The Campaign Against the Coup Caucus

The Campaign Against Corporate Backers of Fascism or, alternatively the Campaign to Protect Democracy, was a project discussed and implemented by the NY Young Communist League in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections. The goal of the campaign was to highlight and draw attention to the financial connections between mega-corporations such as AT&T, Pfizer, Amazon, Black Rock, etc., who had contributed to the election campaigns of candidates that supported the January 6th coup attempt or who otherwise denied the validity of the 2020 Presidential Election. The aim was to draw a clear connection in the popular mind between monopoly-capital and the extreme right.

The discussion largely centered around the form this campaign should take, whether it was feasible at all, or whether it should expand its focus to target politicians who were not election deniers but who still received contributions from monopoly-capital. In November, the NY YCL spearheaded a coalition protest in front of the HQs of multiple corporations in Manhattan.

More information about the “Coup Caucus” can be found here: https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/investing-in-fascism-the-corporations-backing-the-republican-coup-caucus/

Broadly, the discussion divided into what can be presented as three trends: 1) support for the campaign, and support for the orientation against the extreme-right, 2) criticism of the campaign, and a call for an expanded orientation against both capitalist parties, and 3) criticism of the campaign, but support for the anti-extreme-right orientation. I have attempted to use as titles central quotes from each post that sum up its main thrust. The various comments, discussions, replies and reactions made by the membership in Slack are not reproduced here.

• We can check "left sectarian elements of the Party who risk isolating us from the working class electoral struggle, and those right elements which teeter on tailism of progressive Democrats" - CS

  Let’s be honest, this proposal ia in parts underdeveloped and threatens to force a commandist view of corporate fascism onto existing progressive elements, though we should make it our responsibility to fully develop it. We have an opportunity to facilitate a campaign running straight down the center—checking left sectarian elements of the Party who risk isolating us from the working class electoral struggle, and those right elements which teeter on tailism of progressive Democrats—ONLY SO FAR AS WE ENGAGE IN THE STRUGGLE. The YCL’s assessment of the situation is currently incoherent, and it is the express goal of this statement to clarify my own assessment and encourage other comrades to do the same. There is concern of a commandist electoralist left which pushes a concept of a fascist coup attempt not widely held even by progressives, and a concern of a rightist trend which effectively takes a backseat to the Democrats. For these reasons there has been great hesitation to engage with the electoral struggle this cycle, but we must consider that the entirety of the most progressive elements of the working class will be working on the midterm elections through November, and as it stands WE WILL BE THE ONLY PROGRESSIVE GROUP NOT ENGAGING WITH THE ELECTION. Through this proposal we can begin to integrate with the most progressive elements of the New York working class, from the unions and tenant organizations we have a history with, to progressive Democrat organizations. We should leave no stone unturned, no energy unused in trying to create a viable anti-corporate anti-fascist campaign out of this. Who is to take up such a campaign if not a national anti-capitalist, anti-fascist political party? We’ve been presented with a skeleton of a proposal, it is our job to put meat on the bones and give it life.

  The first step is using the next 3 days to engage in spirited debate to create a vision (or multiple visions) of how we see this campaign leading to success. We must also be very clear on the goals we are striving for and the standards by which we deem its success. We should decide if the primary goal should be internal development.

• "Without critiquing the system to which both parties participate this campaign loses the edge of how fascism operates" - Jc

  Overall this if this campaign is focusing on the most reactionary aspects of finance capital, then corporations and the capitalist system must obviously be discussed. This means that we would target the republicans (the most reactionary of finance capital) as well as the particular companies who aid and Finance democratic candidates.

  I tend to agree with Pras, I don’t see this as something that will galvanize YCL members. However, I do think it’s A good idea, but only if we match an overall political campaign with direct actions on company premises. I would imagine a few YCL members will be a part of the committee for the campaign and can help to mobilize other members. It won’t be a full on effort from the YCL and it most definitely shouldn’t take away from other areas of work.

  Also I think there is an obsession with January 6th, but fascism in a real way has to be attacked. But without critiquing the system to which both parties participate this campaign loses the edge of how fascism operates as an extension of capital. In this way I agree with comrade Khadija, finance capital does rely on fuel dual cooperation in order to oppress particular working class people in this country, especially Black and Indigenous comrades. If we do not acknowledge this within the campaign we are missing an essential part of how fascism operates.

• "For this campaign to be impactful, we must focus our energy on exposing the inherent destructiveness of both parties" - Kh

  I believe, in all honesty, the only way for this proposed campaign to be truly effective- to truly be a forceful weapon of political education of the people- is if we also have a critical analysis of the fascism which seeps through the gutted and lifeless fissures of both the Democrat and Republican party

  As the Communist party and YCL, too often, we continue to center and uplift this narrative that the Republican party is the only party which holds this extreme far-right sect within it's ranks, outright negating, oftentimes, the fact that the Democratic party is also a fascist party! But, their fascism is subtle; their fascism is clandestine; their fascism drapes itself in the frayed garments of being the "party of the people"; the party of "true democracy" when, in fact, they only lead the people to drip- feed on illusions of "democracy" while further pushing them into dispossession, starvation and death.

  Therefore, for this campaign to be impactful, we must focus our energy on exposing the inherent destructiveness of both parties; both of whom are upheld by and mercenaries of finance capital. We must, also, forcefully call out the very structure of capital itself; the very structure which breathes life into the tentacles of fascism for which without it any dregs of fascism cannot exist.

