e-mail today from A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition

[ima_sinnic]

I apologize if this has been posted already today.

Subject: We All Did It! 300,000 Surround White House


We all did it!
300,000 Surround White House
in Largest Antiwar Protest Since War Began


Dear A.N.S.W.E.R. friend,

With the support of everyone in the antiwar movement around the country, the September 24th demonstration was a magnificent success. We had hoped for 100,000 people, and more than 300,000 joined the protest. We received media coverage all around the world. The article below, from the Washington Post, took up the front page of the newspaper above the fold. The ANSWER Coalition initiated this demonstration on May 12, 2005 under the slogans "Stop the War Against Iraq" and "End Colonial Occupation from Iraq, to Palestine, to Haiti and Everywhere." We also later connected the war in Iraq with Bush's criminal neglect in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. On May 12, we also proposed to the United for Peace and Justice that our two coalitions enter into a united front for the purpose of maximizing the broadest possible turnout in the streets. We believe that the final agreement to organize a joint rally and joint march was in the best interests of launching a wider struggle against the war-makers.

Everyone should feel very proud in the success of this demonstration, and the large-scale protests that also took place in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and in other cities. More than 350 cities and towns organized transportation to come to Washington DC. The commitment and self-sacrifice of local organizers speaks to the fact that this movement has taken off.

If you could not go to the demonstration or you know a friend or family member that could not go, but would like to have gone, you can now join the demonstration from home! We've set up an easy mechanism so you can let the politicians know that you stand with the more than 100 thousand people at the Sept. 24 March on Washington and are demanding Bring the Troops Home Now, spend money on human needs - not war and occupation!

We want to send a special "thank you" to the hundreds of A.N.S.W.E.R. volunteers who helped with stage and sound set up, takedown, fund collection, march security, and the tireless around-the-clock work that was necessary to make the demonstration so successful. Many volunteers have hardly slept for the last 72 hours. . .

---------------------------------------------------------------

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org
[e-mail]
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
New York City: 212-533-0417
Los Angeles: 323-464-1636
San Francisco: 415-821-6545


--------------------------------------------------------------

posted just to give a little perspective on ANSWER's role yesterday. Frankly, I just think of the groups under their umbrella as inevitable. The Commmunist Party has always been around at peace and justice rallies, from the 20s until the present. In the 60s the RW was fond of spreading the meme that "the commies" were behind the peace movement, corrupting the minds of the youth, and poised to "take over." Hey, nobody ever approached me with pamphlets or literature, or forms to fill out to "join" anything, tips about meetings to go to, or any crap like that that would have to occur with "indoctrination."

There will ALWAYS be so-called fringers. who gives a flying #%_(#%(*^?? They are victims, too. So you don't agree about Mumia--well there are some who feel passionately another way. What the #%)(& does that have to do with you? You didn't notice just how many groups were represented yesterday? MUST you endorse every single one?

Every person on the planet, with the exception of the corporkrats, has a legitimate grievance with *Co. ANSWER itself is a coalition of groups with different agendas. Your beef (if you MUST have one), should be with those individual groups, not with ANSWER itself.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

1. I met someone at a rally in the 60's who

said he was a communist, but he wasn't carrying a card, so I didn't believe him:)

[donco6]

2. So much for being a cynic, I guess.

So you're saying it doesn't matter what groups occupy the stage at a rally in which your attendance indicates support? Not sure I buy that, but then I really AM a cynic.

[Shoeempress]

4. Ever go to a concert with multiple bands? Did you have to love everyone

of the bands that played or did you use the time when a band you didn't like played to go get a beer? Think of it that way.

[donco6]

8. Not the same thing at all.

It's one thing to look at others in a crowd and see potential fans of your favorite band, it's quite another to be in a crowd and wonder if everyone there really supports what the speakers are saying. A.N.S.W.E.R. uses these rallies to garner support for all their organizations, even though they tend to set the theme as "anti-war." I just don't think that's ethical.

[High Plains]

32. Maybe you should inform yourself beforehand...

The ANSWER Coalition initiated this demonstration on May 12, 2005 under the slogans "Stop the War Against Iraq" and "End Colonial Occupation from Iraq, to Palestine, to Haiti and Everywhere." We also later connected the war in Iraq with Bush's criminal neglect in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. On May 12, we also proposed to the United for Peace and Justice that our two coalitions enter into a united front for the purpose of maximizing the broadest possible turnout in the streets.

They were very clear. I just don't think that's unethical.

Gawd, all of this whining about ANSWER! Go organize your own demonstration!

