-> http://news.infoshop.org/article.ph...
A myth equal to the fable of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is gaining
strength on both sides of the Atlantic. It is that John Kerry offersa
world-view different from that of George W Bush. Watch this big lie grow as
Kerry is crowned the Democratic candidate and the "anyone but Bush" movement
becomes a liberal cause celebre.
Tag - don t vote
Thursday 4 March 2004
Bush Or Kerry ? Look Closely And The Danger Is The Same
By jvadv on Thursday 4 March 2004, 22:04 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
Wednesday 25 February 2004
JUST DON’T VOTE - A CALL TO ACTION
By jvadv on Wednesday 25 February 2004, 11:31 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://cnt-ait.info/article.php3?id_article=924
We are
calling for a national campaign to take advantage of this election year to
emphasize the power of direct action and to present direct democracy as a
viable alternative to representation. This campaign will include literature
distribution, postering and stickering, demonstrations, educational events, and
other forms of community outreach, both in our own communities and around the
Democratic and Republican National Conventions. It will culminate in a
nationwide day of direct action on November 2, election day.
Sunday 25 January 2004
A brief history of the Democrats
By jvadv on Sunday 25 January 2004, 23:12 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticl...
"Our only political party has two right wings, one called Republican, the other
Democratic." --Gore Vidal
My first day back to the NYC commute after spending a week in Santa Cruz serving as MC for One Dance: The People's Summit was something out of a hackneyed Hollywood script. As I tried to enter the N Train, hordes of passengers were de-boarding. Being five stops away from Manhattan, I knew those folks were not really getting off the train. That's when the savvy commuter glances into the train for a look and immediately notices a homeless man sleeping in the corner. I didn't even have to enter the car to fill in the blanks. The homeless man must have been, uh, malodorous. I dashed to the next car (with everyone else) and crammed myself in...surrounded by New Yorkers puffed up to double their normal size in winter gear. Standing close enough to my fellow plebeians to smell the bad breath, the toxic perfumes, and the embedded stench of cigarettes, I tried to think about California and One Dance (http://www.onedancesummit.org).
Saturday 24 January 2004
Making history or just repeating it ?
By jvadv on Saturday 24 January 2004, 21:38 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://news.infoshop.org/article.ph...
Karl Marx once wrote that history repeated itself, first time as tragedy, second time as farce. The left in Britain seem intent on proving him right. How else can we explain the attempts to create yet anothernew party to challenge New Labour at the polls?
It is like 1997 has been decreed as year zero for Marxists. The history of the labour movement is happily ignored while the SWP and assorted other sects repeat the tactics which worked so unsuccessfully in the past. Blair did not appear from nowhere. He is just the latest in a long line of Labour politicians who, upon gaining office in the capitalist state, promoted capitalist policies.
This is not surprising. The state is the instrument by which minority classes use to maintain their power and privileges. It can never used to destroy them. What is surprising is that Marxists seem to forget this, urging us to vote for radicals at election time and get outraged when they defend the interests of the few rather than the many.
Thursday 1 February 2001
Parliament or democracy?
By jvadv on Thursday 1 February 2001, 22:47 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://struggle.ws/once/pd_chap9.ht...
Throughout history there has been an alternative idea of democracy - this is
the idea of direct democracy. It surfaced during the Paris Commune (in 1871),
it surfaced in Russia during the early part of the revolution there, and it was
put into large-scale practice in Spain between 1936-37. It is the method often
used by workers in a strike; it is the method that often arises 'spontaneously'
when people confront the State or the bosses. Direct democracy is the democracy
that anarchists advocate.
Friday 3 December 1999
Electoral politics "is a shell game;' don't vote
By jvadv on Friday 3 December 1999, 20:58 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
->
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...
IN MY neighborhood, the Mission, many tenants, working people, desperate
housing activists and even a few self-styled anarchists are elated by Tom
Ammiano's surprisingly strong showing in the Nov. 2 election.
