Neither radical nor cutting edge

For some on the left the fight against right wing authoritarian rule, centered in the White House and Republican Party, ranks for the time being a notch or two below the struggle against neoliberalism, represented by the Democratic Party “Establishment” — read moderate and liberal Democrats — and its candidates. Only after the Democrats chose their nominee will the struggle against Trump and the extreme right show up on their radar screen.

In this strategic rendering, the immediate terrain of struggle is the Democratic Party presidential primary and the overarching task is to support the democratic socialist Bernie Sanders for the nomination, while scorching neoliberal Joe Biden and his corporate controlled party. Only when Democrats choose their presidential candidate at their convention in July and move on to the general election will attention of this grouping on the left turn to the task of defeating Trump and his right wing enablers in the Republican Party. This may sound radical and cutting edge, even like common sense, but it’s none of these.

A strategic approach to defeating Trump and the political bloc gathered around him doesn’t preclude struggle within the Democratic Party. But its main emphasis at EVERY phase of the election process is on unity and cooperation among the diverse groups opposing Trump and the Republican candidates. Any failure in this regard only makes the overriding challenge of defeating Trump more difficult.