  Additionally, we must also stop using the masses as an obfuscation tactic to justify not taking a more radical, revolutionary stance. The way in which the masses rose up in defiant resistance against the murders of George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Jayland Walker and countless other nameless, voiceless, black and brown people- people deemed invisible by this system at birth- were murdered at the violent hands of the state, clearly, show us otherwise. Even if their class consciousness is embryonic; even if their actions are born of spontaneity, they have shown us, undoubtedly, that the revolutionary spirit is there and not only are they tired of the Democrats, they're tired of reform after reform inside of a hollowed and cadaverous system- reforms which, if not used strategically, can be the death of Revolution. We must, moreover, stop using the masses as a nebulous rebuttal for every valid critique raised against our party being the unwanted tail of the democratic party.

  As stated, this campaign can be a tremendous force in aiding us elevate the consciousness of the people, only if we engage in a rigorous Marxist analysis of the fascistic demagogy which flows through the deadened arteries of both the Democratic and Republican party. The Republican party has a fascist sect, therefore, we should vote for the Democrats to keep them out is not a Marxists-leninist analysis, it is a justification for taking up a reactionary stance; it is an apologia for reformism, and in truth, an underhanded way of ensuring the masses are conscious just enough to vote for Democrats, but not consciousness enough for revolution. It is, in all honesty, Kautskyism of the worst variety.

  In closing, as the vanguard, we must stop cowering inside the blurred deflections of "meeting people where they're at" and meet the people where the contradictions are, inevitably, pushing them anyway. And this campaign, if we call out both parties who do nothing more than undergird the systems of oppression inside the contradiction- ridden prison that is capital itself, will help us in doing just that.

• "We must also have the nuance to differentiate fascism from liberalism and construct our strategy effectively upon that differentiation" - Jph

  It seems that the approach to this campaign is being muddled and confused because of a misunderstanding of our orientation toward both the Democrats and Republicans, as well as fascism in general. These things must be cleared up before proceeding, as they are foundational to the premise of the campaign and we will be fragmented and unconcentrated without them being properly addressed.

  Georgi Dimitrov, former General Secretary of the Communist International, constructed the basis for a Marxist understanding of fascism during its ascendant period in the 1930s. These definitions are generally the ones we use today. During an official report to the Comintern in 1935, Dimitrov described fascism as "the open, terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinistic, and most imperialist elements of finance capital". This description, most notably depicting the ideology of Mussolini and Hitler, is succinct and historically accurate. It also most certainly singles out the Republican Party as the fascist torch carrier in our country today. The Republican Party, which is systematically and programmatically repressing the rights of voters, people of color, religious minorities, queer people, and women; who insistently utilize the country’s history of white supremacy to its advantage, unabashedly represent this trend of an emerging contemporary fascism. Such simply cannot be said about the Democratic Party. With the recognition that both of the major parties in this country are bourgeois, capitalist-imperialist parties, we must also have the nuance to differentiate fascism from liberalism and construct our strategy effectively upon that differentiation.

  Let me not be misconstrued as being supportive of the Democrats, or saying that they shouldn’t be opposed. The point is, without properly examining the current political landscape, as well as the ruptures within the capitalist class, we can never effectively challenge or oppose the Democrats. In ‘Left-Wing Communism, an Infantile Disorder’, Lenin’s polemical pamphlet against those rejecting supporting left candidates against their right adversaries, he states:

  • “If we are the party of the revolutionary class, and not merely a revolutionary group, and if we want the masses to follow us (and unless we achieve that, we stand the risk of remaining mere windbags), we must, first, help Henderson or Snowden to beat Lloyd George and Churchill (or, rather, compel the former to beat the latter, because the former are afraid of their victory!); second, we must help the majority of the working class to be convinced by their own experience that we are right, i.e., that the Hendersons and Snowdens are absolutely good for nothing, that they are petty-bourgeois and treacherous by nature, and that their bankruptcy is inevitable; third, we must bring nearer the moment when, on the basis of the disappointment of most of the workers in the Hendersons, it will be possible, with serious chances of success, to overthrow the government of the Hendersons at once; because if the most astute and solid Lloyd George, that big, not petty, bourgeois, is displaying consternation and is more and more weakening himself (and the bourgeoisie as a whole) by his “friction” with Churchill today and with Asquith tomorrow, how much greater will be the consternation of a Henderson government!”

  In other words, we must support liberals in their confrontation with the fascist elements of the capitalist class, because it is only subsequent to the liberal victory that we can wage a meaningful campaign against them. This relates to our situation in that we must address the Democrats and Republicans in two separate yet related stages. The Republicans must be confronted first, with a popular front including Democrats and the progressive, anti-fascist elements of their base. This stage is carried out within the electoral period, with the defeat of the fascist threat. Following Democratic victory, the contradictions and vapid nature of their “left program” will show themselves, and we as communists will be able to provide a dialectically progressive alternative.

  This is why the anti-corporate campaign can only be effectively carried out as it pertains to the upcoming midterms as one against the fascist threat. We may plan our subsequent Democratic critique but let us not confuse them for one and the same, such would immobilize the campaign entirely.

• "We on the left have to walk and chew gum at the same time. We do have to spotlight a very real fascist clique which is very actively trying to gain power." - Be

  Many people are addressing aspects of my concerns over this discussion, so forgive what may be a some amount of repetition.

  I think there are a wide variety of positions being articulated here from a several sets of viewpoints.

  It is a wide ranging discussion, containing many things I agree with, and many points which are frankly either unclear or factually wrong.

  It is to this point only that I’d like to say a few things. I would like to push back against a few trends I am seeing which I think are unhelpful.

