It is readily apparent that the majority of individuals who consider themselves as part of the Left are throwing their support behind the Democratic Party and Barrack Obama. It is certainly understandable why progressive Left forces in the United States support Obama’s run for the presidency. The Bush administration has, undoubtedly, made it relatively easy for the Democratic Party to return to political prominence. The concern, however, is that many on the Left still continue to have faith that an Obama presidency will change the economic and political landscape in the United States.

Obama enjoys a wide range of political support from “progressive” Democrats all the way up to the bourgeois-reformist Communist Party USA. The rather pedantic “reforms” promised by Obama hardly diverge from the traditional Democratic Party promises to elevate the status of the average working American. The Democratic Party has long since monopolized the votes of minority groups, the trade unions, and the youth for so long that they are able to pander to them and still continue to support the demands of the imperialist bourgeoisie. When Democratic Party candidates are elected to the White House, the individuals who voted for them are stunned when nothing really changes. This prompts the more reactionary sections of the American ruling class to take advantage of the disillusionment created by the Democratic Party’s failures to deliver on promised reforms and is able to temporarily get a far-right candidate elected. When this occurs there are vacillations over time between Democratic and Republican administrations. Left forces in America face tremendous difficulty in discerning why we are losing the class war and how we go back on a successful offensive against the capitalists. This confusion ultimately stems from the circumscribed limitations of the two party system, and more specifically, the nature of the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party, at first glance, appears as a party of the working-class. Its populist rhetoric rings soothingly in the ears of the American worker as he or she drifts off into the nebulous realm of bourgeois-reformism. Its promises and policies are indistinct and amorphous. Yet the American working class continues, without fail, in every election to cling to the Democratic Party as the force for progressive “change.” Have not enough Democratic administrations gone by yet where it becomes proof positive that the Democratic Party represents no such force? The most important question is, will the presumptive Obama presidency at long last break the illusions the working class has in the Democratic Party and the two party system? And if it does, what will be the outcome of the anger and frustration conjured up by another Democratic president who attacks the individuals who put him in office? This, of course, is conditional on Obama winning the election. Another excellent question is, if McCain should win the election, would that allow the Democratic Party a new temporary lease on life? The answers to these questions are highly speculative, but even so, an argument can be made in favor of a future disparaging collapse of the Democratic Party in the eyes of the American working class. It is possible to make such claims simply because Barrack Obama, as a candidate of the Democratic Party, is an agent of the bourgeoisie and therefore can not deviate too far from the interests of the ruling class.

Obama has promised “change” from the policies of the Republican Party and, in particular, the Bush administration. Obama has thrived on his own particular brand of Rooseveltian rhetoric as a tool to win the “hearts and minds” of working class Americans. The antagonism between the interests he represents and the campaigns promises he makes, however, form the crux of the matter. For example, he promised to end the war in Iraq, to bring health-care to every American, to end outsourcing “good paying jobs” overseas, and to begin laying the foundation for the new “Green Collar” jobs. These promises, however, stand against the interests of profit making. Obama and the rest of the Democratic Party use equivocating language to make the working class believe they are seriously interested in getting the United States out of the war. The fact of the matter is, the armed forces of the United States will not leave Iraq until the capitalists want them to. Obama’s plan to withdraw from Iraq will almost certainly coincide with their demands. Obama suggested he would step up the war effort in the Waziristan border area in the north-west frontier region of Pakistan in that imperialist conflict. These are hardly the wishes, based on the outcry against the continued occupation of Iraq, of the working class as a whole. He has also has made frequent suggestions that he would use military means against Iran if they do not prostrate themselves before the imperialists. These polices fall completely in line with the nature of Imperialism and the need to create “spheres of influence.” The insatiable appetite of the imperialist bourgeoisie for the lucrative resources of the Middle East is the sole driving feature behind their grand schemes. The international working class, contrary to the capitalists, has no interest in the continuation of the capitalists’ plunderous wars across the globe. Our enemy is at home; not in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other country. These are just a few examples but in them lie the contradictions between Obama’s supposed support for the “average Joe,” and the ruling class at the same time. The fact of the matter is, the Democratic Party is not a party of the working class. An understanding of the makeup of the Democratic Party is essential if we are to break the masses from it.

The Democratic Party represents one wing of the American ruling class which has stepped in to attempt “damage control.” From the standpoint of the this wing, the last eight years have done considerable harm to the political process and the requirements of the capitalists in the United States. They fear what might happen if the American people lose faith in the political system and start seeking other avenues for how to run their lives. Barrack Obama, in their eyes, is the candidate that can re-instill that faith in the American political system and at the same time assert the interests of the capitalists. The rectification of the revolutionary class struggle against the capitalist mode of production begins with the casting off of illusions in Obama and the Democratic Party and the creation of a new workers’ party with a revolutionary program designed to assist the working class on its conquest of political power.

The founding of a new workers’ party is necessary in our war against exploitation, poverty, and misery. REVOLUTION USA fights and will continue to fight for the creation of a mass workers’ party in the United States that stands against capitalism and the capitalist state. Anti-capitalists must do everything they can to break the mass of workers of all backgrounds from the Democratic Party and the imperialist bourgeoisie who seeks to impoverish the workers and peasants of the world. If and when Obama does win the presidential elections, we must not hesitate for one moment in ensuring the reforms he campaigned on. From day one we should pressure his administration to end the brutal imperialist wars Iraq and Afghanistan. We should pressure him to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We should pressure him to nationalize all bankrupt financial institutions under complete workers’ control and not the bureaucratic state apparatus. The struggle against the illusions in the Democratic Party can not simply be an abstract theoretical argument for why the working class should break with the Democrats. It must, however, demonstrate to the masses that Obama is incapable of implementing the reforms he promised because he is the candidate of the capitalists. At some point in his presidency the demands of the working class will clash with the demands of the capitalists and that’s when the American people will see Obama’s true colors. Our task is straightforward. We must encourage the working class to press demands that, we already know, will not be acceptable to the capitalists. When Obama cannot live up to the demands of the working class, they will finally see the futility of supporting any Democratic Party candidate and begin the long process of founding the third major political party in the United States. This major third party must be a party of the working class equipped with a program for revolution and not reform.

Break from the Democrats!

Forward to a new workers’ party won to a revolutionary program!