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Over the past fortnight, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) has campaigned at a number of orientation events where it has student clubs, including Macquarie University in Sydney, Newcastle University in regional New South Wales and Victoria University in Melbourne.

The youth and student wing of the Socialist Equality Party won a strong response to the revolutionary, socialist and internationalist perspective it advanced. The IYSSE was the only club on the campuses raising opposition to the US-led war preparations against Russia and China, which are actively supported by the Australian political establishment, and the let it rip pandemic policies that subordinate health to private profit.

Students beginning university, aged only 17 or 18, were very receptive to the IYSSEs perspective. There was widespread opposition to the prospect of a major war, concern over the ongoing Omicron surge and a social crisis that afflicts increasingly broad layers of young people.

The IYSSE explained that all of these issues were a product of capitalism, an outmoded system in global crisis. Students and young people had to turn to the working class, the revolutionary force in society, and take up a fight for socialism based on the lessons of history.

The IYSSE is holding a major meeting, entitled As the pandemic rages onThe threat of World War looms: Take up the fight against imperialism and for international socialism! We urge students and youth to register for the meeting and take part on Saturday March 12 at 4 p.m. (AEDT). Promote it among your friends and join the IYSSE!

Below are interviews with some of the students the IYSSE spoke to at recent orientation weeks.

Ronan, a 17-year-old journalism student at University of Technology in Sydney, said: I think that the COVID response isnt actually dictated by the medical science. To a degree it is but for the most part its more determined by the economy. So, the governments are trying to reopen the country, reopen the borders. And I think that is generally just to stimulate the economy so they can continue their wealthy lifestyles.

Its not about the common good of the people. Its about the people on top, I would say politicians, wealthy billionaires. They always seem to be ahead of everyone else, even though the rest of the world is so far behind. They really should be helping to bring their fellow humans up but instead they exploit them for profit, all the time.

As a journalism student, our reporters asked for his opinion on the persecution and show-trial of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. I think he should be free. He needs to be free because he isnt in contempt of anything. Hes working for journalistic freedoms. So, if the government is keeping national secrets, then, if that is the national security, how secure is your nation if you are having to keep secrets from your own populace?

The United States has been militaristic for many, many years now. Its amazing to see how much they have continued that trend. We should try to unite people. We shouldnt be trying to kill them. It just saddens me almost. It just feels wrong in so many ways.

Asked what he thinks can be done to resolve social ills, Ronan answered: I genuinely think that equality and equality for the people would be definitely the right move. So, socialism is a good system, and it works, and its been proven to work in many cases. But it doesnt make people rich. It just brings up the entire populace. So, the 1 percent, or even smaller than the 1 percent dont want it. And if they dont want it, they have the power to throw around and stop it. As a populace we need to unite. We need to unite, and we need to make things happen. We need action. You can talk about it all you want, but there needs to be some form of action done.

Asked by a reporter what social force would do that, he said I would think, just the working class. The people who are always downtrodden, everybody who is just going through a rough time. If you are at work and you are just paid minimum wage by an employer who expects you to be doing every possible thing that you can. They expect maximum effort for minimum pay. How is that fair? It isnt.

Asked about Trotsky and his role, Ronan said: I did modern history in school, so I know at least a little bit about what he stood for. He stood for the working class. He stood for the same ideals that Lenin did, unlike his opposition, Stalin, who actually said he stood for Leninist ideals but instead was more a totalitarian dictatorship.

Youp spoke to the IYSSE at the University of Newcastle, in the regional industrial city north of Sydney.

Speaking of the let it rip policies, he said: Initially I understood why there was the argument for making it endemic, given the nature of COVID being very widespread. But in reality whats happening is a huge number of working people are getting sick, which is making things worse for the economy, and things are falling apart.

We dont need to infect everyone. Plus therell be a lot of deaths. I think that it could get to the point where it will become extremely challenging to come up with a vaccine against a constantly evolving virus that is allowed to spread. Its unsustainable.

Asked about his interest in socialism, Youp said, Capitalism has some very obvious flaws, the 1 percent getting richer at the expense of everyone else. You end up looking for an alternative, and socialism is very enticing. Having an interest in science and technology I recognise that a lot of scientific achievements occurred in the Soviet Union. To list just a couple they put the first man into space Yuri Gagarin, and Pyotr Ufimtsev who came up with the mathematics behind stealth aircraft.