  I think we have to be more disciplined with ourselves how we argue for and against positions. Facts, evidence, and correct deployment of Marxist concepts are important to frame arguments.

  I think rhetoric is being used instead, which is natural on the one hand, but unhelpful when unsupported by facts or theory.

  So, some basic things which I think are just factually wrong. Neither the Democratic or Republican Party are fascist. This is an important point for all of us to grasp. Neither party (yet) has fully committed itself to one party rule, a complete end of voting etc. But there is a clique currently trying to take over the Republican Party in order to do just that. The people causing this are the financial backers of that clique (as opposed to “the party” as such) and that is what this proposal seeks to confront.

  We live in a racist, chauvinist, imperialist country, I.e. a normal bourgeoise republic. The term fascist gets frequently misused (especially online) to describe what is really the violence inherent in the normal functionings of an imperialist capitalist state.

  Why is this distinction important? Because the left is forced to struggle daily against the normative functioning of the capitalist state. The power of the bourgeois state relies on massive amounts of violence inflicted on workers, people of color, women, LGBTQ, and immigrants at home, and wars abroad.

  One might reasonably feel that it can’t get much worse. But of course history teaches us that it can. Were an actual white nationalist fascist party to come to power and set up a millitary dictatorship it would be unimaginably worse.

  So the left is forced to fight the very real possibility of that happening, while fighting normal bourgeois capitalist “democracy” with all of its crimes.

  But we can’t fall into the trap of taking bourgeois parties and our system at its word. With all this talk of Democrats and Republicans, you’d think that those parties command enormous power, prestige, and respect when the exact opposite is true.

  Poll after poll shows disenchantment with parties and politicians. So how do they stay in power and why? It’s because the capitalist class backs them to greater or lesser degrees in order to use them for their own ends. But people’s movements also seek to exert influence over the parties. So it is the capitalist class which should be our target.

  Capitalists only agree to subject themselves to limited bourgeoise democracy because the think they can control the outcome. It is when people’s movements gain concessions that the most reactionary sectors of capital begin to seek alternatives to formal democracy and start backing fascist forces.

  The parties themselves are made up of a wide variety of political power blocs and sectors of capital, all vying for control over what is really no more than a structure.

  We have a duty to fight both within and without of those parties because they exist, and they are a vector of power within which our enemies also fight for control. To cede that ground totally to them would spell disaster. But weirdly it seems like folks are arguing that the Parties themselves are the source of all evil. I think that to believe that is to be more “electoralist” then we who think it’s worth contesting the power of the capitalist class everywhere, including within bourgeois parties. We should also, needless to say, be running our own candidates where possible, and build up the Communist Party’s capacity to run and win on its own ballot line.

  To use the words Democrats and Republicans as synecdoches for the crimes of the Capitalist state is to truly misunderstand Marxist analysis of the bourgeois state.

  We on the left have to walk and chew gum at the same time. We do have to spotlight a very real fascist clique which is very actively trying to gain power. We have to do this while fighting the daily hell of bourgeois capitalist states.

  I think the CP and YCL definitely have the bandwidth and capacity to do both, and that we must do both in all of our work going forward.

  Saying that the fascist threat is distinct from normal capitalist rule should not be misconstrued as downplaying the daily violence of capitalist systems. For working class communities and communities of color in cities suffering under the oppression of police surveillance and brutality under Democratic Party mayors, such distinctions may appear at first blush to be either pedantic, or unnecessary. But once again, we know from history that it can and will get worse, and here again is why I am saying, we can and we must, both organize against the violent and oppressive conditions of “normal” capitalist oppression, while doing what we can to prevent it from getting worse.

  As to how we should frame this campaign, how much resources we should put towards it, etc. these are all great things to debate and work out.

  But understanding the very real threat of fascism and how it differs from the normal horrors of bourgeois democracy is integral to a Marxist-Leninist outlook.

• "The Democrat Party is a bourgeois party... but it does not represent the **most** reactionary and terroristic elements of the ruling class and of finance capital" - As

  I’d like to first discuss my thoughts on what various comrades have said about fascism, reformism, and the Democrats and Republicans, as it’s important to have a baseline understanding of these things in order to have a meaningful conversation about the proposal in the first place.

  I definitely hear the frustrations comrades have brought up regarding Democrats and their open violence against marginalized groups and the frustration regarding participation in bourgeois politics. Although we must recognize the imperialism, carceral violence, enabling and coddling of reaction, and the corporate pandering that are all characteristic of Democrat Party politics, we still must reckon with the reality of the American political landscape. The Democrat Party is a bourgeois party in that it represents a particular section of the bourgeoisie and their political interests but it does not represent the **most** reactionary and terroristic elements of the ruling class and of finance capital.

  Dimitrov tells us that, “the accession to power of fascism is not an ordinary succession of one bourgeois government by another, but a substitution of one state form of class domination of the bourgeoisie -- bourgeois democracy -- by another form -- open terrorist dictatorship…Before the establishment of a fascist dictatorship, bourgeois governments usually pass through a number of preliminary stages and adopt a number of reactionary measures which directly facilitate the accession to power of fascism. Whoever does not fight the reactionary measures of the bourgeoisie and the growth of fascism at these preparatory stages is not in a position to prevent the victory of fascism, but, on the contrary, facilitates that victory.”

