Many people blame the independent presidential campaign of Ralph Nader in 2000 for the Bush disaster we are stuck with. But it is the fact that the Democratic Party does not stand for the needs of working-class people in this country that has led to their failure in the 2000 and 2004 elections. Neither party gets a majority of voters. The majority stay home because they see no one to vote for.

The session will be a small group discussion about the importance of voting for what we want, rather than voting for the less objectionable ruling class candidate. We will provide handouts about important social justice issues, and will seek to establish long-term connections among socialist and other progressive groups that are represented in the session. Network about independent political issues is key.

A cursory look at where the Democrats stand on the major issues facing us will tell us they represent the ruling class and do not represent us:

1. The war -- very few say “out now, no funding”. Most of them voted for it in the first place and are voting for supplemental funding.

2. Health care -- Why can’t they stand up for equal, quality health for all and support a single-payer proposal?

3. Decent wages and union rights -- They only remember the minimum wage at election time or when they can embarrass a Republican with the issue.

4. Education -- They support the “No Child Left Behind” provisions which are crippling public education.

5. Housing -- No support for public housing.

6. The environment -- They want to make money from biofuels, not change the fundamental way we interact with the earth.

7. Race, class, gender - both ruling class parties have far to go in supporting equality

8. Immigration -- Most support a “guest worker” program which creates a lower tier of workers for U.S. companies. We need to get rid of NAFTA and fight for better wages and working conditions for all workers.

The Democrats are not significantly better than the Republicans. We must find a way to stop voting for the ruling class parties!