I have ended up spending a lot of time researching the Soviet Union and the Russian Revolution online (you could call me a Wikipedia warrior of sorts!). We dont get any education about it in school, which is strange because its a massive thing that dominated peoples lives for an entire century. Its immensely important but I know next to nothing about it. I am interested in hearing other peoples perspectives so thats why I signed up.

Amelie, a psychological science student, also at the University of Newcastle, opposed the official pandemic policies: As soon as [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison put us into lockdown and then as soon as the economy started slowing down, it was like, I dont really care if Australian citizens are dying, we need the economy to start back up again.

Dominic Perrottet came straight in, he was so against the Delta wave lockdown. Then when he came in as the New South Wales state premier, straight away, he got rid of the lockdowns and then we saw the infections went up from hundreds a day all the way up to 80,000 plus cases a day, and having over 400,000 active cases at a given time recently. You can tell they just dont care about anyone, anything but money, capital, big business. It is so devastating to see that so many people had to suffer because the government does not care at all.

When told about the death toll in the past two months surpassing the total death toll of the past two years, she said: That is absolutely horrific, its like their whole attitude is like we can see that you are all dying, but we are making money so we dont care.

On the US-led drive to war with Russia over Ukraine, Amelie stated: There is such a lack of effort by so many governments to be diplomatic, even in Australia, Scott Morrison is like, well pull all our people in the embassy out [of Ukraine], lets hope nothing happens. This is on top of us putting so much money into defence. You have all your citizens struggling so much, they have got virtually no welfare support, were not getting free rapid antigen tests, tens of people are dying from COVID everyday here and you are putting that much wealth into the defence force?

Asked why she thinks governments are turning to war, Amelia responded: Money. Its all about what is in their best interests economically.

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IYSSE wins support at Australian university orientations from students opposed to war, herd immunity policies - WSWS

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is preparing to move further to the right as the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled Congress unabashedly prosecute the interests of Wall Street and American imperialism and reject even the paltriest proposals of social reform.

The DSA has long presented a mythical version of the Democratic Party, suggesting that it would open up avenues for social reform once in power.

Since the inauguration of Joe Biden, the DSA has presented the Democratic administrationbacked by a Democratic majority in both houses of Congressas a driving force of progressive social change.

In its first quarterly statement published after the November 2020 election and Bidens inauguration in January 2021, the DSAs Socialist Forum editorial committee wrote: It seems like Democrats have learned some important lessons from the Obama administration. Whats more, there is now, for the first time in many years, a meaningful Left in this country that will continue to push for the biggest and boldest policies possible to combat the pandemic, social inequality, racial injustice, and climate change.

The DSAs promise of a meaningful Left through the Democratic Party has proven to be a disaster for the working class. Biden has brought the world closer to the prospect of nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Half a million more Americans have died of COVID in the year since Biden took office, and now the Biden administration and Democratic governors are ending all restrictions on the pandemic as more than 2,000 people die every day.

This reality explodes the DSAs claims that its influence has encouraged the 200-year-old party of imperialist reaction to transform itself into a left-wing party of social progress.

In a series of recent statements, the Democratic operatives who lead the DSA have begun to acknowledge the growth of left-wing opposition to DSA-backed politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, who are increasingly seen as conventional capitalist politicians and apologists for Biden and Pelosi. Aware that this opposition reflects broader working-class discontent, the DSA concludes that it must work even harder to present a mythical version of the Democratic Party in order to better channel social discontent behind it.

To bridge the growing chasm between the DSA myth and the Democratic reality, the DSA leadership is maneuvering to the right, calling for an end to any political principle that might marginalize the DSA from the Democratic Party establishment. Prominent DSA figures are praising even conservative Democrats like Chuck Schumer and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. DSA-linked politicians are abandoning slogans that were associated with the mass demonstrations of the Trump administration, including Abolish ICE and defund the police.

There is a growing recognition by the DSA leadership that its defense of the Democratic Party is so detached from reality that it is provoking serious opposition from the left.

