Bob Avakian, leader the Revolutionary Communist Party of the United States (REVCOM), was a member of the ’60s and ’70s radical group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and a founding member of the group Refuse Fascism, one of the primary driving forces behind Antifa. On Aug 1, 2020, REVCOM posted an Avakian e-mail picked up by several news sites with the following headlines:
• The Washington Times: “Revolutionary Communist Party leader backs Biden.”
• Breitbart: “Communist Party Leader Endorses Joe Biden.”
• Fox: “Revolutionary Communist Party USA leader endorses Biden, warns followers against ‘protest vote.’”
• Even Gary Leupp, in the ultra-left CounterPunch, commented on it: “The RCP, Fascism, and Chairman Bob’s Endorsement of Biden for President.”
The takeaway from these headlines is that Bob Avakian’s e-mail is an endorsement of Joe Biden for president. One of the most quoted passages in Avakian’s email is this: “To be clear, this means not a ‘protest vote’ for some candidate who has no chance of winning, but actually voting for the Democratic Party candidate, Biden, in order to effectively vote against Trump.”
Another passage states:
To approach this Election from the standpoint of which candidate is “better” means failing to understand the truly profound stakes and potential consequences of what is involved. The fact is that there can be one — and only one — “good” that can come out of this Election: delivering a decisive defeat to Trump and the whole fascist regime.
Further reading shows that a Biden presidency is not actually Avakian’s goal, as another post in CounterPunch, authored by Larry Everest, clearly states: “No, Bob Avakian has not ‘endorsed’ Joe Biden, as the rightwing media reported.”
Following the oft-quoted “Biden endorsement” paragraphs, Avakian spoke his real message:
Whatever happens with the election — and even if Biden wins and succeeds in actually taking office — there will be no “return to normalcy.” First of all, the fascists — those still in powerful positions, and the fascist “base” in the wider society — will not allow it. And, in any case, no one should want it.
In this extraordinary and very complex situation — and from the point of view of advancing the struggle toward the goal of finally eliminating all exploitation and oppression, everywhere — there is an urgent need to do all of that, and to do so with an understanding of the correct and necessary relation between the different parts of this overall approach: putting the main emphasis and reliance on mass mobilization, with voting in this extraordinary situation necessary and important but not the main thing to be relied upon; and, in fundamental terms, making all this contribute to creating more favorable conditions for, and building up the organized forces for, not only resisting the crimes of this system but finally carrying out the revolution that is needed in order to put an end to this monstrously criminal system and its domination in the world, in any form.
Those media outlets also overlooked Avakian’s comment in his book, The New Communism, where he wrote, “Let’s get down to basics: We need a revolution. Anything else, in the final analysis, is bullsh*t.”
In a 2012 speech Avakian, explained his definition of “revolution”: “An actual revolution does not mean trying to make some changes within this system — it means overthrowing this system and bringing into being a radically different and far better system.”
Avakian’s opinion matters because his REVCOM is working with Refuse Fascism to “Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution.” Refuse Fascism has participated in dozens of riots across the nation, and its funding sources run the full gamut of Marxist/globalist groups including the Tides Foundation, The Alliance for Global Justice, and the Open Society Foundations.
REVCOM initiated the September 5 riots in several cities across the United States and is now calling for more riots starting today:
Waiting for or relying on the upcoming Election alone — an election Trump is already sabotaging and refusing to be bound by — to remove this regime is not just irresponsible. It is complicity.
We must rise now, as millions did earlier this year for Black lives, uniting and preparing to struggle with all we’ve got to oust this fascist regime and bring its program to a halt. Our actions must lead into an October of people from many different backgrounds and viewpoints coming together week after week, day after day, in growing continuing nonviolent protests that do not stop until this demand is met: TRUMP/PENCE OUT NOW!
In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!
No words can symbolize REVCOM and Avakian better than those spoken by one of Avakian’s SDS fellow travelers: “The issue is never the issue; the issue is always the revolution.”
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