The Last Marxist

Chris Cutrone discussed his Campaign for a socialist party with Doug Lain and Ashley Frawley with Patreon supporters for Sublation, addressing the task of civil-social organizing and its relation to and danger from the existing ideological “Left.” 

Why I want Kamala to win

Chris Cutrone

Originally presented at a panel discussion on the Left and the 2024 election with Jorge Mujica (Morena) and Eddie Liger Smith (American Communist Party) at the University of Chicago, October 30, 2024. Published in Sublation Magazine, November 1, 2024.

Evidently, cis-gender (straight) white males are the largest market for masochism. They are gluttons for punishment. Also for sadism. At least in fantasy. But I’m not — not so privileged. It’s a turn-off, actually. But, evidently, it turns on so much of politics.

8 years of Trump is enough; 12 might be too much. I have tried to make it into a teachable moment, but if no one has learned by now, they never will. I am not that much of a masochist. There was a viral video early on titled “Stop making me defend Donald Trump.” I am frankly sick of still having to do so. Not defending Trump, but defending the truth against Democratic Party — and mainstream established Republican — lies. As I said earlier this year, if you are in the right, you shouldn’t have to lie. And they have lied about Trump.

I have tried to take Trump as expressing the historical crisis of neoliberalism and potential change in capitalism. I have written entire books about it — a learning opportunity. Evidently, it’s not over yet.

If Trump wins, we could have 8 more years after him of J.D. Vance. If Kamala wins, we nip all that in the bud. — Don’t we? If Trump is stopped, that’s the end of Trumpism, isn’t it? — But won’t Trumpism continue after Trump? Might it be Vance in 4 years for another 8 after all? Who knows? But both are betting on it: one as hope; the other as fear.

One of the candidates is lying more than the other. — They’re both lying.

But in one case I might want the lies to be true — not in the other case.

They blame Trump for COVID. But after Kamala said she would not trust the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine developed under Trump, her Administration forced people to take it. Both the epidemic and the suffering caused by the measures supposed to prevent it increased immeasurably under Biden and Kamala. They also censored any dissent from it. They called this “trusting the science” — and denied any evidence to the contrary. Anthony Fauci came out of retirement a last time to preach shots and masks after getting COVID this year — before falling to a mosquito carrying West Nile Virus.

Kamala is going to “build that wall.” — Do I want that? No. But it might be an inevitability. After all, it started out as a Democrat promise in the Clinton era, contra Republican neoliberal open borders policy. — As late as 2019, Bernie himself said that open borders is not a “policy of the Left” because it undermines workers and strengthens capitalists. But I hope she’s lying about that just to get elected, due to the unpopularity of recent events. — Democratic Party New York City Major Eric Adams was targeted for prosecution after he criticized the Biden Administration’s immigration policies. But I don’t mind the hundreds of Venezuelans and Haitians sheltered in my neighborhood. They actually make me feel more at home amidst all the rich white people. They are here to join the working class — part of any potential future for socialism in the U.S. Perhaps the Democrats let in enough people already, so that now they want to close the door again.

Kamala is running for President as a prosecutor. Do I support that? No. But there has been a reversal, from the promise of criminal justice reform just a few years ago under Trump — when Kamala encouraged “defund the police” protesters and rioters — to a more law-and-order policing mindset — with Trump cast by her as the very quintessence of criminality. But he markets his mugshot grinningly.

Kamala is going to be “strong” on foreign policy, militarily backing both Ukraine and Israel — even as the current Administration’s policies have failed to end both wars — assuming they want to. They’ve trapped Putin in Ukraine and are trying to bleed him dry. And the U.S. is not going to stand in the way of getting rid of Hamas and Hezbollah, especially since the latter are responsible for hundreds of dead Marines, albeit 40 years ago. Their families remember. Trump is derided as dangerously unpredictable and unreliable to U.S. allies. But is he? Trump might not change anything, or even represent changing anything, but Kamala promises more of the same. Trump vows to stop the wars — both of them — and prevent future ones. “Make America Great Again” means making peace. Is it a lie?

Protesters blame Biden and Harris for not controlling Israel. But maybe it’s not about who can control them, but who can be controlled. Netanyahu seems pretty good at playing the U.S. and its politicians. And perhaps Trump is no different. But at least his pride can be hurt, and he will not hide behind apparent institutional and geopolitical insurmountabilities, by which the Democrats unblinkingly and shamelessly justify everything they do — and fail to do. — Is there no alternative — no alternative to “genocide”? But there are genocides, and there are genocides: not all are created equal.

