Wanted: A Massive Movement to Drive the Bush Regime from Power

Wanted: A Massive Movement to Drive the Bush Regime from Power

Revolution #006, June 19, 2005, posted at revcom.us

We received the following from comrades who see an urgent need for a major leap in the people's resistance.

Other countries have driven hated regimes from power—why not here? Is there any country whose direction has a more disproportionate impact on the future of the whole planet?

Too Radical?

Today, just eight months since the November election and the "revolution" called for by Bush's right- wing Christian supporters, we are witnessing the most radical assault on the separation of church and state that this country has ever experienced. In a word: this country sits on the verge of theocracy. Yesterday's "lunatic fringe" now sits securely in the halls of power. When powerful senators threaten federal judges on the Schiavo case and then to go on to single out a Supreme Court justice for citing international law in a recent decision barring the execution of minors, you get a whiff not just of flagrant hypocrisy but the stench of crimes against humanity and where this agenda is headed.

These are not ordinary Christians or Conservatives but Christian Fascists and they are stalking not just the red states for the control of people's minds. Under the now famous "moral values" exit polls of 2004 lurk traditional values that have uniquely American strains of puritanism, slavery, and genocide. These are theocrats who actually believe that God is speaking through the presidency of George Bush, and Bush has appointed them at every level of his administration. They intend to put their stamp on society and everyone in it—and they have already gone very far. Whether they succeed or fail to get their "nuclear option" today, they are a monster demanding to be fed who will not stop until their agenda of theocracy is fulfilled.

Whether they get their way depends hugely on if people face what is unfolding and snap out of a denial that such a thing could happen here. History is far too haunted with the memories of people from Germany to Rwanda who never thought that neighbors living side by side and intermarried for generations could possibly be on opposite sides or taken off in the night.

Writing in The New York Times , cultural critic Frank Rich aptly put it this way,

"the majority of American colonists didn't believe in witches during the Salem trials either—any more than the Taliban reflected the views of a majority of Afghans. At a certain point, and we seem to be nearing that point, fear takes over, allowing a mob to bully the majority over the short term. (Of course if you think the end is near there is no long term.)"

This country now stands before the world and history with a president who condones torture. No wonder the subjects of the new empire in other countries feel they should have had a vote in this election. This is an utterly intolerable situation and one that growing numbers of people are ready to massively repudiate—including thousands if not millions of people who voted for George Bush and are waking up to the ugly reality of what they bought and what it's wrought.

This regime has to be driven from power and it could happen! It is important to recall the millions who were present in the streets with people across the planet to oppose the Iraq war and that just six months ago millions engaged in a groundswell of hopeful political activity to drive Bush from office through voting. But no vision, no coherent alternative to Bush was ever on the electoral playing field.

The world can't wait until 2008 to put a halt to this.

We don't want to tell future generations "we were waiting for the pendulum to swing." We want to tell them we were the people who said NOT IN OUR NAME! What is needed is to launch the kind of massive resistance that can drive this regime out.

November 2, 2005, the anniversary of Bush and Cheney's re-election. How will the first year of the Christian fundamentalist "revolution" look? Will the country continue to pitch more and more to the right, with opposition so ineffective that there will be no choice but to be swept along? Or will the whole world witness the opening rounds of an upsurge that can conjure up the specter of Spain and the Ukraine, the fall of the Berlin Wall, or Nixon? It can — if people conceive of themselves as politically at war in an all-out battle for the future.

Anything less is not commensurate with the challenge we face.

We in the RCP are approaching this as repolarizing society for revolution, and we are sincere about learning from and uniting with people from many different perspectives who also see the need to rid the world of the Bush regime. We can tell you from our personal experience, talking to people across the country as we passed out millions of the statement "The Battle of the Future Will be Fought from Here Forward," that people are waiting for the next wave of protest to be unleashed...but they want to know that it will really make a difference.

Very Radical!

Let's talk about how to make it happen—contact us at [e-mail]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolution Online
http://revcom.us
Write: Box 3486, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
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http://rwor.org/a/006/wanted-massive-movement-bush-regime.htm

[Carolab]

1. Pitchforks for everyone! n/t

[Jamison]

2. Where do I sign up?

.

