Communist Party chief: U.S. on road to socialism

[Dan]

This Low Life maget Calls Obama 'friend' who will redefine government to favor 'working people'.

Sen. Barack Obama is a "friend" of the left who will make important changes to the U.S., including a hoped-for trillion-dollar stimulus package focused on low-income families as well as a reconfiguring of the role and function of the American government and corporations to favor working people, according to the leader of the Communist Party USA.

In a major speech focused on Obama, titled "A Springtime of Possibility," CPUSA leader Sam Webb declared the U.S. is now "on the road to socialism."

Webb defined socialism as a "society that is egalitarian in the rough sense, eliminates exploitation of working people, brings an end to all forms of oppression, and is notable for the many-layered participation of working people and their allies in the management of the economy and state."

In the speech, delivered at the CPUSA's national convention Nov. 15 and posted on the party's website, Webb stated it is "no exaggeration" to call Obama's victory a "sea change."

He referred to last month's election as a "rout of right-wing extremism, a reaffirmation of the decency of our country and people, a leap forward on freedom road and a people's mandate for change.
"A sense of joy, catharsis and renewal is in the air," said Webb. "Expectations are high. A new era of progressive change is waiting to become a reality. If the past eight years of the Bush administration seemed like a winter of discontent, Obama's ascendancy to the presidency feels like a springtime of possibility."

He continued: "The left can and should advance its own views and disagree with the Obama administration without being disagreeable. Its tone should be respectful. We are speaking to a friend. When the administration and Congress take positive initiatives, they should be wholeheartedly welcomed. Nor should anyone think that everything will be done in 100 days. After all, main elements of the New Deal were codified into law in 1935, 1936 and 1937."

During the speech, Webb repeatedly referred to the U.S. as "imperialist." He called on Obama to shrink the military and the country's nuclear weapons arsenal while redefining the role of the U.S. role in the global community.

"I mean a reconfiguring of the role and functions of government and corporations so that they favor working people, the racially and nationally oppressed, women, youth, seniors, small business people and other social groupings," Webb clarified.

"Obama wants to be a people's reformer," said Webb. "In time he hopes to make substantive changes in health care, housing, education, retirement security, energy, environment, urban affairs, race and gender relations, foreign relations, and popular participation in public affairs. If the last 30 years was an era of people's retrenchment, Obama sees the years ahead as an era of substantial people's reforms."

Webb called on Obama to push through a trillion-dollar stimulus package:

"The Bush administration doesn't understand this, but the Obama administration does and with congressional support it will take quick action," the communist leader said. "We can expect, and should fully support, an administration stimulus package that includes, among other things, extension of unemployment compensation, assistance to distressed homeowners, aid to states and municipalities, food stamp extension, infrastructure construction, and so forth. The only unresolved question is how large a stimulus package. In our view, it should be the range of a trillion dollars or more."


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