  Presently, bourgeois democracy exists in the United States. The United States is violent, racist, terroristic, anti-immigrant, patriarchal, etc. but it still maintains some semblance of bourgeois democracy and a bourgeois electoral process. The most reactionary elements of the ruling class have not (yet) replaced bourgeois democracy with another form of bourgeois class domination - that is, fascism - but Dimitrov’s point about the reactionary measures taken to facilitate the accession to power of fascism is cause for concern. We can clearly see the volume and speed with which reactionary measures that enable fascism are being implemented - from the massive growth of the police state to the right-wing push back against trans rights to the elimination of education about racism and white supremacy to abortion bans to austerity to the mass political disenfranchisement of Black, indigenous, and immigrant communities. If we don’t grapple with the fascist factions of the ruling class, whose politics are represented by the Republican Party specifically, and all of these reactionary measures, we will be powerless to prevent fascism and we will enable its rise.

  We cannot leave any political tools untouched as the forces of reaction continue to gain more ground. Although communists love to discuss how fed up the masses are with the ruling class and how ripe they are for revolution, most of the people who are eligible to vote in this country do so. It is not true that less than half of the country votes. Approximately 240 million people were eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election and roughly 66.1% of them submitted ballots, totaling about 158 million. Biden received about 81 million votes. We have to contend with that political reality. We can’t dance around it and just impose our own views of revolution and non-reformism onto the masses when that is not where they are. 81 million people voted for Biden. Tens of millions of people are engaged in the bourgeois electoral process. Tens of millions of people are against the fascist tendencies represented by Trump and the Republicans. We not only have to capitalize on that and on the current political leanings of the masses, we must take every measure we can to fight for progressive measures that will empower the working class and marginalized groups and reject reactionary politics that pave the way for fascism.

  I do consider the question of reformism to be an important one, especially as an abolitionist. We don’t want to engage in bourgeois politics for its own sake and support measures that fail to actually empower the working class, empower the state and capital, or fail to represent an organic political demand from the masses. However, we cannot simply reject any and every reform effort and disengage from bourgeois politics entirely. If we go that route, we will sacrifice an essential political tool of the mass movement and we will forgo an entire arena of political struggle. Capitalism will not be overthrown by the working class of this country without a strong mass movement and a weak, disempowered bourgeois class. With the threat of fascism as strong as it is, we have to use every tool at our disposal to attack the forces of reaction and build the working class’ capacity for mass, revolutionary organization.

  That necessarily means recognizing distinctions between different factions of the ruling class. Although this is an extremely violent country, it could get so much worse. We have to recognize the Republican Party for what it is and what it represents. The Democrats and Republicans are not identical. We have to tailor our approaches to defeat the capitalist class according to the present material conditions and political reality. We are not going to defeat fascism and the forces of reaction by neglecting an important sphere of political activity in which much of the country is engaged.

  With regards to the proposal itself, I am not sure this campaign is where our energy would be best spent, although I do think it’s important to identify the particular capitalists that are enabling the rise of fascism. I would prefer this project to be a journalistic, social media-oriented one as opposed to in-person picketing, which I’m not sure would have a concrete impact on the wealthy executives of various corporations up in their penthouses.

• "We should focus our efforts on voter turnout, not a campaign" - Jafari

  Interesting political discussions have emerged out of the talk that we had around the Campaign Against the Backers of Fascism at our last General Meeting. Before weighing in, I want to acknowledge that this campaign is a positive signal - the Communist Party is actively trying to foster it’s relationship with its youth organization by presenting this idea. Given this, we have reached a certain stage in the development of our movement, and it is worth commending. Despite this, I have some reservations when it comes to whether we should, as the NY YCL, carry out this campaign. I also need to address some of the issues raised during the General Meeting related to this topic.

  First, we have to understand both the central issue of the campaign and it’s relevancy today. From my general understanding, a handful of corporations financed fascist forces during the historic Jan. 6th Capitol Hill Riots. It has to be clear that this campaign aims to expose those forces as they are representatives of the entire ruling class - it is not a campaign which supports Democrats as the great anti-fascist force against the Republican financers. We aim to expose these financers in our press release and subsequent picketing regardless of party affiliation. Confusion around this point, around the specific target of our expose, has offset the conversation, creating a whirlwind about a much deeper political question. To briefly touch on relevancy - I think this specific issue hits the “heart” of our analysis. This is not merely because it relates to the “base” - it is instead because it immediately incorporates multiple core aspects of our analysis of monopoly capitalism. I will not go further into that point at this time. As far as my opinion on the campaign goes, I think that, objectively, it is not something I want to pursue as its presented. My issue is with the content of the campaign, and not a political campaign itself. In fact, I have always been of the opinion that unified work in the Young Communist League is imperative for our growth. However, such work must come about organically, and the structure that allows unified work to take place cannot be formed all at once at a few meetings. But, with this campaign idea, we’ve been drawn towards the idea of unified work, at the very least. This is an opportunity for us to seriously plant the seeds for a single general project, bringing about political work that employs all our lines of work, all our talents, all our connections with the working class, all our theoretical points of unity, and all the rest of what we have to offer the working class movement. It should be a campaign arising out of the NY YCL general body, expressing not only our essence as an organization but also our agreed upon priorities as for what we can and ought to do together. I believe that what lies in front of us is finally the possible impetus for united organizational development - evolution by way of assessing, planning and executing our own political campaign.

