It is frustrating that the American working class has no party that represents their interests.  The vast majority of the 300 million people in this country are workers and their families.  They are people who sell their labor power to the boss and depend on the wages and benefits to feed their families.  If they are unemployed for a stretch, they can lose everything.  However, we must be clear: the working class has tremendous potential power.  Not one item would be produced in a factory, not a street would be cleaned, electricity would not be generated and communication could not function as it does, without the labor of the workers. 

Just as workers have learned that if we band together at work into a union, where our strength is united into a single force, we can more effectively fight the boss, if we band together into a political party, created by and under the democratic control of the labor movement, we can better fight the government of the employers.

Given the lack of a mass working class party in the U.S. and the instability that characterizes the current state of affairs on a domestic and global level, there is enormous pressure to “vote for somebody”. It is therefore not surprising that some workers and youth are curious about Republican Congressman Ron Paul’s bid for the Presidency. His primary draw is his vocal “anti-war” stance, which gives him some distance from the majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress. It is mainly on this issue that his supporters find support for the so-called “Ron Paul Revolution”. An example of this could be seen in the nation-wide regional anti-war demos of October 27th, where small contingents of his supports came out in various cities to promote his campaign.

But does Ron Paul offer anything that can truly be called a “revolution”, or is he more of the same from the capitalists’ ranks? Should workers and students in the anti-war movement, or in general, give him support in any way?

It often takes direct experience to better understand one’s surroundings; whether it be a toddler’s mastering of cause and effect, or for our purposes, realizing the Democratic Party’s true nature. This latest life lesson has been taught to us by the Democrats themselves, who, public opinion cast aside, have continued to support the Iraq War, not to mention other collusions with the Republicans on many matters that represent “high crimes and misdemeanors”.

Millions who had sincere illusions in the Democrats have been shocked at how rapidly the illusory divide between the two parties has disappeared, especially over the last few years. Explaining this process in a way that doesn’t place the blame on this-or-that individual becomes increasingly urgent. We must explain the common class interests shared by both parties so that working people can begin the process of building our own political alternative. Otherwise, the current situation of war, inequality, and racism will only continue to intensify.