[txaslftist]

35. "Go organize your own demonstration!"

So far that is the only thing I've heard from ANSWER that makes sense. Thank you.

[donco6]

40. Ha! I agree. n/t

[mcg]

42. Good idea!

[mcg]

9. If I go to a classical concert I expect to hear classical not thrash metal

I picked those genres because they are quite different.

The fact is liberalism and Communism are VERY different. They are not merely different flavors of the same genre. And just because Communists have been at it for a long time doesn't make it right or constructive.

[donco6]

11. Good analogy.

And furthermore, it's like advertising for a classical concert, but putting on a thrasher metal concert.

[ima_sinnic]

6. "your attendance indicates support"? REAL-ly . . .

so why stay in attendance?
were you FORCED to stay at the rally?
and if so, you were FORCED to listen, to pay attention, to applaud/show support?
I've been to a lot of demos since 1967 and don't remember any where I couldn't walk away from rallies when I lost interest in them. The area of the demos in Washington is always huge and crowded, plenty of other stuff going on.

[donco6]

10. Of *course* attendance indicates support.

Why else do you have rallies in the first place? Why all the arguments over how many were there? It's all a show of support. And A.N.S.W.E.R. just has too many wildly disparate agendas for my taste.

[ima_sinnic]

13. oh BS--it was a MARCH and a circling of the White House

if you don't like ANSWER, don't associate with them.
sheesh.

[donco6]

14. Thanks!

That was my point in the first place.

[mcg]

16. I didn't even know ANSWER was involved or what they are about until ....

I got to the rally. Then I was rather bewildered. They even discouraged people from starting to march. No, they wanted people to stay and listen to their speeches.

Next time, if ANSWER is involved, I'll have to think twice about attending.

To the organizers at United For Peace and Justice, please think about that and please do it yourselves next time.

[John Q. Citizen]

30. have you visited the web page of United for Peace and Justice?

They are a collection of about 1300 various groups.

You might want to check out all of those groups before you go. A few of them might not meet with your criteria.

[John Q. Citizen]

17. So then since Bill Clinton hangs out and pals around with

the bush crime family you are dropping support for him and his wife?

Or is that different?

[donco6]

18. No, it's the same.

And it gives me pause, fer shure.

[High Plains]

33. Then don't go n/t

[donco6]

41. That's kinda the point, actually.

Some were arguing that everyone should still attend, even if they don't agree with ANSWER's myriad other side-issues they are incessantly whining about. My point is that, no, we shouldn't. So, thanks for your support.

[Zynx]

3. Sorry, no love for communist group here

Group is militant far-left and anti-democratic.

[tocqueville]

5. my my are we getting touchy....

Many of A.N.S.W.E.R.'s leaders were members of Workers World Party at the time of A.N.S.W.E.R.'s founding, and are current members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Marxist-Leninist organization that formed in 2004.b] When Workers World Party did function in A.N.S.W.E.R., the coalition was accused of being a front group for the Party. <1> However, even some sources very critical of A.N.S.W.E.R. and of Workers World have had grudging praise for the group's organizational ability. For example, International R.E.S.P.O.N.S.E., a group which appears to have formed precisely to pursue similar protest politics while distancing themselves from Workers World, writes, "A.N.S.W.E.R. has proven skill at organizing massive demonstrations", while adding "Most who attend the group's protests know nothing about their actual political leanings and merely wish to express their opposition to war in Iraq". <2>

ANSWER's organizing strategy centers around acquiring police permits for public demonstrations, and organizing national demonstrations, giving the group leverage over other groups that do not have the permits or a national network.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSWER

Party for Socialism and Liberation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States that was formed in 2004 as the result of a split within the ranks of the Workers World Party. The San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. branches of WWP left almost in their entirety to form the PSL, which appears to have experienced significant growth since.

The main publication of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which reflects their political perspective, is their magazine, Socialism and Liberation. It is published monthly and can be obtained from a variety of bookstores throughout the United States, as well as through PSL offices.

The party is a fierce supporter of the government of Cuba, and while a critic of the current Chinese government, the party views the Chinese Revolution and Cultural Revolution favorably.

The PSL is also a member of the steering committee of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition.

..........................................................

facts are facts

[ima_sinnic]

7. and like I already said, who gives a #(%*?

they are doing what to you?

I got over boogeymen back in the 50s. "The commies" never came for me then either.

[mcg]

12. They are providing ammunition to the right-wing propaganists.

That's what they are doing, and I think that liberals should steer clear of them. Liberals should do their own organizing.

