While voices on the right decried Bush and Obama’s massive bailout of Wall Street as “socialist,” real socialists were actively campaigning against it, explaining that it amounted to a giant handout to those who had created the crisis.

As the 2010 elections approach, millions of working people and young people who are looking to fight against the right-wing corporate agenda will be confronted with the question: Should I give my vote to the Democrats?

The recent, celebrated ending of “combat operations” in Iraq is telling for what kind of “withdrawal” policy could be in store for Afghanistan.

Business and media circles are agog at “the most significant development in philanthropy” for many decades. Forty US based billionaires have pledged to give half of their wealth to “charity” while living or on their death.

On August 28, the right-wing populist Tea Party Movement, an assortment of conservative organizations, and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck will descend on Washington, D.C. for the so-called “Restoring the Honor” rally. For the black freedom movement, August 28 marks the 47th anniversary of the great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. King’s oratorical benchmark “I Have a Dream” speech. The selection of this day by the Tea Party Movement and Glenn Beck is blatantly intended to tarnish the memory of that historic day when the Civil Rights Movement marched to demand that President Kennedy and Congress end Jim Crow in the South and extend full citizenship rights to African-Americans.

According to President Obama, America has come “90 percent of the way” towards ending racism. This statement, however, is violently contradicted by the brutal police killing of Oscar Grant, a young black man, by a police officer in Oakland, CA on New Years Day. The case provoked angry demonstrations in Oakland after the police officer was recently found guilty of involuntary manslaughter—by a jury without a single black member. This drives another nail in the coffin of the idea about the “end of racism” that Obama holds so dear.

Socialist Alternative representative Ramy Khalil debated Tea Party leader Keli Carender on the radio. Listen to the debate here from Pacifica-affiliated KBCS 91.3 FM Voices of Diversity on July 21, 2010.

The idea that education is the great social leveler in US society is drummed into our heads since kindergarten. Peter Sacks’excellent book, which has just been published in paperback, exposes this myth through a mountain of facts and insightful analysis.

Cindy Sheehan came to prominence in 2005 when she set up a protest camp outside of President Bush's ranch, waiting to ask him simply why he had to send her son to die in Iraq. In 2008 she ran for Congress as an Independent against the top Democrat Nancy Pelosi, winning an impressive 16% of the vote, beating the Republican, and coming in second place.

State legislatures nationwide have slashed billions of dollars from public education as they deal with revenue shortfalls brought on by the economic crisis. According to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the 50 states must close over half a trillion dollars in deficits by 2013, which could include laying off an estimated 100,000-300,000 teachers this year.

The Democratic Party has continued to drift to the right with the Blue Dog Democrats in Congress setting the pace in trying to please their corporate masters, and Obama has betrayed even the most feeble promises of change, trying to be a “bipartisan” corporate politician. People demanded real change by electing Obama, but he has been beholden to both big business and the unnecessary “reaching across the aisle” to Republicans. This is due to the big business nature of the Democratic Party.

The right-wing populist, anti-government, anti-Obama Tea Party movement has kept making headlines over the past year. Tea party activists have been influential in the Republican Party’s drive to try to make gains in the 2010 mid-term elections. An April NYT/ABC poll showed 18% of the population identifying themselves as “supporters” of the Tea Party.

A representative of Socialist Alternative debated a representative of the Tea Party movement at the May 8, 2010 Northwest Socialism Conference in Seattle. Watch the video here!

In 2010, there are three corporate candidates for Massachusetts Governor: Deval Patrick, Charlie Baker, and Tim Cahill. All differ on some issues but agree on a basic program: cut, slash and layoff.  Jill Stein, of the Green/Rainbow Party, stands out as being against the big business agenda, for living wage jobs and guaranteed quality health care rather than the Massachusetts mandated insurance scam.

Only a few weeks ago, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced their endorsement and co-founding of a new political party in North Carolina entitled the “North Carolina First” Party (NC First). Currently NC First is petitioning to gain the 85,000 signatures necessary to become a state-recognized political party, an extremely difficult but accomplishable task. On the surface, this looks (and is promoted) to be a bold move by the largest public sector union in the United States to give a stronger voice to working people. Unfortunately, this initiative falls into familiar political trappings.