SIMPLY RED

Descent Into Derangement (Greg Yardley, June 30, 2003, FrontPageMagazine.com)

The communist opposition to President George W. Bush has begun. On Friday, June 27th, President George W. Bush arrived in Burlingame, California for a fundraising lunch, and the communist Workers World Party was there to protest, with the help of their allies in the labor unions and on the far-left of the Democratic Party.  It's a scene we'll see again and again in the next year and a half - through their anti-war International ANSWER, the Workers World Party has vowed to follow President Bush wherever he goes.  Supporters of Democrat Dennis Kucinich and the leaders the Service Employees International Union and the Communication Workers of America trade unions believe that their cooperation with the Workers World Party will weaken President Bush's presidency and defeat him in 2004. After attending this latest protest, I'm convinced that the opposite is true - the protestors have been reduced to an abrasive spectacle, only harmful to their own cause.  That's not to say the Workers World Party and their friends won't be able to draw large crowds in the future, but if they truly want George W. Bush out of office, they're being self-defeating.

There's no doubt that the Workers World Party has gained influence, thanks to International ANSWER's recent string of anti-war protests. The San Francisco branch of the Workers World Party won the support of much of San Francisco's Left, and their long list of backers reflects this.  Friday's protest was backed by, among others, the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO; the San Francisco branch of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee; the California branch of the National Organization of Women; the San Francisco branch of Al-Awda (the Palestinian Right of Return coalition); Global Exchange; Peninsula Peace & Justice Center (a Palo Alto-centered anti-war group); the South Bay Mobilization (a San Jose-centered anti-war group); the Children's Defense Fund; and the other major anti-war coalition, the Revolutionary Communist Party-controlled Not in Our Name Project. [...]

Both the crowd and the speeches were so extremist that any news coverage could only help the President. I'm beginning to suspect that this is the Secretariat of the Workers World Party's secret intention; in terms of resources, publicity, and membership, they're faring far better under the Bush administration than they did under Clinton, or would under the administration of any left-leaning Democrat.  Therefore, another term for President Bush is in the Workers World Party's interests; therefore Workers World Party demonstrations against President Bush are going to be as angry and militant as possible.  This allows them to recruit the truly radical while alienating the nation's undecided swing voters, giving them street credibility. 

As next year's campaign heats up, and the number of television cameras at these protests grows, the speakers are going to get angrier and angrier.  The Democratic Party has put itself in this unenviable situation by refusing to denounce the Stalinists in its midst, in their efforts to generate "mainsteam" opposition to President Bush.  In the future, these party hacks should take note: when you cooperate with the communists, you always get
burnt.

When the guy from ANSWER was on McNeil/Lehrer defending Kim Jong-Il you knew the anti-war Left had returned to its roots. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 1, 2003 8:53 AM