Socialist candidate in California recall addresses students on Iraq war

[IndianaGreen]

Socialist candidate in California recall addresses students on Iraq war
By Rafael Azul
20 September 2003

John Christopher Burton, a civil rights attorney and the Socialist Equality Party-backed candidate in the California recall election, told an audience of more than 300 students at Santa Monica College September 18 that the problems of California could not be addressed outside of a fight against the war and occupation in Iraq.

The speech took place at a “Rock the Vote” rally sponsored by the Inter-Club Council of Santa Monica College. The purpose of the rally was to motivate students to register to vote and cast their ballots in the recall election.

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Burton urged a “no” vote on the recall campaign against California Governor Gray Davis, warning that the recall was a product of “right-wing millionaires who reject the results of the last election to replace Davis with a governor even more willing to dismantle entirely the state’s social programs.”

The audience interrupted Burton’s speech with applause on several occasions, particularly when he called on students to transform the recall election into a referendum against the Bush administration and the bipartisan policies of war and attacks on social programs. He struck a chord when he called on students to reject any candidate who claims that the crisis in California can be solved without opposing the war, and demanded an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/sep2003/smon-s20.shtml