  The world is in constant motion - we apprehend our reality and therefore our political realities through a dialectic lense. Within the context of our work here in the YCL, this means that we strive to carry on the momentum of an active working class. We don’t bring to the working class our ready-made priorities - we express the priorities that they express themselves, but in a revolutionary way! But I digress. A campaign born out of our own motion - our own daily work and processes through the organization - is a superior way to approach this idea. We have numerous lanes of work in the YCL - Tenants Rights, Anti-War, Cultural Magazines, Prison Abolition, Recruitment, Labor - this is the field of our immediate vision. Combining all these would be an even more ambitious idea- which we should not necessarily shy away from - but without going too deep into specifics, I think we should coordinate a campaign that we spend some allotted time (months) planning and developing. We should create a deadline to present a campaign to the executive. As for the election, I believe we should focus our efforts on voter turnout, not as a campaign per se, merely as more loose yet unified work.

  Now, to address other points from the meeting. It was expressed that this campaign is a waste of revolutionary potential - that to carry it out would be perpetual tailism behind the Democrat Party, which the claim was made was a Fascist party. It was emphasized that such conception of the Republican Party as fascist, in opposition to the Democrats, would make this campaign incorrect. But I think this is mistake caused by the unclear way we were told about the objective. I addressed this point earlier. Much deeper is the claim about the fascist character of the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party as a whole does not qualify as a fascist party, nor as a proto-fascist party. I think the Democrat Party is a liberal party, is is a capitalist party, and it certainly enables fascism and thus contains a fascist component, but any metric that identifies them with the parties of historical atrocity is one that melts when faced with concrete realities. The Democrat Party is the party of contradictions - it contains in it the desperate and frustrated oppressed masses, but also the capitalist and proto-fascist forces we oppose antagonistically. I won’t deny that from the perspective of our black and brown comrades, who see Biden from behind the fence of an immigration camp, the Democrat party is fascist. However, we as Marxist know that, to necessarily bring their perspective from outside of those walls and all walls in general, we must grapple with these contradictions in a way which furthers class struggle on the side of the proletariat. We are disgusted and distraught with the necessary “evils”, but there are no revolutionary situations in which revolutionaries do not need to contend with real contradictions. My favorite example is of the Chinese revolution, where the Party made temporary and fleeting strategic alliances with the hyper reactionary Kuomintang. They were compelled by real, historical conditions to make such decisions. And out of their courageous sacrifices a new socialist state was born. Back to our situation - we acknowledge the necessities of supporting the working class where it exists politically. Unfortunately this is, at our stage, where the progressive elements of the Democrat Party is. It isn’t within communist organizations, and it never will be if we approach our current realities like this. We do not tail nor do we command, we step alongside the Democrat party, always furthering our political position, always critiquing the ruling class, always carrying out revolutionary education, always disseminating propaganda, always exposing and opposing the forces of reaction. Without this, we truly do tail behind the Democrat Party. But overall, this is a debate that requires further passionate discussion. My brief thoughts above represent my immediate thoughts to the issue.

  Another point I want to address is the idea that the Party will carry out the campaign with or without the NY YCL. This was brought up in response you hesitations about the campaign. I think this isn’t the best attitude to have in response to real concerns - it is already known that the Party already has the capacity to carry out its objectives. But in this case, the executive committee of the New York State asked the NY YCL, not the entire party. I fail to see the relevancy - we should openly encourage speaking and deciding as an org, even if our work can be carried out without us. We should hope that this is the case! The working class movement does not hinge on the NY YCL.

  I am doubtful of the enthusiasm behind the expose both internally and externally. It was said that, from outside our organization, that the working class cares about this specific issue. They do in an abstract sense, the working class will always be concerned with the forces behind their perpetual undoing. But, in a particular way, where is outcry against this financing? There is outrage, but more of it is directed at the event itself. Not to say that what these corporations are doing isn’t outrageous, but I’m not convinced that this specific issue, the way it’s being framed, has enough relevancy to justify doing instead of organic work that comes from our own experiences and realities.

  Those are all of my thoughts on these issues. Once again, the fact that we are having this debate makes me feel pride in our recent growth. I respect all my comrades and hope that we reach democratic conclusion.

• "The campaign shouldn't be focused in any way on persuading people to vote for democrats" - Br

  I think the most valuable aspect of this campaign would be providing an opportunity to help further public understanding of finance capital and how corporations influence political power, which imo if this were to launch should be its primary focus. I also think it would be best carried out through informative literature, articles, etc. My primary concern is that this campaign, as it stands, seems, in essence, a general attempt to convince people to “get out there and vote”. If voting is the campaign's primary focus, I believe it would be detrimental to building high energy and mass participation/interest. The fight for voting rights and voter protections is necessary and I think perhaps helping with voter registration could be meaningful work, but I don’t think the campaign should be focused in any way on persuading people to vote for democrats. If what so many comrades have been saying is true, and that “ masses of working class people vote democrat ” then I see no reason as to why we’d have to try to convince them of that.

  It would be unnecessary for the CP to waste time focused on doing leg work for the democratic party by only critiquing republicans. People aren’t stupid, they might be disaffected (rightfully so) but most progressive voters are already aware democrats are better than republicans, thanks to an extremely low bar - so why and to who are we trying to convince this? I think a nuance that gets lost in this discussion frequently is the understanding that when people say “there’s no difference” they are referring to their living conditions under either party, not the politics presented by either party. People are aware the two parties are by no means equal. Also, the phrase #VoteAgainstFascism is so vague and widely agreeable. Who among the left- ranging from the most liberal to ultra left- would want to vote for fascism? Again, my fear is that this campaign would serve to be merely a voting reminder, guaranteeing at best lackadaisical support. By showing favor to democrats, we also run the risk of unnecessarily ostracizing ourselves from working class people who are disillusioned with both parties, and instead of offering a place where they can feel understood about their frustrations with the hypocrisies of dems and republicans, we’d instead choose to paternalistically push voting and insist that those who don’t participate are contributing to their own oppression. There are gonna be people voting whether we have this campaign or not, our job should be to educate people honestly about the state of both major parties, highlighting the contradictions and relentlessly critiquing candidates before and after elections. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, AT&T etc. all fund Democratic representatives. Some of these companies fund Democrats more than they do Republicans, and will continue to do so. Obviously corporations have no true political allegiance, their money will go where it suits them. I wonder how we can picket and tell people these companies are bad because they’re funding these republican groups, and in the same breath tell them to vote for democrats who take money from and whose politics are persuaded by these very same corporations?

