8-31-06, 9:30 a.m.

Four score and seven years ago, the Communist Party came into being. There have been many successes and several defeats in those 87 years, but the CPUSA remains an active, vital force on the left. The party was born in Chicago during the last week in August and the first week in September of 1919 in the form of two organizations: the Communist Party of America, and the Communist Labor Party. They would later unite at a convention in 1921. The founding members had come largely from the left-wing of the old Socialist Party. Although Eugene V. Debs had come to personify the old Socialist Party in the minds of many, he actually had little role in its organizational affairs. The Socialist Party's top-tier leadership was epitomized by individuals like Victor Berger, who was considerably more to the right than was Debs. The Russian Revolution of 1917 inspired many US socialists who gathered together to form an organized left-wing of the Socialist Party. Prominent in this endeavor was journalist John Reed, whose book 'Ten Days That Shook The World,' brought first-hand reportage of the revolution to readers in the US and throughout the world. Although they were united in their critique of the Socialist Party as being too conservative on a great many issues of the day, the left-wing was divided on the issue of tactics; specifically, whether to found an explicitly Communist party, or whether to attempt to win through with its program at the Socialist Party's forthcoming convention in Chicago. As subjective as this tactical issue was, both sides had compelling arguments. There is no question today, with the benefit of history, that the left-wing could have easily won through with a revolutionary program for the Socialist Party were it not for the fact that Berger and other right-wing socialists used bureaucratic methods to expel entire state organizations that were sympathetic to the left-wing. However, it is likewise clear with hindsight that right-wing socialists had their hands on the gears of the Socialist Party machinery. The Communist Labor Party, which included John Reed and which had argued for defeating the right-wing at the Socialist Party's convention, was formed on August 31, 1919. The Communist Party of America, which included many of the old Socialist Party's foreign language federations and several state organizations, was formed the following day. Almost immediately, the new Communist movement and other progressive organizations became the target of government repression. Raids throughout the United States were organized by the US Justice Department and the Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer. Assisting Palmer in this repressive effort was a 24 year old Justice Department staff member named J. Edgar Hoover. Within two decades of these raids, the CPUSA had become the largest, best organized, and most active force on the left of US politics. The Party was instrumental in union organizing drives, particularly in the CIO. Many college campuses had thriving Young Communist League branches, and many elements of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal initiative had been advocated for years by the CPUSA. Internationally, Party leaders and members were active in opposing the fascism of Spain's Francisco Franco, and were part of the international brigades there. The US contingent was organized as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and Party and YCL members fought, and many died, in this effort. These 'premature anti-fascists' have never fully received their due. Many other Party members served honorably in the US armed forces following the declaration of war against Japan on December 7, 1941. The late CPUSA leader Robert Thompson was decorated as a hero for his war efforts; he would later suffer a fractured skull at the hands of an inmate during his imprisonment during the era of McCarthyism. The phenomenon of McCarthyism must be seen against the backdrop of what US policy makers viewed as a threat to its imperial aspirations for empire. With the end of World War II, many nations in central, southern and eastern Europe had governments in which the Communist Party was either a leading or significant force. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed in the most populous nation on earth. The indictment of eleven members of the CPUSA's national board was not for any acts of terrorism or subversion. The formal indictment accused the CPUSA of 'conspiracy to teach and advocate the overthrow of the US government.' That is to say, they were accused of thinking of teaching -- and the material used by the government to support the indictment was not secret or covert messages -- but the works of Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin which then, as now, are available in most well-stocked public libraries. The actions of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy can today be seen as the actions of a demagogue and opportunist whose investigative methods were shoddy and bore a greater resemblance to the Salem witch hunt than to any methodical inquiry. Aided and abetted by his truly reptilian counsel, Roy Cohn, McCarthy tarred and feathered with relative impunity until, in his megalomania, he attempted to take on the United States Army. McCarthy was later censured by the Senate and died of alcohol-related causes. Roy Cohn continued his legal career before he was disbarred for ethics violations. He died of AIDS in 1986. The McCarthy era did give rise to several repressive laws, most notably the McCarran Act, which -- along with related anti-Communist laws -- was found to be unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. Nevertheless, many national and district Party leaders served prison terms or lost their jobs. The late CPUSA national chairman Henry Winston developed a brain tumor during his imprisonment. Prison officials, believing he was faking illness, neglected his health and he ultimately suffered loss of his sight ('but not my vision,' as he would say) before being pardoned by President John F. Kennedy. During the 1960's and 1970's, the CPUSA played a major part in the movements to broaden civil rights, eliminate racism, and end US military involvement in Vietnam. The effectiveness of the Party's policies was dramatized by the FBI's efforts to disrupt the Party and the broader progressive movements in their now infamous COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program) initiative. As always, throughout its history, the CPUSA has consistently fought on issues of interest to the US working class. The right of labor to organize; the right to a living wage; the right to full benefits -- matters that are at the heart of quality of life. The Party from its inception has promoted working class unity and mobilized against the anti-labor offensive of the Reagan administration -- and the ultra-right of today. Our partisanship on the side of the working class isn't limited to domestic concerns. We have been, and remain, staunch defenders of working class interests internationally. On May 1, 1983 -- at almost the midpoint of the Reagan administration -- the Young Communist League, USA was reconstituted. During the past twenty-three years, the YCL has been at the forefront of every major issue impacting our youth. At its convention this past summer, hundreds of delegates and invited guests proudly proclaimed their militant stand for socialism and against the corporate-dominated, callous and reactionary policies of the Bush administration and the ultra-right. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990's, many political commentators went on record as predicting the demise of the CPUSA. Today, six years into the 21st century, it is clear those predictions were wrong. They were wrong because the CPUSA has always based itself on the political realities and conditions confronting our working class. They were wrong because scientific socialism, Marxism-Leninism, understands the dynamics of change. They were wrong because socialism is a vastly more humane and democratic alternative to the autocracy of corporate board rooms-cum-Bush administration policies. Socialism isn't to blame for unemployment. Capitalism has accomplished that. Socialism isn't to blame for high gas prices. Capitalism has made that happen. Socialism isn't behind government surveillance on telephones and bedrooms. The Bush administration has done that. Socialism isn't kicking families out of their homes. The banks and insurance corporations are doing that. Socialism isn't rigging elections. The ultra-right has done that. In June of 2005, some 600 delegates and friends gathered in Chicago for the CPUSA's most recent national convention. Many issues were discussed and debated in a lively manner. By the convention's conclusion, these same people went back home with a unity of purpose. Today's Communists, as those of former generations, are dedicated and committed men and women, young and old, from all racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds who are deeply involved in the issues affecting our country. We bring our experiences in the streets, the shops, the schools, and the office to bear in our daily efforts. The CPUSA isn't getting older, we're getting better.