A February 14 Jacobin article by Natalie Shure, The End of the AOC Honeymoon, notes that the enthusiasm of the Sanders presidential campaign of 2020 has largely dissolved and given way to frustration with the Democratic Partys progressive elements. Two years later, the outlook for this new left is still not clear, Shure writes. Thanks to the limits of the human life span, there wont be a Bernie 2024. And large parts of the post-Bernie vacuum are losing faith in his young successors, thirty-two-year-old Ocasio-Cortez and the progressive members of Congress surrounding her.

These concerns over large parts of the post-Bernie vacuum losing faith in the DSAs political leaders are at the heart of the DSAs raison dtre. The DSA exists to trap social opposition and to channel it back into the Democratic Party.

Shure references growing opposition to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who left-wing critics say had been tamed and co-opted by the Democratic Party. Shure also refers to left-wing dissent about the Squads political project when DSA member and New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman sparked ire for voting to fund Israels Iron Dome.

Shure admits that the hundred-plus DSA members serving in state and local office across the country, and even the socialists with significant blocs on city councils in urban centers like Chicago and New York, sometimes take positions that are wildly at odds with those of their organization.

But Shure defends Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman and argues there is no principle worth defending if it alienates the Democratic Party establishment. Imperfect progressives make insurgent progressive politics more popular within the Democratic Party, Shure writes, and attacks left-wing critics: This angry fallout and the media spectacle that accompanies it risks turning progressives like Bowman away from the DSA and prevents the DSA from working in coalition with more and more groups. This is an appeal for a reconciliation with a broader, more explicitly right-wing segment of the Democratic Party.

Referencing Bowmans Iron Dome vote, Shure cites DSA Vice President and former DNC official David Duhalde as advocating for the need for flexibility when it comes to public officeholders. Shure quotes Duhalde as saying, For people like me, this is about winning, about building power with those elected to advance public policy and coalition work, and to raise the profile of DSA, not to act as a tribune for the organization. In other words, the DSA must abandon all positions that threaten to disrupt its coalition work with the Democratic Party establishment.

In a January 11 article by Liza Featherstone titled New York Democratic Socialists are Playing the Long Game, Jacobin acknowledged left-wing frustration over the inability of DSA members of Congress to accomplish anything, but she argued that prospects for pressuring the Democrats are much better on the state and local level. According to Featherstone, the New York Democratic Party state machine is leading the march to socialism:

Democrats in Albany work with the socialists on issues of common ground, cosponsoring bills and even joining protests together. Both New York senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, who are centrist Democrats, endorsed [DSA-backed Buffalo Mayoral candidate] India Walton after she won her primary. Schumer has embraced some of the socialists top priorities, even showing up for the taxi workers protest. [New York State Senator Julia] Salazar explains, Senator Schumer is a shrewd politician who has his ear to the ground, and sees that politics are changing and that communities are electing democratic socialists because these are the policies they support.

Featherstone praises right-wing Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul as being somewhat responsive to socialist demands. Featherstone then claims the DSA has given a substantial section of the Democratic Party the strength to proclaim that they are longtime socialists: Others are progressive politicians who might not have admitted their socialist sympathies and now feel emboldened to do so more openly.

In reality, Comrade Hochul is an unelected arch-reactionary who took over control of the state after former governor Andrew Cuomo was ousted in a sex scandal and is the party establishments pick for the 2022 gubernatorial election. Hochul has recently ended the states mask requirements, implemented a ban on homeless people resting in subways during cold winter months, declared that no one in my administration supports defunding the police, won the enthusiastic endorsement of Hillary Clinton, and has raised $21 million in campaign funding, largely from Wall Street, real estate speculators, hospitals and nursing homes, hotel chains and gambling companies.

Notably, Jacobins article praises Hochuls support for increasing police budgets, with Featherstone writing, There is no one working-class view on policing, but so far, the defund the police message could complicate NYC-DSAs efforts to build a mass electoral base, calling it a risky message that can seem out of touch with well-founded fears of crime. Such statements make clear the DSA is not pressuring the Democrats to move to the left, but that the DSA is voluntarily moving further to the right to accommodate the Democratic establishment.

