Carlos Petroni calls for mass movement in San Francisco
[I think Carlos has an interesting and useful analysis of the problem and the nature of the campaigns… his solution, that I’m skeptical about… Utopian scenarios don’t hold much credibility with me… it seems like if this were a workable scenario, it would have happened somewhere, at some point, on a sustained basis… while I think our system of governance and politics could use a lot more grassroots engagement, I don’t claim to have the magic solution for generating that… other than a more liberal economy that leaves people with more free time to engage in community building activities. -Thomas]
By Carlos Petroni
SAN FRANCISCO - The December 9 San Francisco Mayoral runoff
election pitting New Democrat, neo-liberal, pro-war Gavin Newsom against
Green and broad left candidate Matt Gonzalez is an event which will have
extraordinary repercussions on and implications for US politics.
Both candidates are leading powerful movements of sorts which, because of
the absence of mass political parties with functioning mass meetings and
participation from the rank and file, can only be expressed at election time
through the clashes of candidates.
THE POLARIZATION BETWEEN DOWNTOWN AND PROGRESSIVES
Newsom, himself a product and member of the City’s rich elite, is leading an
assault on City Hall planned and executed by big Downtown businesses. The
charge is against the poor, immigrants, artists, working families and the
antiwar activists, but not only against these.
Newsom’s right wing attack is designed to reverse three decades of
progressive and liberal activism that has characterized San Francisco in
spite of the dominance of the Democratic Party political machine.
In order to accomplish this reversal, Newsom and his confederates are even
willing to split the local Democratic political machine, which traditionally
has been an intermediary and broker between Downtown and the social bases of
progressive and left politics, between big business and communities of color
and labor. Big business and Downtown are no longer interested in being
“represented” by the machine, they want to own it.
Armed with more than $4 million in direct contributions to his campaign,
around $1.8 million in soft money from big business and a set of anti-poor
propositions attacking the homeless and panhandlers-and after a well
organized, two year long effort-Newsom captured 42% of the vote in the
November 4, General Election. He brushed aside neo-liberal technocrat Susan
Leal and swallowed 2/3 of the Republican vote and majorities in the richest
neighborhoods.
[…]