[ima_sinnic]

15. yeah, yeah, whatever. been there, done that. in 1968.

"antiwar protestors" have always been portrayed as kooks and fringers, no matter what. I was part of the War Resisters League and we made a point of dressing very respectably. It didn't matter -- but you know what? the message got out there despite that -- Nixon basically lost control of The People because there were so many of us storming Washington, so often.

[John Q. Citizen]

19. So are you also steering clear of the Clintons since Bill has been

hanging out with the bush crime family of late?

[mcg]

25. I understand the practical situation, but...

I think progressives need to set things up where we don't need ANSWER's help to organize a protest (assuming we need them now, I don't know).

Clinton worked with poppa Bush on fundraising efforts, it was a practical decision to get more funds raised.

[John Q. Citizen]

27. I think I've finally figured out what this is all about...

This is the classic ego fueled infighting the left is famous for.

Well I'm tired of the left self destructing becasue people remember slights from years ago, the need to take credit for anything that happens anywhere anytime, the charges and counter charges that are based more on personalities than on anything really substansive.

It doesn't help.

I wonder how the non-combatants of the lefty wars can come together and figure out a way around the infighting.

Jesus H Christ, If Bill and George can come together to fund raise, why the hell can't you and ANSWER come together to help save the freaking country?

Or have you just decided you can't possibly work with "those" people?

[mcg]

28. I will not ally with Communists and anti-Semites.

And this is not about ego or slights from the past, this was the first protest I attended.

Why can't ANSWER shut up about their pet agendas at a rally against the Iraq war and Bush? Don't they care about saving our country?

No, for the next protest, ANSWER should not be part of the organizing and should not be given the microphone.

[John Q. Citizen]

29. Well let me know when and where you

decide to hold your protest, and I'll try to make it. Also, if you could give me detailed background on yourself and any speakers you have it would be helpful so that I can be sure everyone meets with my complete approval before I attend.

[librechik]

36. I'm tired of the left self destructing

becasue theu can't control the message. I want ANSWER's support. But they should have limited their participation in THIS event to sponsorship. Cindy's people should have booked the guests. This day was for HER. And we showed our opposites that we are the wild eyed wimps they always have said we are.

Sure we are famous for infighting. Unlike Righties, the Left is known for talking and discussing issues rather than settle with money or violence. That is not a negative, and we should be celebrating that fact by reframing it in a positive fashion. Say something like "intense but productive brainstorming sessions."

Mt main objection however, is the obviously foreign-controlled nature of ANSWER. This doesn't help out the American Left when they are trying to image themselves as patriotic as the Right. We need our own organization which is allied with ANSWER but not beholden to it. No one will take us seriously until that happens.

I suggest MoveOn.org or PFAW come forward to do the job. I will volunteer to help.

[John Q. Citizen]

39. librechik, thanks for your well thought out and constructive

post.

I agree with most of it.

However, Cindy piggy backed on an already planned protest by ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice, which I believe was a smart thing to do. It assured a much bigger turn out. I'm not sure if she had demanded complete control over the guest list if that would have been the right thing to do.

I have no problem with ANSWER'S over seas connections per se, any more than I have with the international support given to Cindy during her encampment.

What I have a problem with is what I perceive as a demand by some posters for ideological purity, both in the memberships of coalitions in the demonstration and in the remarks of speakers at the demonstration.

I don't have cable TV so I couldn't watch C-span. My bet is the vast overwhelming majority of Americans who have cable weren't watching C-span on Saturday. Iraq does not exist in a vacuum, and the fact that some speakers chose to speak about issues that are a direct reflection of the US policies that got us into Iraq doesn't bother me as much as it does some other posters.

I believe what I see as tearing down the overall positive impact of the largest peace march since the war began is counter productive, regardless of posters, or speakers, personal agendas.

And I say this as someone who is still currently impartial to the internecine struggle between supporters of ANSWER and detractors of ANSWER.

I'm just glad for all of us on the left that there was a major demonstration against the war. I don't think a speaker talking about their favorite issue detracts from that accomplishment in the least.

[txaslftist]

37. I understand your point. I agree with it.

We need to organize single issue marches and protests without them getting hijacked by ANSWER. If this was ANSWER's deal, that should have been clear from the beginning. It wasn't clear to me.

Anti- Iraq war events need to be anti-Iraq war events, not anti-Israel or anti-Cuban embargo or anti-America or anti-capitalism events or anti-good poetry events.

And yes, we need to organize independently from ANSWER.