  If the only way to be a fascist party is for “open terroristic dictatorship”, then by that definition the republican party wouldn’t be fascist either being that they still currently only “enable” fascism. I mean, if you ask me, if someone is “enabling” fascism, I’d simply call them a fascist lol. I personally see no point in mincing words to fit one particular definition from a hundred years ago, but I understand the value in lessons from the past. Classical definitions from bits of theory are most definitely useful, but I urge us to consider how fascism as it exists today might be defined differently than in the past. Certainly one party could be more fascistic than the other, but I don’t see how for example the deadly immigration policies or police state that both of these parties openly facilitate aren’t fascist enough to warrant the label. Many of us know it can get worse, it’s *been* getting worse and we are aware of this. Black and brown communities, LGBT communities, low income communities, already know what’s at stake because for many they have already seen the beginnings of fascist ideology and policy impact their lives- it’s not something that looms in the future.

• We must support the "most progressive elements in our electoral struggle, within the Democratic Party but not broadly the Democratic Party as a whole" - No

  The Campaign

  The work of our YCL, and party clubs over the course of the past year has been an inspiring feat for which I am proud to have witnessed and be apart of. The growth of our organization has led us to become involved in many important lanes of activism such as our tenant work, Anti-Imperialism, mutual aid, tabling, etc. Much of this work was done few and far between when I first signed up for the party and YCL on this very week a year ago. To see how far we’ve come especially in seeing the potential rise of a campaign for us all to work on together is proof, our potential is the greatest it’s ever been in decades.

  I am a hesitant proponent of the campaign against finance capital. Though there are areas of this project I take issue with. Such as the sympathetic nature towards bourgeois democracy, A hyper focus on specific events and elements (Sole blame of the republicans, the January 6th insurrection), a lack of focus of this work on the very groups affected by finance capital, the inorganic nature of the planning around this effort, and the potential subversion of other current efforts which cadre have been passionately working in.

  My goal is only to critique this campaign in a way that it can be carried out in a nature that is revolutionary, organic in its development, and can tie all other facets of our current work together into a cohesive project that emphasizes the intersection and relations between them. This way no other effort is subverted. The high potential in this project rests in our external and internal development. This development being in the tightening relationships of and with other broad coalitions, the broad scope of this campaign is an opportunity for the party on a national level to exercise its communication and coordination thus tightening our own internal relationships between various clubs, and higher exposure of our program to the masses of people. We are in such an era of our development, in such an era of political instability that if we do not act on such conditions, on such potential with fervor and passion, we risk having to restart the process again or even worse, we risk letting the reactionary elements of our society repress our organization and party without a fight of ferocity.

  On the question of the political climate

  The discussion around the campaign has brought into visibility the very core elements of friction between the paths people believe the party should take. Both elements of our cadre have made many points worth considering. The campaign in a large part of its draft has taken a position of hyperfixation on the Republican Party in relation to finance capital. Comrades I think are very correct to point this out. It is very true that the Democratic Party is also a beneficiary and utilizes this. The Democratic Party is also known to finance pro republican advertisement campaigns during primary elections in order to help win the candidate they see as easiest to compete against. Such was the case during the republican primary in 2016 where Hillary Clinton’s campaign team financed pro Donald Trump advertisements. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/democrat-ad-spending-republican-trump/

  I do think however, we must differentiate the far-right Republican Party and the bourgeois liberal Democratic Party in order to better confront them strategically. Although the democrats are to share blame and are complicit in the rise of fascism in this country the liberals are different in their intentions and I’d argue strategically incompetant. They do support a degree of voting rights and protections for the lgbtq+ community but their main goal overall is maintaining the status quo and this status quo is fundamental to our party being able to operate and fight for working class causes without the question of legality and fear of suppression in this stage of our development.

  On the other hand the Republican Party looks to strip our political organization of any legal protection and any protection for most left organizations. They look to strip away voting rights almost unanimously and leave these rights only for the predominantly white communities in this country. They are actively suppressing the lgbtq+ community and advancing the police state to carry out these draconian laws. This effort is anti-democratic and I argue that for these reasons and many more the Republican Party has devolved into the fascist party. Any notion that there exists only a section of fascism competing for power within the party is an outdated analysis more suited for 2016 and downplays the current conditions and threats facing us now.

  With the knowledge of this political climate, the best path is to not merely be sympathetic towards bourgeois democracy in face of the fascist threat as I think this would only support the incompetent, wreckless strategy of the Democratic Party. It is better to attack and critique all reactionary elements that support, contribute, and are complicit in this rising threat while supporting the most progressive elements in our electoral struggle, within the Democratic Party but not broadly the Democratic Party as a whole.

