dates from the Libertarian and Constitution parties. And in San Francisco's District 8, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan challenged Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi whose complicity in the war has made her extremely unpopular. Although she didn't win, it appears Cindy Sheehan got 17 percent of the vote, not at all bad against a powerful and well-entrenched incumbent.
Along with Obama's decisive victory, this all indicates that while the country is increasingly polarized in both directions, there is a definite, albeit modest shift to the left. This highlights the potential for a mass party of labor if the unions would break with the Democrats. Just imagine if the $300 million spent by the labor movement on electing Obama had instead been spent on building a labor party and fielding candidates fighting in the interests of the working class?
The Democrats now have a commanding advantage in both the House and the Senate. After they won a majority in Congress in 2006, many thought they would at the very least move decisively to cut the funding and end the war in Iraq. They did no such thing. After Tuesday night, they have no excuses not to end the war immediately and to pass legislation in the interests of the millions of workers and youth who voted them into power. They have a clear majority in Congress and control the White House as well. Their domination of U.S. politics seems complete. And yet, just a few years ago, many political commentators went so far as to declare the party dead. How quickly things can change! As we explained in 2002, after the Democrats were routed in the midterm elections:
"As Marxists we have no illusions whatsoever in the Democratic Party, which presents itself as the 'kinder gentler' face of U.S. capitalism. They are tied hand and foot to the capitalist class, and will never represent the interests of working people. They may put up resistance on various issues of minor importance, but they will never in a million years side against capital in favor of the working class. They operate entirely within the boundaries of bourgeois democracy - that is, democracy for the rich and powerful. This so-called 'center of the road' is in fact a toll road controlled by the capitalist class. Ultimately, they wholeheartedly endorse the capitalist system, and serve only to deceive the masses with the illusion that things can improve under this economic system. The Democrats have moved so far to the 'center' (not that they were ever very far to the left), that they are indistinguishable from their supposed ideological opponents. Even ultra-Democrat James Carvel maintains that during this campaign, they did not differentiate themselves from the Republicans in any way. If you are one of the few people who actually voted, why bother voting for the 'opposition' when their politics are virtually the same as those already in power? As the saying goes, why change horses in midstream? Both are for the 'war on terror' and Iraq, are marionettes of the capitalist class and support corporate welfare with no mention of universal health care, etc. Bush is doing a fine job at pursuing the war (a lot of bellicose talk with few casualties as of yet), so why not let him and his party get on with it and see how things go?
"However, despite their current ineptitude, and the fact that the masses in effect rejected them this election, the Democrats remain a powerful tool for the ruling class. In the absence of a traditional party of labor, the ruling class will try to use the Democrats and their historic connection with the AFL-CIO to derail any movement of the workers. At the present time, however, it appears that the ruling class prefers to use the much more overtly aggressive policies of Bush and his clique. But this will not last for very long. What the ruling class fails to take into consideration at this point is the fact that the American working class is still fresh and undefeated - they will move at a certain stage. There is tremendous discontent beneath the surface. This is what they did with Bill Clinton, when di