Additional evidence of this is seen in the open repudiation of protest slogans by DSA-linked candidates like New York Assemblywoman Alessandra Biaggi, who helped instigate the sex scandal that unseated Cuomo and is now running for Congress.

A February 17 Washington Post article titled Democrats are fighting against far-left proposals they once accommodated notes that Democrats across the country are abandoning past statements of support for protest slogans. The Post quotes Biaggi as apologizing for once sharing a tweet that used #DefundThePolice: Unfortunately, the phrase doesnt fully capture that, and its been so politicized and so many people believe that it is solely about cutting funds to police departments. In 2020, Biaggis assembly campaign was endorsed by Bernie Sanders Our Revolution, with Biaggi saying at the time, A lot of what were fighting for is in alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Similarly, Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes has apologized for a photo that shows him promoting a DSA t-shirt with the slogan Abolish ICE. Barnes is now running for Senate. He recently told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: I am not a part of the Abolish ICE movement because no one slogan can capture all the work we have to do. Such is the response of the Democrats to DSA efforts to pressure them from the left.

Another important shift was identifiable in a recent quarterly statement by the editorial board of DSA-aligned Socialist Forum, which offered praise for the Congressional Progressive Caucus usually only reserved for DSAs own members of Congress. It would be a mistake to write all of this off as business as usual, Socialist Forum writes of the congressional Democrats actions since the 2020 election.

For months, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) thwarted various attempts by Democratic centrists to sink the [social spending] deal. This reflects the positive changes in the CPC led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and others to turn it into a more cohesive and programmatic bloc. It reflects the growing influence the broad Left has been able to exercise since Bernie Sanders first ran for president in 2016.

In reality, the Progressive Caucus caved to Pelosi and voted to support Bidens infrastructure bill without social spending, but the shift in language is significant. In a 2018 Jacobin article called We need a Socialist Caucus in Congress, prominent DSA figure and Jacobin editor Bhaskar Sunkara called for Ocasio-Cortez and future DSA members in Congress to not join the Democrats Progressive Caucus and to instead form a socialist caucus.

Moreover, Socialist Forums benediction of the work of the Progressive Caucus lends political support to figures like Hakeem Jeffries, a Progressive Caucus member (and leading member of the New York state Democratic machine) only undermines their own position. Jeffries recently formed a political action committee called Team Blue backed by corporate money for the explicit purpose of crushing left-wing primary challenges to right-wing Democrats.

Jacobin editor Sunkara vaguely outlined the situation confronting the DSA in a February 15 Jacobin statement titled The Left in Purgatory announcing the latest print edition of the magazine which features the same title.

In the statement, Sunkara writes, Socialists in the United States are stuck. How do we become masters of our own fate?

Sunkaras statement acknowledges growing disillusionment in figures he and Jacobin have consistently promoted. There is no doubt that were at the end of a period of rapid politicization and settling into one of either gradual decline or slow advance, he writes, adding, The considerable talents of even national figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seem to be directed less toward confrontation with political and economic elites and more toward the terrain of cultural battles of late, destined to resonate most in deep-blue districts.

Sunkara expresses his concern that the DSA has been unable to build support for its pro-Democratic Party politics in the working class:

We might feel more confident about the prospects for the Left if, rather than a momentary shift leftward in liberal economic priorities or the rhetoric of certain parts of the mainstream media, there had been deeper inroads made among workers. There have been rare exceptions, but on the whole, it would be delusional to say that our ideological left has made a decade of progress merging with a wider social base.

He writes that one year of marginality drifts into another and concludes: The question we may have to ask ourselves in the years to come is whether some of our actions could be hastening rather than reversing the process of class dealignment.

Warnings of marginalization are simply justifications for opposition to any policy that would challenge the interests of the financial aristocracy which the Democratic Party represents. To these layers. who have no connection whatsoever to the class struggle, seeking a wider social base does not mean a turn to the social interests of the working class but, on the contrary, to the Democratic Party and the trade union bureaucracies.

Sunkaras off-handed acknowledgement that the DSA is a barrier on the development of the struggle for socialism is perhaps the first honest statement he has ever made. The DSA is a faction of the Democratic Party that exists to protect the two-party system and stop the development of an independent socialist movement in the working class. Like its parent organization, it responds to pressure from below by moving to the right.