[High Plains]

34. Yeah, go organize something then

And the right-wing propagandists would be all nicey-nicey about the march if not for ANSWER? When Pigboys fly, maybe.

[tocqueville]

20. what you don't understand is that isn't a question of boogeyman

I've seen more commies in my life then you'll ever see, because I live in Europe, and a lot of them were and are very responsible people. Most of them are blue collars. In countries like FRance, Sweden and Italy they had or have responsible positions in governments.

the ANSWER people are extremists and don't have a DEMOCRATIC (in the original sense) agenda. But they are very good at gathering well meaning progressive and peace-loving forces around them. It's an old leninistic tactic.

the difference in Europe is that there are HUGE socialist-communist-green alliances with own resources that can marginalize those groups...

and I can give you that the main problem isn't ANSWER. If there was a well organized, blue collar, union based DEMOCRAT organisation in the US, there had been a million in DC yesterday. And even better than that, Bush had probably never been elected.

[ima_sinnic]

21. yeah, yeah, we're all dupes of ANSWER

they obviously did not succeed in "capturing" any adherents, now, did they, judging from the comments in DU?

please raise your hand if any speech you heard yesterday convinced you to put time and energy into a cause you hadn't endorsed or even considered before.


gee, I don't see very many hands.

the Communist Party is a recognized political party in this country.
It runs a Presidential candidate in every election. It gets a very very tiny fraction of the vote every time. It amounts to nothing.

[tocqueville]

24. classic socialist-communist parties have never been a real force in the US

their union base was "killed" in the early 1900s

the ANSWER people are the "descendents" of the post hippie movement in the 60s. Some remainded trotskyites, some turned to neocons. Same kind of people : power by deceit with any means.

they have nothing in common with the European working class socialists and communists. Those have a long history of fighting fascism at the price of their own lives. These people are RESPECTED in Europe even if many don't share their political agenda (heavy taxes, collective solutions).

[hiley]

23. haven't you heard bush was

never elected in the first place?
Stolen Election - Bush vulnerable - Kick 'em Now!
by A Rational Being
Fri Sep 23rd, 2005 at 08:22:12 CST
Seeing that Jimmy Carter says that Gore won 2000 and the news about Diebold its time to re-open Ohio's debacle of the 2004 Presidential Election.
Mark Crispin Miller published a powerful indictment of the 2004 Ohio presidential election and the press' complicity, in Harpers Magazine's August issue. Fortunately, Harpers recently posted the full text of None Dare Call it Stolen. While I cannot track down the number of Harpers Magazines distributed each month, I know that it is a relatively small number when compared to Time or News Week. (Update <2005-9-23 12:43:51 by A Rational Being>: Subscription is 220,000 Thanks Everybody Knows) That means that only a small fraction of the American population know about this injustice to
snip--

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/23/102212/765

[tocqueville]

26. you missed my point

if the dems had been a REAL party, not an election machine, the cheating hadn't been possible...

an Ukraine situation had developed...

[hiley]

38. Thank you for clarifying it to

me. can understand that statement about the dems, clearly.

[hiley]

22. "commies" never came for me either!

;-)

[KharmaTrain]

31. Hate Radio Gold

There's every right wing stereotype...so much to hate...so many soundbites to choose from...now a press release that brags about this. ANSWER just gave them one-stop shopping..."commies, lezzies, wasted hippies...and so on". It's not the content, it's the image, the stridency, the anger that will be picked up on and this is what the right wing glams on big time. Then the debate isn't about Iraq, but it's about this fringe issue or that one and if you support A you must support B. This is were I saw a big letdown on Saturday.

Initially I thought this was a rally to stand behind Cindy Sheehan and her simple question as to why her son had to die. We wanted to know why and who was responsible. Simple...one that caught a lot of hearts around the nation. It's one that millions were asking privately about the legitimacy of this invasion and those who are running it to speak in one loud voice and show a growing and united front. That's not what happened.

While I'm sympathetic to some of the issues that were addressed, I don't agree with all. Also, while these issues need to be heard, without a strong government voice that comes with unity and strength, those causes remain voices in the wilderness.

I want to see a protest movement with a positive message, not an angry, frustrated one. Yes, we should be mad and that's why we're there. But this also has to be an opportunity to reach out to people...open doors and build bridges to create a majority that can translate into real action...at the ballot box, in public opinion and the subsequently in the corporate media.

Right now, we need unity, not division. Looking at the inability for that to happen on a place like this, I'm having serious doubts the Progressive/Liberal movements will be mired in their own litmus tests and infighting while the Repugnicans continue to win elections and wage wars.