3. email them...

here: [e-mail]

[Imagevision]

37. You can count me and at least 20-25 others!! "Let's Roll"!!

[evlbstrd]

4. I'm in.

But your statement, "But no vision, no coherent alternative to Bush was ever on the electoral playing field." isn't entirely accurate. There are Congress people who will still fight. And Dean and Kucinich both struck strong cords in the right direction. I voted for Kucinich in the primaries.
Having said that, (I hate saying that, it's so legalese) a coordinated one-day massive protest, a teach-in, if you will allow me to bring an old tactic back. It would have to be this summer, and repeat as often as possible to get momentum for the 2006 elections.

5. I think the idea is something much more out there

I think the goal is something like what's been happening in the Ukraine, Bolivia, Ecuador etc. That is, massive protest which refuses to back down sustained over weeks or even months until he and all his cabinet are forced out of office. In other words a constitutional crisis brought on by the demands of the people with the recognition that "our" representatives aren't going to do it for us. And hopefully with the wherewithal to not get suckered by a new talking head and to make some radical demands like an immediate withdrawal of US troops in Iraq.

And then from there we figure out what to do, but from there the reality based community and democratic forces in the US would be in control.

[gordontron]

6. Intrigued

but who takes over if we oust bush? cheny? He is no better.

8. I think if we can force Bush out we can force the rest of them out...

The question is who goes in after that. Would it be a democrat? I don't know, but once the logic of something like this gets going there are so many possibilities for rapid and progressive change that we'd have to figure out as we went along. It would be sorta a mini revolution the way I imagine it, but then I don't think there are any concrete plans. People should email them and start brainstorming.

[gordontron]

10. right

just be careful because if you start getting into the waters of sedition you will be in trouble no matter how strong a support group is built. The idea is alluring because it offers a quick way to finally get rid of Bu$h, but in all reality perhaps if the downingstreetmemo is covered the house of cards will fall on its own

11. hmmm

I guess I never thought of a peaceful street protest movment as seditious, and certainly both the US government and the media would have a hard time reconciling that with their coverage and pronouncements on similar things around the world.

On your other point, we've been waiting for years for the media to deal seriously with all the different scandals out there, they simply aren't going to do it. Even if they did it would have to force a bunch of republicans to defect against the prez to get him kicked out of office and then you'd have some shitty underling of his in power.

[gordontron]

12. well if you are serious about this idea....

summer is a great time because school is out and you don't have to worry about weather pussies....then again getting a protest like that organized in a month or so is nearly impossible. Another reservation I have about the idea is that say this did happen. We had a huge, united, peaceful, progressive movement that forces Bush&co out of office, what stops the republicans from doing the same in a few years when we finally have a democratic president?

13. we do.

"what stops the republicans from doing the same in a few years when we finally have a democratic president?"

We stop them. It's about time people took responsibility for politics in this country and we know we're the majority.

[gordontron]

14. edit

never mind i anwsered my own question

15. you have to take the current context into consideration

1) we've seen what we're capable of as in the massive protests before the war and the 500,000 at the RNC. This was almost a year ago, this situation has grown much more grave.

2) The Bushies have overreached. Between the Schiavo stuff, the other religious wierdness, the newest lies uncovered like the DSM, social security, and the continuing disaster in the economy and in Iraq. The situation is different. Over 60% of people are against this war. His approval is sinking. It is even sinking in many republican circles.

The fact is that if we wait for the media to pick this up we'll be waiting till 2008 at least to get him out and right now there are senators proposing ending the 22nd amendment. All it takes is one more provocation or "terrorist" attack for martial law to be declared. I don't think these people play by the rules and there is no guarantee that they're going to leave in 2008. On the other hand there is a level of discontent together with current events which lends itself to a very rapid growth of a movement. And these things can happen in weeks and months, if they happen they usually do happen in that time frame.

Ultimately given what we all know there is absolutely no reason we should put up with one more day of Bush's presidency without at least making our demands known and trying to kick him out. These are both things that can only be done with a massive movement.

[gordontron]

17. interesting

yes inedeed to get enough attention we would need a massive well organized movement. It is possible though. I'm an environmentalist from Seattle and everyone remembers how effective the protests against the WTO were for getting the publics attention. The entire envirionmental movement is pissed off at the Bushies constant attacks on our laws and funding for ecology programs.

Possibly a movement organized something like this

Coalition front
---general supporters, no specific cause
---labor
---environmental
---civil liberties (including gay rights, womens' right to choose movements etc)
--- anti war

:shrugs:


anyways I will be unpluged from the internet (maybe I'll go on a public computer once and a while) for the rest of the summer starting thursday...so good luck!