WSWS Review

What is the pseudo-left?

This review examines the response of pseudo-left political tendencies internationally to the major world political events of the past decade.

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Democratic Socialists of America confront left-wing opposition to Biden by shifting further to the right - WSWS

On January 12, the World Socialist Web Site launched its annual New Year fund drive with an appeal from David North, Chairman of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS and National Chairman of the Socialist Equality Party in the United States.

In opening the appeal, North stated, New Year 2022 marks the beginning of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Humanity is in the midst of the greatest crisis since the two world wars at the first half of the 20th century.

Since this was written just over a month ago, the official global death toll from COVID-19 is hurtling towards 6 million. The imperialist powers, led by the United States, are preparing a war with Russia that could escalate into World War III.

From the beginning of the pandemic, only the WSWS has explained that this crisis will not be stopped by medical measures alone and requires the active intervention of the working class organized as an independent political force. Workers all over the world are fighting back against the criminal policies being carried out by a ruling class that has subordinated public health to their insatiable drive to accumulate profit.

Testimonials for the New Year fund sent by WSWS readers and supporters point to the critical role that the site, now entering its 25th year of publication, has played in countering the lies and propaganda of the corporate media.

We have compiled in this article testimonials from the United States and Canada submitted so far. We encourage all of our readers to donate to the New Year fund and submit your own testimonial.

Many testimonials focused on the unique coverage that the WSWS provides on the pandemic and the fight for a strategy to eliminate COVID-19 worldwide, and the growth of social inequality.

Beverly, a retiree in California and longtime supporter of the WSWS, wrote, Were it not for the WSWS, these two past pandemic years would appear to me as a discordant series of endless contradictions and distractions. Now we are being told to forget the virus! Send students and workers back to their schools, their jobs. I support the WSWS because it is the only publication that offers its rapidly growing readership an understanding of the dynamic underlying todays chaotic reality and a way forward to change society.

Geraldine, another supporter from California, wrote, Every day since its inception, I check into the WSWS for the latest news. The pandemic and global warming threaten the very survival of humanity. While both dilemmas indisputably require a global response to ensure our survival, astonishingly the Socialist Equality Party is the only political party that fights for this. I consider it a privilege to donate to the WSWS.

Jerry from Michigan commented, In the current context, scientific knowledge on COVID-19 is essential and the WSWS is playing a critical role in providing this knowledge and drawing out its political implications. They counter the lies justifying the herd-immunity policies of the ruling class. This gives working people the tools to fight against the fraud of a safe reopening of the schools.

Ted, a worker from Michigan, stated, As the inequalities and contradictions of capitalism grow ever larger during the COVID-19 pandemic, the working class requires an honest, thoroughly focused, and historically grounded development of class consciousness. The only reliable source for this is the World Socialist Web Site .

Keith, a reader and supporter from Alabama, wrote, The criminal mishandling of the pandemic in pursuit of profits by capitalist governments worldwide, the growing threat of fascism, and mounting socioeconomic inequality prompted me to change politically. Capitalism needs to be replaced with socialism, where workers own the means of production so we can end social inequality. I believe the Socialist Equality Party and the ICFI represent the best avenue to organize workers and educate them. This is what the WSWS is working to do.

Commenting on the New Year appeal from David North, James in California wrote, Beautiful erudition and just plain common sense in the New Year video appeal from David North. Everyone should read and/or listen to and heed these eloquent words!

Multiple testimonials spoke to the unique role that the WSWS plays in keeping its readers informed about world events and the global class struggle.

Vanessa from Michigan commented, The WSWS is a reliable source of what really happens in our world. Their reporting of domestic and international events punches a hole in the usual messaging that we are constantly bombarded with. Everyone is entitled to the truth. This is the organization that will give you the truth.

Anthony from Ohio stated, New year, same battles. Thats why Im giving my money to the Socialist Equality Party. I know that when we win this thing, itll be because the international working class has wrested control from the powers that be.

