Already it is clear that progressives have had little impact on Biden and the far left will have to organize to confront a government incapable of passing any major reforms.
Author: Dan La Botz
DAN LA BOTZ is a Brooklyn-based teacher, writer and activist. He is a co-editor of New Politics.
Thanksgiving Approaches: Trump, the Virus, the Crisis
With the virus rampant, once again schools and businesses are closing, and more workers being laid off. We now have 20 million jobless, with ten million receiving federal unemployment benefits that will end with the New Year, as will protection for 30 million who face eviction. Not a happy Thanksgiving.
Trump Lost the Election, But What is the Future of Trump and Trumpism?
Having lost the election, what is Trump’s future? At the top of his agenda is arranging a pardon for himself, for crimes of which he has not been convicted. He might try to use the presidential pardon to pardon himself, which would almost surely end up in the Supreme Court.
The American People Turn Trump Out of Office
While the electorate was deeply divided and the vote close in several states, still the election represents a rejection of Trump and his policies, a demonstration of confidence in democracy, and a deep desire to overcome the country’s several crises.
American Election Amidst Turmoil and Travail
The contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Joseph Biden has become a referendum on the coronavirus, now in the midst of the greatest upsurge so far.
Socialism as Progressivism
Book Review: John B. Judis, The Socialist Awakening: What’s Different Now about the Left.
John Judis’ The Socialist Awakening is disappointing. He has rediscovered liberalism or progressivism, which were in some form always his politics.
Trump Turns to Red-Baiting to Save his Stumbling Campaign
Voters have turned against Trump because of his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. So the president is now trying to change the debate to law and order and the dangers of socialism.
Trump’s Campaign Stumbling, Biden Rising, Still Danger of a Coup Attempt—Coronavirus Surges, Economy Stagnant, Armed Groups Plot Insurrection
We are now three weeks from the U.S. presidential election as the country sees a worsening of the pandemic, a continued economic crisis, threats of armed violence from the right, and an increasingly erratic President Donald Trump.
Trump Contracts COVID, Aides Also Sick, His Campaign in Crisis
Early reactions to these events suggest that they will contribute to the continued downward spiral of Trump’s campaign, which has been losing support because of his poor handling of the pandemic. But it is too early to say for sure what the effect will be.
Trump Refuses to Promise a Peaceful Transfer of Power Should He Lose
Almost any scenario we can imagine might well lead to armed conflicts in American streets between Trump’s supporters and his opponents on a scale much larger and more violent than anything we’ve seen so far.
Why I’m for Voting For Biden and Urge You To Do So
For the first time in my life, in fifty years of voting in America, I am voting for a Democratic Party presidential candidate and urge others to do so as well.
Mexico’s AMLO Is No Leftist, as His Handling of Covid Demonstrates
Not only is AMLO’s government not socialist, it is not democratic, it is not competent, and it is not socially responsible. AMLO is a populist with a leftist image and rightist policies.
Presidential Election Amidst Conflagration and Coronavirus
Remarkably polls show that Trump core supporters—about 40 percent of voters—have not been moved by either his handling of the coronavirus or his remarks about the military. Independent voters, however, may be turning from Trump.
Presidential Candidates and Society Debate Protest and Violence
Protest, sometimes with conflict between anti-racist and rightwing groups, continues in various U.S. cities—Portland, Louisville, and Rochester—over 100 days since the killing of George Floyd. America has not seen such street fighting since the 1960s.
Subcomandante Marcos: The Last Global Ethical Hero?
If you want a handy little book of just 100 pages that reads like a long Wikipedia article, this is your book. If you want a discussion of Marcos’ ideas and his role in Mexican political life and in the global left, you will be disappointed.
The Life of A Strategist: Adolfo Gilly’s Biography of Felipe Ángeles
Adolfo Gilly’s most recent book, so far available only in Spanish, is a long (almost 800-page) book dealing with the life of a Mexican general who played a crucial role in the battles of Torreón and Zacatecas at a crucial stage in the Mexican Revolution.
On the 80th Anniversary of Trotsky’s Assassination—What If He Had Lived?
In my counter-historical novel Trotsky in Tijuana, being published on the anniversary of his assassination eighty years ago, I attempt to understand Trotsky the man and the political leader by projecting his life into a future he did not live to see.
A Life in the Shadow of the Bomb
I am a child of the atomic age. The atomic bomb, that is, the threat of nuclear war and mass destruction, has been in my consciousness—sometimes in the background but frequently in the foreground—nearly all of my life.
Yesterday’s Man Is Today’s Candidate for President
“Throughout his entire political career, Biden had cultivated and depended upon financial and corporate donors, raising money from Wall Street, big tech, and fossil fuels.” Dan La Botz reviews Branko Marcetic, Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden.
The Debate in the Left on the Elections in the United States
The far left joined the progressives in supporting Senator Bernie Sanders, a liberal in the New Deal mold who ran as a “socialist” against the “billionaire class.” But since Sanders dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden, many on the far left have felt they have no candidate.
Pandemic, Depression, and Authoritarianism
We Must Fight for the Future
The United States confronts an uncertain future in the face of an unprecedented situation.
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