  The Intersectional Struggle

  The success of this campaign is to, in this stage, be determined byhow we utilize the energy of our cadre. In no way should this campaign be conducted in negation of our other efforts. As communists one of our central themes in analysis is the intersectionality of struggle. One does not hold more impetus over the other as they are all tied together. It is rather the force of capitalism in which it binds to all struggles. In order for this campaign to arise organically it must come about in tying together the multiple causes we already involve ourselves in. How can we tie in and relate our tenant organizing, our anti-imperialist struggles, our student organizing, and mutual aid work into the issue of campaign finance? These are the questions to consider but I as an individual cannot alone answer this. It must be answered through a dialogue between all current committees and working groups.

  The other question to consider though must be how do we make people care about this struggle. I disagree with the notion that this campaign is wholly inorganic. I think a large swath of the population cares about the looming threat of fascism and marginalized groups fear this threat even more considering, already, the loss of voting rights across the black belt, the repressive ‘Don’t say Gay’ bill, and the overturning of Roe V Wade. We’ve already seen mass mobilizations and the revolutionary potential of the masses in response to these matters. Through the spontaneity of these mobilizations it is our job as communists to tie it to the political and economic formation. The masses must realize these links themselves, organically but the seeds to grow this understanding must be planted. Finance capital has backed these reactionary policies against the people time and time again and we must expose this link to the masses for them to respond as they see fit. A faith in the masses to grow and develop should be placed on all of our shoulders. We do not have to cater to the embryonic form of which class consciousness is displayed. Only an understanding of it as we pursue to help water it and grow.

  Throughout this campaign it is important we not forget the special questions. Khadija and Stefi were correct in bringing up the treatment of migrants and the Latinx and black communities which are heavily impacted by the workings of finance capital. A dialogue and plan must be coordinated on this front to properly address such matters. Without consideration to the special circumstances of these communities we cannot begin to address finance capital's effect on the whole of the masses.

  In Summary

  The campaign to go after finance capital is the most determined effort I’ve seen come out of the party and I look forward to developing these ideas alongside my comrades. The points to consider in the approaching of this matter is our analysis of the political climate in which we’re operating (This being the threat of fascism within the Republican Party, the accelerating loss of rights among marginalized peoples, the complicity of democrats, the internal progressive struggle taking place within the party, etc), the intersectionality with other projects being worked on, and considerations towards the special questions regarding the struggles for black liberation, lgbtq+ liberation, and the struggle for immigrants rights. With these considerations made I believe this campaign will lead to a development of our party in a way not seen before. I am optimistic about the outlook.

• "The electoral defeat of MAGA is a necessary condition of forestalling a descent into something much worse" - Tu

  I would first of all like to say how admirably well so many YCL comrades have expressed themselves in their critiques and analysis of the NY District's proposal. Even if nothing further were to come of this plan, the fact that we have developed such a thoughtful and considered space of critique and reflection regarding theoretical and practical points is a cause for celebration and a sure sign that we as a collective are moving in the right direction. Much of what I would say has already been said by others, so I will limit myself to just a few comments and observations regarding the proposal and the discussion thus far.

  First, regarding some aspects of the theoretical underpinnings of the proposal. There is not a single person active in the Party who would tell you that corporate control of the political realm is something that affects only one of the two major parties. Since the Citizens United ruling, unlimited corporate funding of political representatives has been a determinative and ever-present aspect of American political life, a state of affairs that has locked in the neoliberal withering away of an independent political state distinct from the economic realm, advancing a form of state politics as the mere bureaucratic management arm of monopoly capital. Both Democrat and Republican funcionaries have been bought and sold to the American people as the inevitable outcomes of a democratic system that imposes the most narrow and in many ways undifferentiated forms of choice as the realm of supposed freedom. It is precisely this lack of true democracy, this American extravagance of the one party state with two choices that fuelled the candidacy of Bernie Sanders and proved the broad appeal and desire for a political alternative.

  Now, all this being said, we must realize at this point the reality of the moment and what dangers we are currently dealing with. Out of the desicating corpse of neoliberal society has arisen Trumpism, culminating in the January 6th event and the executive and legal attempts to overturn the 2020 election. These things cannot be separated from the immiseration of bourgeois democracy under the neoliberal social-economic paradigm, which shows how the forces of far-right proto-fascism arise directly from it. How do these forces distinguish themselves from the forms of violence typical in bourgeois democracies? By their open hostility to even the severely limited form of democratic elections such as they exist in this country. By their sometimes camouflaged, sometimes open embrace of far-right groups and militias that hold neo-Confederate and neo-Nazi orientations and by these groups' reciprocal affirmation of MAGA. By their open hostility and desire to destroy reproductive rights and the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. By their complete opposition to labor rights and unions, which they would destroy as soon as they would have the power to do so. By their repeated threats and open hostility to socialists, communists, and all those who hold opposing views. By their attacks on basic freedoms of protest and assembly, outlawing and subjecting to imprisonment protesters in certain states where MAGA politicians are in power. Many more things could be added to this list which would show how over and above the typical neoliberal politician, the MAGA movement and its representatives present a unique threat that, if it were to take Congress and then retake the White House, is ready and able to consolidate its forces and move things even further in the direction of open terroristic dictatorship of capital over the working class.

  OK, so does this mean that we "support Democrats"? No, it means that we oppose the forces of fascism, represented in its developed form by MAGA but already present in the machinations of neoliberal capitalism, which controls both Republican and Democratic parties. The electoral defeat of MAGA is a necessary condition of forestalling a descent into something much worse than what exists now. Within the conditions in which we are operating, this defeat can only come from a Democrat challenger. There are no third parties at this point in time that can mount a successful electoral challenge. We may not like this fact, but it is a fact, one which we have to work with. It should not prevent the CP from running candidates where possible, but such campaigns must be understood according to different conditions and aims than those where preventing electoral success of MAGA is concerned. The Democratic Party's funding and influence far exceeds other parties, making it the only one at this point in time that can electorally prevent MAGA candidates.

