https://socialistaction.org/2019/08/07/interview-with-heather-bradford-socialist-action-candidate-for-u-s-vice-president/
Interview with Heather Bradford, Socialist Action candidate for U.S.
vice president
/ 1 day ago
Aug. 2019 Heather equal wages (Bob KIng: Dul.News Trib).
Heather Bradford (2nd from left) joins rally for equal pay for women
outside Duluth city hall in April 2017. (Bob King / Duluth News Tribune)
Following are major excerpts from an interview with Socialist Action???s
vice presidential candidate Heather Bradford that appeared on the Third
Party Second Bananas website. See:
https://thirdpartysecondbananas.blogspot.com/2019/06/heatherbradford-2020-vp-social-action.html
Heather Bradford is the running mate with presidential candidate Jeff
Mackler on the Socialist Action ticket for 2020. She is the organizer of
the Socialist Action branch in Duluth, Minn., and works as a women???s
advocate at a domestic violence shelter, at an abortion clinic, and as a
public school teacher. Bradford has been a longtime activist in the
LGBT, environmental, feminist, and antiwar movements.
Q. How did you arrive at becoming a member of Socialist Action?
Heather Bradford: When I was in my early 20s and attending college, my
major was International Studies. Through my coursework, I quickly
learned that much of the world was impoverished and lacked access to
such basic things as food, medicine, and clean water.
I also learned that global suffering was connected to the policies of
organizations such as the IMF, World Trade Organization, and World Bank,
which played a role in perpetuating colonial relationships based upon
economic exploitation. I also recognized that the Untied States has
played a sinister role in destabilizing countries through war, support
of dictatorships, economic coercion, and overthrowing democratically
elected governments that leaned toward socialism.
The more I learned about the state of the world, the more I saw patterns
that indicated a systemic problem and the more I began to identify with
socialism.
At the same time, I believed that socialism had gone extinct as a
movement. I believed it was something that must have died off decades
ago. But to my surprise, I found that Duluth had its own socialist
group! I sought out the only socialist group in my city, which was
Socialist Action, and I have been a member ever since.
Q. Socialist Action has been described as Trotskyist. Could you explain
to us how that makes SA different from other political parties on the left?
H.B.: That???s a great question with a lengthy answer! One difference
between Socialist Action and some other socialist parties is that we do
not provide any support to candidates of the Democratic Party. We call
on workers to break with the Democratic Party, as we believe it is
fundamentally and inevitably a party of the ruling class. As such, it
will always promote U.S. imperialism and the immiseration of workers
around the world.
bradford2
Heather Bradford (right) at women???s rights rally at Duluth city hall.
Our staunch refusal to support the Democratic Party (or any capitalist
party, such as the Green Party) differentiates us from some other
socialist groups. Though, it is important to note that from time to
time, we support the candidates of like-minded socialist parties and
would support the formation of a Labor Party within the U.S.
At the same time, we believe in the right of oppressed groups such as
women, LGBT, oppressed racial minorities and nationalities to form
autonomous movements to fight for their interests. We believe that the
liberation of these oppressed groups is an essential component of
working towards socialist revolution, which is itself an important
component of our core ideology.
We are revolutionary socialists whose aim is the ovethrow of capitalism.
While working toward the goal of revolution, we support reforms that
challenge the structures of oppression inherent to capitalism.
Revolution must be international, worker led, and socialist in nature
(rather than in stages or [limited to] one country). Some socialists
agree on some of these principles and not on others, or interpret them
differently. This is a short answer to what is otherwise a long and
complex question.
Q: Throughout American history, I observe progressive groups are
presented with an infinity of directions since they are pioneers
(abolitionists, suffragists, socialists, etc.), and as such they have
intense disagreements over which direction to go and method to use. I
mention this because, as I was looking at the background of Socialist
Action, it seems your party is not immune from this historical pattern,
receiving more criticism from the left than from the right. What do you
think it would take to unite the leftist political parties?
H.B.: Left political parties can and often do work together in mass
movements. Socialist Action believes in forming united fronts, which
allow us to converge with other leftists on issues we can agree upon.
Because the two-parties capitalist electoral system is rigged against
us, we don???t think that elections are really where socialists are going
to be the most effective. We can make the most impact by building
independent movements that put pressure on the political system or
economy. Movements for immigrant rights, antiwar, women???s rights, LGBT
rights, better wages and working conditions, housing, prison reform or
abolition, and so on are arenas where leftists can work together.
Of course, leftists come together with their unique histories,
rivalries, and perspectives, which can hinder cooperation and movement
building. Sometimes, fighting also stems from the fatigue and
demoralization of the long-haul fight against capitalism. But movement
work can bring us together.
The formation of a Labor Party would also be a vehicle for smaller
socialist parties to collaborate. The militant labor struggle required
for the creation of such a party would hopefully draw socialists together.
Q: What do you make of a segment of the working class being dazzled by
Trump with what some would call an almost cult-like fervor?
H.B.: Around 43% of Americans did not vote in 2016, so there is a large
swath of the U.S. population that was not enamored enough by Trump or
Clinton to bother voting. According to Gallup, Trump???s approval rating
is 40%, which is lower than the average approval rating of 53% for
presidents since 1935. Trump certainly appeals to a segment of the
population, which represents the failure of the left to effectively
organize workers and offer them a meaninglful alternative to voting for
racism, sexism, and xenophobia.
Trump seemed like an outsider and anti-establishment to some voters. I
think it is also important to note that racial minorities overwhelmingly
did not vote for Trump. The American working class is often imagined as
white and male, but racial minorities, women (when including racial
minority women), and people with incomes under $50,000 a year did not
vote for Trump.
The task of socialists is to continue to support the interests and
liberation of the most oppressed segments of the working class (women,
racial minorities, sexual/gender minorities, etc.), offer real solutions
to workers who have been duped by Trump, and fight real and terrifying
elements of racism and reaction that have been emboldened by Trump.
Q: The Republican playbook for 2020 appears to be painting the Democrats
as ???socialist.??? I gather from the SA website that even Bernie Sanders
and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are considered as servants of the ruling
class rather than the working class?
H.B.: I think we are entering an age wherein socialism has lost its
teeth as an insult. Republicans may have to change the language of their
putdowns as socialism becomes increasingly popular. Unfortunately, the
Democratic Party has done nothing to earn the honor of being called
socialist. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez muddy the water a
bit by invoking the language of socialism, without really clarifying
what precisely this means.
As you recall, I became a socialist through internationalism. Socialism
means standing against imperialism, which is characterized by the
international dominance of monopoly and financial capitalism of a few
powerful countries. It is the duty of socialists to stand against U.S.
power as an expression of imperialism.
At the same time, socialism should be international. How could any
socialist, which is a movement based upon the power and liberation of
workers, tolerate wars or foreign policies that harm other workers? Yet,
Bernie Sanders has supported U.S. foreign policy, stated that he wants a
strong military, has approved U.S. military spending, and supports U.S.
wars such as in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Both Sanders and
Ocasio-Cortez sent mixed messages about U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
Even if they clarified what they meant by socialism into a cohesive
ideology that seeks to end capitalism, the Democratic Party is not the
vehicle to accomplish socialism. It is a party that supports U.S. power
around the world and ultimately harms workers here and abroad by
supporting militarism, financial institutions, corporate interests, and
the maintenance of private capital. These things should be anathema to
socialists.
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August 7, 2019 in Vote Socialist Action.
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