a dime in corporate cash.

Unfortunately, despite these efforts, we were only able to expose Frank Chopp’s “progressive” charade to a minority of the district’s voters.

A large share of the responsibility for Chopp’s success in hiding his corporate politics lies with the leaders of labour and progressive organisations. They publicly endorsed Chopp and covered up his abysmal record of corporate handouts, budget cuts, regressive taxes, and underfunding education.

However, the 16% vote Spear received on election night does not accurately reflect the support we found in a majority of conversations at doorsteps throughout the district.

The reality is that this election only indicated the views of the minority who actually voted, which is heavily skewed toward older, more conservative sections of the electorate who make up Chopp’s base.

The election result was also part of a larger national picture. The low voter turnout in Seattle was matched by an incredibly low turnout across the country. An older, whiter, more conservative electorate decided the election.

However, ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage passed with decisive margins in all four states where the issue was up for a vote, all of which are considered conservative states – Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

San Francisco became the second major city after Seattle to implement a $15 an hour minimum wage, which passed with 77% of the vote!

Also in Seattle, a number of ballot initiatives that show support for a left-wing, working class agenda were passed.

The essential task is to build a mass party to give working class people a vehicle for fighting for their own interests against arch-conservative Republicans and pro-corporate Democrats. This will require a determined, sustained struggle – but it is absolutely necessary.

While the electoral result is lower than what the campaign had hoped for, it is a basis for building further resistance against the corporate politics of the Democratic Party establishment. The Spear campaign is part of a larger process of beginning to break the corporate stranglehold over the political system and building an independent political voice for working people, oppressed groups, and environmentalists. The campaign helped to advance this project.