Economically, the Biden Administration has been equally an abject failure, erasing wage gains with inflation. They claim Trump will raise inflation with his tariffs, which is kind of rich coming from them. Trump promises to lower inflation dramatically, specifically by driving down energy costs through supporting fossil fuel production and use. But Kamala says proudly that the U.S. is drilling and pumping oil and gas at levels higher than in Trump’s first term. Not that the Democrats want to bring prices down — no, they want to lower consumption, at least by the working class. People will adapt or die.

Kamala claims that Trump will destroy Obamacare and wreck the already strained U.S. healthcare system. But Trump maintained and expanded it and promises to only improve and not eliminate it. It’s a cost-benefit analysis for him — as it is for her.

Kamala says Trump is supported by the nefarious Project 2025, while Trump disavows it and says his agenda is different. But Obamacare was based on the same healthcare reform proposal that Project 2025’s authors, the Heritage Foundation, had originally drafted.

LGBTQ? But this is a fraught issue, even in the “community.” There are many divisions and conflicts, which the Democrats suppress and pretend don’t exist, to hold their voting constituency together, and which Trump is happy to leave alone, apart from some “common sense conservatism.” He criticized DeSantis for going after Disney on gender. When he was President he even proudly held up a rainbow flag — albeit upside down. But in the meantime that flag has been replaced — by what exactly, no one knows.

Have I left anything out? Oh yeah, “climate change.” But no one wants to hear about that. Not when blowing up Nord Stream 2 released more methane into the atmosphere than anything else on record. Not when not only the U.S. but the world depends on American economic recovery.

I grew up in the 1970s and have heard it all before about environmental catastrophe and capitalism. As back then, it is still now an expression of pessimism and nihilism, appropriate to the political times.

(Abortion cannot Constitutionally be legislated at the national level in the U.S.)

I represent the cause of socialism and Marxism. My interest is not in this election or any other in capitalist politics, but in the task of educating young people in the need to change the world.

To do this takes time and energy, and incredible patience and resilience — which can be tested and even broken, not by long hard struggle, but by silliness and stupidity. What Trump has unleashed in response to him has been stupid and silly — and yet it is in deadly earnest. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a reality I can attest to from personal experience.

Trump has made not himself but his opponents farcical. And yet it is all taken very seriously. They are ugly, not amusing. Clowns can be frightening — especially sadistic clowns. But which ones, and how? Insane Clown Posse endorsed Kamala. Of course they did. The clowns I face are the Democrats. The Republicans are a more distant threat, however real. Yet I have to go unnoticed by the Democrat clowns, and avoid attracting their attention while living under their noses. I’ve lived in Chicago my entire adult life — the town of John Wayne Gacy: unfortunately, it makes all too much sense that he lived here. It is home of International Mr. Leather. Makes sense. Suburban Illinois gave us Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, the disgraced wrestling coach who helped shepherd the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act through Congress — signed by Bill Clinton. Sad clowns, all. Sad in their silliness. Silly in their sadness. Kamala and Walz. Trump and Vance. Ren and Stimpy. Itchy and Scratchy. Cats and dogs — eating each other. But I don’t want to be a target.

I have always said that Trump’s critics have misread him, taking him literally but not seriously enough. Actually, they’ve just lied about him. What they have taken seriously is not Trump but their own preoccupations — their obsessions — and feelings. I am tired of dealing with hurt Democrats. They have made it impossible to think or even to live properly — to feel anything besides anxiety and depression. They have become the most grim humorless people, holding a grudge and seething with anger and a lust for revenge, all while proclaiming “Joy!” at the prospect. And, unlike Trump and his supporters, they actually have the power to act on it. — I don’t want to be a target.

I would like to say that I am bored of it, but really I have gone numb with fear. I am worn out — worn down after more than 8 years. I am not alone. I was never a fan of Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine thesis on “disaster capitalism.” But who can deny that the last gasp of neoliberalism has been just that, and for the last 4 years on the greatest scale yet? But we are not supposed to notice. They are doing it while pretending not to. It’s the denial that’s frightening. Gas-lighting: they are scaring us into submission. And it works. The cowed working class keeps its head down and goes quietly to and from work, thankful for their jobs, just trying to survive it all. Will they register their protest anonymously at the ballot-box? Not nearly enough.

I want Kamala to win so I can get a break from the madness, an end to the intimidation and blackmail, the manipulation and the mind-games. What they promised 4 years ago: getting back to normal — going back to the “new normal.” That is the reason — the only reason — anyone will vote for her. Dare I hope for it? But they have lied about everything else, so why should we believe they’re not lying about this, too? Will they finally leave us alone? The promise of an end to the drama might be enough to elect Kamala. I want it to be true.

But it is a lie. | §