Aaron from Virginia wrote, There is nothing more valuable to me right now than the ability to stay informed. The WSWS has surpassed all other sources for information. I feel connected to all the struggles of my working-class brothers and sisters worldwide. The ICFI and SEP is the way forward for international socialism, and for humanity.

Corey in Nebraska wrote, The level of reporting, the range of subjects covered, the consistency, the honesty if something major happens in the world, I can always count on the WSWS to analyze it in the proper light and give it the perspective it needs.

Joe in Michigan stated, Im very happy to contribute to the cause. You all are doing tremendous work providing coverage and insights that no one else is.

Multiple supporters emphasized the WSWSs coverage on the danger of fascism, war and dictatorship.

Wendy, a longtime reader and supporter from Canada, commented, Our world is being disrupted by right wing forces. A convoy of fascists is in Canada right now seeking to force an end to all measures against COVID-19. Support the WSWS to understand whats going on. Socialism is the only way forward.

Terrence in Massachusetts wrote, The WSWS has been the sole force advancing the correct perspective on the threat of fascism and war, the correct scientific approach to COVID-19, exposing the perfidious role of the unions and the necessity of the working class coming to power throughout the world under the leadership of an internationalist Marxist vanguard. The WSWS is indispensable.

Alex, a reader from New Jersey, stated, I read the WSWS daily, and have for many years, for the clarity and sharpness of the analysis it provides of events the world over. No other news source discusses honestly the reality of life for working people in every country. From the homicidal policy of herd immunity to the threat of dictatorship and war, the ruling class has shown its utter contempt for the working class.

Readers like you make the WSWS possible. Your support is necessary not only to publish the site but to expand our outreach, print material to distribute to workers at the factories, organize public webinars, carry out investigative reporting on the growing struggles of workers and build up a movement of workers to put an end to the dangers of dictatorship and war.

Please donate today and leave your own testimonial. We not only need your financial support but want you to participate in the struggle to build the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) as the new leadership of the international working class. Read more about our history and make the decision to join the revolutionary socialist movement today .

Excerpt from:
WSWS readers give support to 2022 New Year appeal - WSWS

Apparently ignoring Gov. Krist Noems dictum that socialism destroys lives, GOP Sen. Al Novstrup tried unsuccessfully to push a bill through the legislature that would have allowed the City of Aberdeen to expand a municipal campground that just happens to share space in the same city park with Novstrups amusement park Thunder Road.

Trouble with the plan, from Novstrups perspective, is that existing law requires approval from nearby private campgrounds before municipalities can build or add on to existing publicly-owned facilities. In this case, a local campground owner balked at the plan, so it had to be scrapped.

Novstrup, according to a piece on the subject in the Rapid City Journal, said - yes, he did - the bill doesnt center on personal gain.

No, the fact that the campground sits in Aberdeens Wylie Park just a short walk from Novstrups amusement park (seen above in an image from eventective.com) is not the issue here. This is all about principle. Apparently, in this case, the principle being boldly advanced by Novstrup is that an elected official should be allowed to call for public money to be used as a means of upgrading and adding camping sites that would directly benefit his business.

Novstrup put it in a much nicer way, of course. The Journal article reports that Novstrup claims existing law stymies campground development. According to the piece, Novstrup said "anybody can move to town, buy a piece of land, pay $50 and go through a one-page form that I can fill out in five minutes and now tell the citizens of Wylie Park that they cannot expand, you can't make it better, you have to stop. That's a terrible situation."

Definitely its a terrible situation for Novstrup, and he wants that situation reversed so that taxpayer money can be used to develop campgrounds without local private operators being able to say boo about the matter.

The bill passed the Senate 30-5, but the House committee looking at it didnt much cotton to the idea of the public sector socialistically stepping into the campground business and sent the bill into the 41st legislative day, pretty much killing it, on a 10-3 vote.

Republican socialists took it on the chin this time, but dont worry, theyll be back.

John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for twenty years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam.

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Sen. Al Novstrup (R-Aberdeen) is the Republican socialist of the week. He wants city help for his amusement park The South Dakota Standard - The...

Sondra Feldstein is a farmer and business owner in Polk County.