Ammiano's popularity is clearly a function of The City's catastrophic housing crisis. When compared to Downtown Willie Brown, Ammiano appears to be a pro-tenant candidate and a friend of working people. Ammiano has even pledged that as mayor he'll declare an all-out war against gentrification, which is destroying the unique character of this city.
By all accounts Ammiano is a decent human being, especially when compared to the other mayoral candidates in the November election. He is also an excellent stand-up comedian.
But working and poor people who trust Ammiano in particular and electoral politics in general operate under a staggering number of illusions. As a Democratic Party politician, Ammiano is not an ally of working and poor people.
Friday 16 April 1999
The Anarchist Case Against Clinton, Gore, and the Democratic Party
By jvadv on Friday 16 April 1999, 09:42 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://www.infoshop.org/againstclin...
With the Bill Clinton adiministration drawing to a close, it should be painfully obvious that Clinton, Al Gore, and the Democratic Party are no different than the Republicans. We find it amazing that many progressives have recently come to Gore's defense during his campaign. They aren't defending him from George Bush, rather the Nader campaign.
Your webmaster predicted back during the 1992 Presidential race that under a Clinton administration, human rights would be violated around the world, the police state would increase, censorship would increase, the pace that the environment is being ruined would remain the same, and that Bill Clinton is, above all else, a friend of capitalists and an enemy of labor.
Thursday 1 January 1998
Anarchists, elections and democracy
By jvadv on Thursday 1 January 1998, 21:29 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws...
about "http://blog.jeveuxarreterdevoter.in..."
from Kevin Doyle.
A spectre (to paraphrase Karl Marx) was haunting the ruling class of most European countries in the aftermath of the French revolution in 1798. That spectre was democracy. The "problem with democracy" was that if it was conceded then the ordinary poor people, being much more numerous than their rulers, would surely swamp them.
Wednesday 2 April 1997
If voting changed anything...it would be illegal
By jvadv on Wednesday 2 April 1997, 09:55 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://www.spunk.org/library/pubs/w...
The 'Payments to Politicians' Tribunal is just the latest in a long line of
examples (the Beef Tribunal, the tax amnesties...) that show just how deep in
the pockets of the bosses our government really is. It's not just Ireland. All
over the world politicians are found to be corrupt, while others tell you that,
of course, they receive large sums of money from business, but, naturally, this
doesn't effect their judgement in the slightest. What did we do to deserve
this.
Tuesday 1 September 1992
Voting Anarchists: An Oxymoron or What?
By jvadv on Tuesday 1 September 1992, 21:45 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://www.spunk.org/texts/groups/b...
While historically anarchists assiduously avoided any involvement with
electoral politics, in more recent times, at least in the united states, some
anarchists have advocated voting. The arguments these voting anarchists put
forward are generally the same as those put forward by other leftists who are
unable or unwilling to completely sever their connection to the political
process. They argue that voting for their candidate, usually described as a
lesser evil and usually (if not always) a Democrat, is necessary to prevent
united states aggression against some favored revolutionary state (like
sandinista nicaragua), is some sort of self-defense against the more
conservative candidate, or is merely better than "apathy," as some describe
abstention from voting. While one could argue against voting simply because it
rarely, if ever, accomplishes any of the goals its advocates claim it can,
there is a more fundamental reason for anarchists to oppose voting: voting in
government elections is an inherently authoritarian activity, and authoritarian
means never yield libertarian results.
Friday 15 November 1991
Why Anarchists don't vote in Elections
By jvadv on Friday 15 November 1991, 21:25 - Why we don't vote to the elections ?
-> http://struggle.ws/ws91/vote32.html
IT'S LOCAL ELECTION time and as usual politicians of all parties will be
promising us wonderful things. It's probable that this election will also show
an increased vote for the Labour Party. Yet it is fair enough to ask "what
difference will it make".
We are used to being promised the sun, moon and stars in elections only to receive cuts, cuts and cuts. Is this just because all politicians are liars or are there deeper reasons? Abstention from elections has been an anarchist tactic from the time of Bakunin. In this article we look at some of the reasons anarchists advocate abstention/spoilt votes.