18. I think what we need to do is

Organize around one major demand, that is bush out of office. Within that all these different organizations and causes can find their own grounding. It would be best to be able to go further and that struggle will have to be fought within the movement as it grows, but the bottom line is to kick bush out. By going further I mean kicking out his cabinet, shaking up the whole system, and demanding the withdrawal of troops in Iraq, closing Gitmo, repealing the patriot act, trying Bush and co. for war crimes.

[postulater]

21. Welcome to DU

Sorry to see you go away so soon. Have fun with your summer, it'll be nice to clear your head. :toast:

[postulater]

19. I mean to say that everyday is just another rotten mess

and when it's gonna change, my friend, is anybody's guess. So I'm watching and I'm waiting, hoping for the best. Can't you see I'm going crazy everytime I hear them saying that there's no way to delay the trouble coming everyday.

Frank burned that into my head over thirty years ago. Love the guy.

[evlbstrd]

31. Can I say Ditto without getting flamed?

Ditto. Frank is my all-time fave.

[tritsofme]

7. We are made to look like fools with crap like this

Revolution?

Get real, he'll be gone in 3.5 years.

9. I don't think they're thinking of revolution in that sense

I think the idea is that the most important thing is getting these people out asap. Certainly while regime changed in the Ukraine, Bolivia and Ecuador there was no real revolution.

Or rather maybe they are thinking about that kind of revolution, but that's a much longer term thing the first goal and most important thing is getting Bush out NOW!

[Melodybe]

16. kicked and nominated!

[tavalon]

23. And so may we

with the way this administration is going. They've trotted out the asinine winnable nuclear conflict thing again. On top of that, if the Chinese pull the rug out from under us, we will end up in a depression that will make the last one look like a cakewalk. In 3.5 years we will be even further down the peak oil rabbithole.

I wish like everything that this were hyperbole but it isn't. Hell, revolution may well not save our asses at this point but pretending this is politics as usual guarantees that our asses will be destroyed.

[meganmonkey]

24. Fools?

I wonder if ANYTHING could make the US look more foolish than it already does.

He'll be gone in 3.5 years...and who will take his place? Jeb? Frist? Condaleezza? Since there is no integrity in our voting systems, there is no integrity in our democracy. And who really is running the show? Not the shrub. He is the least of our worries.

I don't care if I look 'foolish' - I take to the streets as often as possible and if it came down to it, I would happily use up all my vacation time and then some to stay in the streets for a few weeks.

[ladjf]

26. I'm with you Meganmonkey. We can't just wait around and

hope that the next elections aren't rigged. Why wouldn't they be? They were in 2000 and 2004.

The U.S. has been taken over by a viscous criminal enterprise, nothing less.

If they aren't purged from power, most of us will be living in a form of slavery without even realizing what has happened.

[Roland99]

20. Kick!

[Independent_Liberal]

22. Torches and pitchforks!

The revolution has started!

[ladjf]

25. Good post! And to wait until 2008, hoping that the voting machines

aren't really rigged would be a FATAL mistake. Rave on friend. You are a good patriot. We will join you as best we can.

[Douglas Carpenter]

27. Let's Keep Hammering away at the media

:bounce:


Just a reminder of some very, very important links:

To sign Congressman Conyers’ letter

http://www.johnconyers.campaignoffice.com


To put and keep pressure on the Mainstream Media:

http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/takeaction.html#awaken


http://www.afterdowningstreet.org


C-SPAN Ask--them to cover the Hearing on Thursday, 16 June:

[e-mail]


Peace
O8)

Here is my standard letter to the Media:


Dear Sir/Madam:

As you know, on May 1 of this year a document now commonly referred to as “|The Downing Street Memo” was released into the British Press. These minutes of a British cabinet meeting raise serious question about how the administration was handling intelligence related to Iraq and appears to suggest that the Bush Administration had already decided on war when publicly it was claiming that no such decision had been made. Now further documents have been released in the British media which cast even further doubts.

These documents and other documents suggest that the Bush administration was determined to “fix intelligence” around a predetermined policy. Some of these documents make it clear that the administration had no credible plan for dealing with the post-war occupation.

It is most disturbing that there has been a virtual media blackout regarding “The Downing Street Minutes” and other disturbing documents.