Its easy to call the Republican Party racist and homophobic when all the books they want to ban happen to deal with people of color, members of a minority religion, or LGBTQ issues; when a predominantly Black demonstration is a riot and a predominantly white one legitimate political protest; when legislation to curb non-existent voter fraud targets voting methods more often used by people of color.

But white nationalist ideology in its current iteration in the United States is not simply racist. The definition of racism as belief that another race is inherently inferiordoes not begin to explain 21st century white nationalism. It is much more complicated than that.

Racism is used to rile the Republican base, yes. But those using white nationalism to build their power are not themselves racist, or at least thats not their defining belief. Rather, they are power hungry people who do not believe in the value of a democratic republic.

One clue here is that even though Republicans and conservative media rarely miss a chance to race bait, they also never miss a chance to put forward a conservative Black person.This is how you know something different is going on. Was there ever a Ku Klux Klan member who bragged about including Black people?Did Hitler ever allow any Jewish Germans to retain a position of power?

Several principles are more important to white nationalists than race. For instance:

The GOP has been remarkably successful in labeling Democratic Party policies as socialist. That has fueled their electoral success much more than appeals to racism. Huge swaths of American voters will never consider voting for a Democrat because theyve become convinced that it means voting for socialism.

Never mind that Democratic policies like a living wage, workplace safety, public schools, regulatory oversight, and investment in public infrastructure have historically been championed just as much by Republicans as by Democrats.

Over the past thirty or so years, any such talk has been slapped with the socialism label and is now used to reliably shut down civic discourse or public conversation about any policies that might attract the dreaded moniker. This despite the fact that some of the most politically-untouchable programs of American government (think: Social Security, Medicare, farm program checks) are in fact socialistic, which is to say, they represent an explicit redistribution of wealth in service of a particular policy goal (keeping retirees out of poverty and making retirement possible at all; making sure senior citizens have health care; preserving the ability of America to feed itself not, contrary to popular belief, preserving family farms).

The most socialist policies we have, dating back 70 years and more, are never attacked as such, while any attempt to improve equity in the labor market, use tax policy to help renters rather than owners, or provide health care to more than senior citizens are not just criticized, they are demonized as socialism, the ideology that will destroy America.

And here is where the white nationalists tip their hand.Much of this hatred of socialism is powered by anti-Semitism. The language tends to be subtle those unschooled in the tenets of anti-Semitism may miss the dog whistles when international bankers and powerful journalists and behind the scenes power brokers are blamed for the ills of the day.

But you seldom have to scratch too deep in the right wing to find the belief that Jews invented socialism and have been the primary purveyors of this ideology that aims to destroy the world as we (real Americans) know it, especially individual freedom and individual rewards for work.After all Karl Marx was Jewish (communism isnt socialism but try explaining that to the average GOP voter, or any other American for that matter).

White nationalisms first cousin, Christian nationalism, will often talk about a deep love for Israel, and express that love by supporting so-called pro-Israel foreign policy.This can seem to run counter to the charge of anti-Semitism, until you realize that the end times for which evangelical Christians are endlessly hopeful require the existence of Israel to fulfill what they believe to be Biblical prophecy.They need Israel to exist so all the Jews can move there and push events along the trajectory to the apocalypse.Support for Israel does not mean one is not also anti-Semitic.

The willingness of the current GOP leadership to not only tolerate but encourage this subtle anti-Semitism for the sake of power is more frightening than any out-in-the-open race baiting.They are going down the path of making demons out of sub-groups of American citizens see libtards and all the rest of the vilifying rhetoric against anyone who espouses anything that can be tarred with the socialist brush.Lock her up has moved on to execute her.

When such language is acceptable public speech, when people are convinced that anyone who isnt with them is trying to destroy them, when people who love their country believe that groups of their fellow citizens are their enemy instead of just people who also love their country but hold different opinions on some policies, when words leave no gray areas what is a person to do?

Top image: Sondra Feldstein teaching Bondurant-Farrar third grade students about Hanukkah. This has been a tradition at Bondurant for nearly 20 years and every year, she wonders whether a parent will complain that their children learned about a religion that isnt Christianity. Photo provided by the author and published with permission.

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Racism isn't the problem Bleeding Heartland - bleedingheartland.com