Comments on: Malik Rahim campaign volunteer conference call includes drop-in from David Cobb

By: Ross Levin

Ross Levin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:27:38 +0000

Sorry, Trent, you made it sound like you didn’t know that Jefferson is black.

I wonder if Rahim is doing anything to get gay people out to vote.

By: Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:09:44 +0000

I dont think he was portrayed as an anti-statist. He was simply portrayed telling the truth…that government didnt get their until later and that volunteers did. His was a condemnation of that PARTICULAR response of government…not all governmental actions, or even most.

By: G.E.

G.E. — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:05:45 +0000

Im not so sure Malik Rahim has libertarian leanings, all he said was that him and other volunteers were out there while the government wasnt.

He credited rich celebrities for chipping in. He was portrayed as an anti-statist. Too bad it isn’t true.

By: Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:01:42 +0000

“Trent – Jefferson is black as well, and a Democrat, so heavy black turnout could have gone his way. The district is heavily black either way, so turnout is turnout.”

I live near the district, I know Jefferson is black and I know the district is. I also know that new voters tend to be more open towards third party voting and that the mantra of change fits in perfectly with throwing out a corrupt politician for a new one. Furthermore, New Orleans’ gay community came out in full force on November 4th…they wont do it again. This would’ve benefitted Rahim too, as Jefferson is against gay marriage and quite-hated by the gay community in New Orleans.

By: Ross Levin

Ross Levin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:46:35 +0000

Yeah, but Deran sounded like he was calling the entire American left Marxist.

By: paulie cannoli

paulie cannoli — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:45:58 +0000

Marxist? Leninist? Weâ€™re talking about the Green Party, not the World Workers Party.

There are ML vanguards within the Greens. Hardly a secret.

By: Ross Levin

Ross Levin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:44:51 +0000

Marxist? Leninist? We’re talking about the Green Party, not the World Workers Party.

Trent – Jefferson is black as well, and a Democrat, so heavy black turnout could have gone his way. The district is heavily black either way, so turnout is turnout.

By: Deran

Deran — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:30:09 +0000

YThere is always that series of points where the non-Marxist-Leninist Left intersects with the LP/libertarian capitalism; privacy, anti-imperialism, anti-domestic Big Brother, ending the “war on drugs”, etc. But, then, there are core issues on both sides where the capitalist and socialist parts are going to be insurmountable obstacles to any sort of joint operations by the LP and, say, the Greens or the Peace and Freedom Party, beyond specific issues/campaigns.

I’d really like to see Malik Rahim’s campaign, and Cindy Sheehan’s campaign, etc, to lead to a new political formation that returns liberty and privacy back to the heart of the American Left, like it was to Debs, Goldman, the Wobblies and Debs-era SP. Though, even the later Norman Thomas years, found the SP strongly involved in many civil liberty and rights issues.

I personally think the 60s originating “New Left” has left a Leninist taint to socialist politics in the US. Not the whole scope of the broadest possibly defined “New Left” – Panthers and Brown Berets to SDS to the Yippies. But, much of what took over SDS by the early 70s was anti-libertarian and ant-democratic Leninist “vanguardism”. That there are wise and all seeing leaders that have the magic abilities to provide the “correct line” that will save the “proletariat”.

Really, over the last 50 years liberty has been denigrated as a “petit bourgeois” affectation by much of the US Left. It’s well past time US socialists reassert freedom as a core value of the society we are hoping/working for. If not, we’ll always be just a few hundred thousand votes in the United States.

By: Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:18:00 +0000

As for turnout, Rahim is black and would’ve benefitted from a large black turnout in my estimation. Most of that turnout would’ve been people voting for Obama under the mantra of change, they could have been easily reached (at polling locations) and the pitch would’ve been simple, “Rahim supports Obama’s programs for change,wants to end the war, wants to help the lower class. He represents change, so your options are to vote for Rahim, a volunteer coordinator here in New Orleans, or Jefferson, a convicted politician.”

By: Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:16:16 +0000

Im not so sure Malik Rahim has libertarian leanings, all he said was that him and other volunteers were out there while the government wasnt. He likely just believes that “bad” governments dont help people.

By: paulie cannoli

paulie cannoli — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:02:29 +0000

I had lunch with Rahim at the Green Party convention. He asked about my antiwar.com t-shirt – he said he is on the board of United for Peace and Justice and had never heard of antiwar.com, but would check it out.

By: G.E.

G.E. — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:00:41 +0000

Yeah, I think your analysis is off here, Trent. Low turnout is going to help Rahim. I wish him all the best. I also wish there were a legitimate libertarian party that could try to court him. If you watch the Stossel thing, he has libertarian leanings. The Black Panthers did, which is why Murray Rothbard supported them.

By: Ross Levin

Ross Levin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:08:12 +0000

They’re actually hoping the predicted low turnout could work to their advantage (as much as I’m sure they would like to see as many people vote as possible). A big part of Rahim’s campaign is just simply telling people when the election is, because a lot of people have no idea. If they can get a lot of people out to vote that wouldn’t have done so otherwise, they’ll do well.

By: Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:02:18 +0000

Its too bad Rahim’s race was seperated from the Presidential election. With massive black turnout in New Orleans for Barack Obama, Rahim would’ve done far better,especially if he really hammered away at the notion of CHANGE.

By: Ross Levin

Ross Levin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:15:16 +0000

Correction: This is where you sign up to volunteer – http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1488/t/689/signUp.jsp?key=2078

By: paulie cannoli

paulie cannoli — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:36:55 +0000

I don’t think they are allowed to delay the presidential election. Also, not all the Louisiana congressional district elections were delayed, only two. I’m guessing there were particular storm-related concerns in those districts.

They did also have a primary, which was delayed by the storm, which pushed back the general election as well.

By: G.E.

G.E. — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:33:14 +0000

Why did they have the presidential election, but not the congressional? That makes no sense.

By: paulie cannoli

paulie cannoli — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:31:43 +0000

It’s not a runoff. The election was delayed by Hurricane Gustav.

By: G.E.

G.E. — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:30:12 +0000

Question: How is he in the runoff election? I missed this.

By: G.E.

G.E. — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:28:57 +0000

Malik Rahim was on the latest John Stossel special sounding like a libertarian.

Then I just viewed his platform.

Sad.