Even more disturbing is the absence in the America media of any credible in-depth follow-up discussion or coverage regarding strong, credible and independent evidence that the Bush Administration intentionally mislead the U.S. Congress, the media and the American people.

I do hope you will accept the responsibility to address this issue and provide serious investigative journalism into this matter.

Furthermore, on Thursday June 16, 2005, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, and other House members will hold a hearing to consider testimony concerning the Downing Street minutes and questions of possible fixing of prewar intelligence. I do hope you will be giving full coverage to these events.

Sincerely,

___________________________________________




A Voice for Working People
--Not the Elite--
http://www.bernie.org

[RandomKoolzip]

28. "RCP" = Revolutionary Communist Party.

Just warnin' ya, guys. Don't fall for it. This is communist rhetoric we're dealing with here.

29. Oooh... scary

It sure is communist, but I don't see anyone else trying to organize something.

[A rope leash]

33. Hey

Communism is always associated with dictatorship. It is possible that a communist administration could be democratically elected, maybe somewhere on another planet.

Socialism is the true "love thy brother" system. Democratic socialism is the way to go. Communism and capitalism are economic systems that are actually seperate from government. Socialism can contain aspects of communism and capitalism, and is thereby and actual governmental system.

We supposedly live in a "Democratic Republic", whatever that is. Most countries are democratic socialist, or democratic capitalist (like us), or socialist dictatorships, or communist dictatorships.

You see, it isn't as easy to label everything as some folks would like. People point at Cuba and say, "What an awful thing communism is". But, hey, if they weren't fully embargoed, they might not be so impoverished.

Black and white does not make the world.

35. Well...

I certainly agree that the world isn't black and white. My main point was that the scare tactics against "communists" or even communists have always been essentially reactionary in this country.

The question is whether what someone says is true or not. Not necessarilly what name people choose to give that person. At the same time I think communism has been terribly misunderstood by people in this country, exactly because of these scare tactics.

And while there have been many bad things to come out of communist movements, and I'm not one to try and say that wasn't "real communism" (essentially a cop-out), I think that it still gives us the best understanding of politics and reality in order to change things and that we can do it better than it has been done in the past.

Having said all this, I don't believe this statement is necessarilly meant to argue for a communist government in the short term, but exactly for what it does argue for that is a broad based movement with the goal of kicking Bush out. The people organizing this rightfully want to emphasize the most radical changes possible and try to link such a movement with a real revolution, but lets be real simply getting rid of Bush is not that revolution.

[Blue_Tires]

30. ttt n/t

[KingFlorez]

32. I'm all for it

In other countries when a leader is ineffective and reckless, the people take the streets and protest for their resignation. I think that needs to be done here.

[genius]

34. Voting is dead in America. We need to get these guys out.

If enough people crowd the streets of Washington and surround the homes (whereever they are) of the representatives, perhaps there will be a regime change here.

36. I don't think we have to literally surround their homes...

to do this. I think we just need 10's to 100's of thousands in the streets for a prolonged period of time.

[ima_sinnic]

38. yes, count me in! it is not "business as usual" any longer, the

machine must come to a grinding halt.

39. I urge people to contact the email given in the statement

[e-mail]

[Imagevision]

40. How about a good ole fashioned march on Washington??

41. I don't think we can force Bush out with just a march, we need more...

Even if hundreds of thousands showed up in D.C. They would just ignore it or even attack it. We need sustained political pressure with non-negotiable demands of getting Bush and his cronies out of office, at the least. We should aim for kicking all the bastards out of office and forcing them to bring the troops home and end the Iraq War.

Marches in all the major cities of the country, sit ins, massive demonstrations that last for weeks, etc.

[Karenina]

46. With torches and pitchforks?

[realFedUp]

42. We need some of that cool stuff in Batman Returns

definitely :-)

43. like what?

..

[realFedUp]

45. see the film...you'll want it all.

I got bat envy.

[Independent_Liberal]

44. Drive them from power!

Do whatever it takes!

NGU

[okasha]

47. Electoral process, people.

Democratic majority in the House in 2006 = Impeachment.

Democratic majority in the Senate in 2006 = Conviction.

Democratice Speaker = Democratic President.

48. This assumes...

that we can wait that long and that the Democrats can actually win, and that in winning they don't sell out everything that you think they stand for (which they in fact don't stand for).