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Democrats Used Impeachment to Promote War

By Milton Meyer

The Democrats did not impeach Trump for putting children in cages or for advocating white supremacist terrorism. Nor did they impeach him for the crimes against humanity he has committed against the people of Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Yemen, Afghanistan, or Iran. For these reasons and more, millions of workers would have loved to see Trump impeached. But the capitalist Democratic party wouldn’t dare inflame workers’ rage over the real causes of our troubles whether they be low wages, endless wars, or the constant onslaught of racist, sexist, anti-LGBTQ attacks.

On questions of unending wars, the slashing of social programs, the militarization of the police, mass incarceration, and tax breaks for the rich, Republicans and the Democrats differ only in the details. Both parties are dominated by Wall Street banks, fossil fuel companies, and the military industrial complex. However, while the openly white supremacist Republicans focus their energy on scapegoating immigrants and demonizing Muslims, the Democrats prefer to stoke fears that the Russians are the root of all our problems.

The Democrats could have impeached Bush for starting illegal wars, placing the entire U.S. population under surveillance, or authorizing torture. The Republicans could have impeached Obama for waging 11 illegal wars, ordering drone assassinations, or using the military as a domestic police force. Trump could have been impeached for his Muslim ban, his criminal neglect of Puerto Rico, or his support for the genocidal war on the people of Yemen. But these crimes are apparently not “impeachable” because both parties would have to indict themselves.

The Democrats centered their impeachment around Trump’s withholding of military aid to Ukraine in order to depict him as “soft” on Russia, reinforcing their absurd claim that Trump is aided by the Kremlin in his war on “American democracy.” Never mind the disturbing fact that next month the U.S. will deploy 20,000 troops to participate in hostile war games on Russia’s border.

In addition to stoking anti-Russian paranoia, the Democrats figured their impeachment of Trump would enable them to pose as the “resistance” to Trump while millions of workers really are desperate to resist his attacks. But as the countless testimonies of generals and CIA analysts made clear, the Democrats’ fake “resistance” was never mounted on behalf of workers but on behalf of the enemies of the workers: the generals and the millionaires on the boards of war profiteering companies. Without the real support of the masses, their case for impeachment flopped. In effect, Trump is emboldened to wield his power even more recklessly.

The impeachment farce should make clear to workers that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans represent the interests of the working majority of the country. We cannot depend on these capitalist parties to safeguard our rights. We must build an independent movement—of workers and for workers—to finally free ourselves of would-be fascists and war profiteers.

Send Trump To Jail

Trump Gives Tax Cuts to Billionaires & Trillions to War Profiteers.
Pardons Millionaire Criminals
Tells Workers, “F” You
Wants Budget Cuts To:
Social Security, Medicaid
Food Stamps, Housing Assistance
Environment, Species Preservation
Education, Disability Programs
Trump is Gutting Civil Rights, While Supporting Racists
He Attacks Women and LGBTQ People
PUT THIS CRIMINAL IN JAIL AND NO PARDON!

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Abolish the City Planning Commission!

By Milton Meyer

The capitalists’ media outlets and their educational institutions boast that the United States is a bastion of democracy uniquely endowed with the duty to spread its democratic vision around the world, often by military force.
But for working people, our so-called democracy is a sham. This becomes clear as day when we examine the workings of the New Orleans City Council (NOCC). When we vote for a city councilperson or a mayor, we assume that they will have the interests of all citizens in mind when they make decisions that affect the whole citizenry. Nothing could be further from the truth.

A favorite trick of the capitalists is to have mayors or city council members cede their decision-making power to non-elected boards such as the City Planning Commission (CPC). Unlike elected politicians, these boards don’t have to pretend to answer to the electorate. They openly govern on behalf of the capitalists at the expense of the working majority.

For example, the RTA board doesn’t include hospitality workers or drivers and mechanics; the Sewerage and Water Board doesn’t have laborers or renters making decisions. The capitalists and their lackeys make all the decisions while shielding the council and mayor from criticism for their unpopular decisions.

Who are the nine members of the CPC who decide on life and death issues like the expansion of the Orleans Parish Prison or a variance to build the Hard Rock Café Hotel?

Nolan Marshall is a VP of External Affairs and Policy for the New Orleans Business Alliance, an organization of city politicians and rich capitalists dedicated to “urban development”, aka gentrification. Katie Witry owns a real estate firm and Kathleen Lunn is a real estate broker. Robert Steeg heads a law firm that specializes in real estate transactions. Kyle Wedberg is a former administrator with the Recovery School District which pushed the charter school system on New Orleans. Lorey Flick heads an engineering firm with several multi-million dollar building contracts in New Orleans. Sue Mobley is a non-profit professional who specializes in projects funded by the Ford Foundation.

It’s clear that no one on this board represents the working class. There are no renters or hospitality workers, no one to stop the relentless gentrification of working class neighborhoods and the pushing of working people further and further from their jobs, no one who is forced to rely on an underfunded and mismanaged transit system.

And yet, the CPC “makes recommendations” regarding a variety of land use laws and codes that affect working class people including the Master Plan, the anti-worker gentrification plan created by the capitalists after Katrina. While the CPC supposedly only makes recommendations, it may approve, modify or deny applications, and its recommendations are rarely opposed by the City Council.

The City Planning Commission (CPC) was also asked to recommend whether or not to expand Orleans Parish Prison. That the city with the highest incarceration rate in the world, a crumbling infrastructure and a budget which spends only 3% on children and families wants more jail cells is itself obscene. That the decision is left up to an unelected board shows that our democracy exists only for the rulers and their flunkies. It’s only because of public outrage they backed off the recommendation to expand the jail.

It’s time for New Orleans, the Mayor and the City Council to stop governing behind closed doors where the whims of the capitalists give sway over the needs of us workers. Abolish the CPC and all other non-elected boards!