  If this is the case, does this mean that we can do nothing more than "tail Democrats"? Again, no. We need greater specificity when speaking about these things. Others have already commented on this a bit, but it is not the case that the CP simply falls in line with the main political lines of the DP, trailing behind it, feeding on whatever crumbs they give us. This could not be further from the truth. We have written articles and participated in demonstrations relating to defunding the police, opposition to NATO, opposition to US' Cuba policy, in support of socialist China, in support of tenants and opposition to privatization, in support of universal healthcare, in support of worker power and limiting the power of corporations, among many other things. Do these sound like positions that the leadership of the Democratic Party supports? Of course not! So in what sense could it be argued that we are tailing them? In fact, it doesn't make any sense and is only repeated because our electoral position is constantly misunderstood due to a lack of understanding of how fascism comes to power and what is required to prevent it.

  I will stop there regarding the theoretical background against which the proposal from the NY District becomes intelligible. Now just a few points regarding practicality and intended aims: the idea of the project is to draw attention to those corporate backers of MAGA, thus to try to highlight and help accelerate contradictions within the capitalist camp, appealing to the public's widespread disapproval of January 6th and opposition to the MAGA political project. Thus the fulfillment of the aim would be to pressure those organizations to stop funding MAGA candidates, removing a large section of corporate financing for these fascist forces. This aim is most certainly not going to be fulfilled within the space of a couple months, but it is at least a good one to have and in accordance with which our actions take on meaning and a definite direction. I would say another principal aim, aside from the internal development of the YCL and fine-tuning collaboration with the Party, would be that of having a CP-led campaign that gets buy-in from unions and other progressive groups. The simple fact of the Communist Party staging a demonstration or sit-in which other groups would publically participate in would be a significant step forward for our Party and naturally would build our credibility and coalitional support. Just for achieving this alone, this project would be worth doing. And I do not believe it will require non-stop work that would crowd out our other projects. It really would just be a matter of writing a few pieces, doing a social media campaign, staging an event or two. As Cameron S put it, there would be little to lose and potentially much to gain from doing this.

  In sum, this project has my support, and I fundamentally trust my comrades in the YCL and in the Party to constantly perform necessary critique and adjustments as need be. All of the highly thoughtful responses and maturity of judgment displayed in the various comments made so far confirm this.

• "The Democrats only superficially stand in opposition to the Republican party, but not in substance" - Kh (Follow-up)

  I've noticed, upon analysis, there seems to be a misrepresentation of Dimitrov's Speech United Front Against Fascism And War in order to uphold a particular line. There seems, similarly, to be a distortion of the definition of facism in order to justify encouraging people to rally behind the fascist-enabling Democratic party. Moreover, if we're going to continually quote the line where Dimitrov states that facism is "the open, terroristic dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinistic, and most imperialist elements of finance capital" then we must also grapple with the stark and unavoidable truth that the same fascist elements so deeply plied into the Republican party also exist within the Democratic party; and the direct funding of far-right candidates, the genocidal tactics used to mass slaughter black and brown people, will, in fact, show us just that.

  In addition, another important point is, though facism seems, ostensibly, to be more pointed in one party over another does not mean we should encourage people to vote for the least fascist party; it does not mean we should encourage people to support a different variation of a most virulent disease. We should, as Marxists-leninist, necessarily, have a deeper, more critical analysis of the current bourgeois political landscape; we should, as Marxists-leninist understand that nuanced fascism is insidious and, arguably, more destructive; and thus, engage in a program of heavy political education to help the people awaken to the sobering reality: that no amount of reforms can fix capitalism. We should, also, not encourage incrementalism; uttering the same drained points of "revolution being a very, very long process"; when, in fact the crisis- ridden, contradictory nature of capital that gives rise to oppressive conditions, makes Revolution both sudden and gradual. Furthermore, it also serves to undergird a most significant point: that the Democrats only superficially stand in opposition to the Republican party, but not in substance.

  To another point, in "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder Lenin, mercilessly, rails against the reformist, right- opportunist, arch- reactionary, social-Democratic stance of the Hilferdings, Plekhanovs, Kautskys and the inhered bourgeois nature of the Anarchists masking itself as revolutionary, but yet, this text is continually used as an outright deflection tactic to sustain a right-deviationist line. Additionally, I've also noticed this text being used to warn against the phantasmal threat of the crazed "ultra-left" boogeyman; intentionally twisting what Lenin talks about in order to retort any criticism of possible right-deviationist, reformist views and strategies.

  For decades the party has maintained the same strategy of allying with the Democratic party, (and it is, at times, very necessary ON A LOCAL LEVEL. ) when the current conditions and heightened contradictions of capital and global rise of facism call for an entirely different strategy altogether. It is my hope that we, at the very least, take another look into how we're approaching the menace of facism. Ultimately, in closing, our goal should not be to just go along with whatever the masses are already doing- regardless if they mistakenly believe the Democratic party is the only party representative of them- our aim should, primarily, be to unveil and help more deeply understand the nuanced machinations of capital as it directly relates to their own conditions, not to misuse text as a false backing in order to evade criticism of taking up a reactionary position and renaming it "strategy".

  I truly just hope we reconsider some things. To care about something means speaking against things you see going wrong, not just going along with things for fear of confrontation and allowing it to get worse.