Scott Horton Interviews Kevin Zeese
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Kevin Zeese, Executive Director and co-founder of VotersForPeace, discusses why the Antiwar movement needs to dissociate from the major political parties, how popular pressure really does affect change, the cozy relationship between corporate media and the defense industry and how creating an effective antiwar movement requires rethinking previous failures and realistically assessing the (very formidable) opposition.
MP3 here. (20:54)
Kevin Zeese is the Executive Director and co-founder of VotersForPeace. Zeese also served as the Executive Director of Democracy Rising, is an attorney, and a long term peace advocate. Zeese took a leave from VotersForPeace for most of 2006 while he was running for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. Zeese was a founding member of the Montgmery County Coalition Against the War in Maryland and has worked with various non-profit organizations on peace, justice, and democracy issues since 1978.
E. A. Costa
August 9th, 2010 at 4:26 am
Another Naderite shill then, or genuine Green Party?
eCAHNomics
August 9th, 2010 at 6:20 am
You'll never get the people's agenda on the table under the U.S. winner-take-all voting system. Proportional reps might do it. Seen Steven Hill's books on the subject.
eCAHNomics
August 9th, 2010 at 6:27 am
Demonstrations didn't work during VN either. The only thing that got the U.S. out of VN was a decisive loss whereupon U.S.ians had to leave from helicopters on the roof of the embassy.
Not saying anti-war stuff shouldn't be continued; just saying it won't ever succeed.
Good luck
August 9th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Anti war groups are not compatible. Cindy Sheehan + David Duke? Westboro Baptist Church + Veterans Against the War. Group Hug! Actually Duke is in many ways more reasonable than the left, even writing nice things about Cynthia McKinney(which was a shock to me). The war party on the other hand does not care who you are if you support the war. Neo Nazi, No Problem. Does the ADL have a problem with Nazi gun slingers in Afghanistan, Nooooo. Barely a mention from SPLC if any.
The Dutch Freedom party, anti immigrant/pro Israel, put the fear into Dutch politics and they bailed on the Afghan project.
Racists are marginal? Anti Muslim bigots are the core of the war party. If you divide any group into small factions, they all seem marginal. Since it seems 'white racists' are doing the heavy lifting in the war and are anti war (for antisemitic reasons mostly) they are a key group.
Canada? Someone needs to explain why Canada bolted. I really want to know.
If got BNP one a single seat in Parliament and Respect(George Galloway) held his seat the British would be looking to bolt too. When the BNP leader came to America to talk to an anti immigrant conference the 'left' actually threatened the hotel with violence and shut the conference down. Needless to say United Anti Fascists were very effective against BNP, but showed no interest in helping George Galloway.
It would seem feminists either don't care or are in favor of the war. Ms Magazine still has their pink fist logo, they are in a tizzy about woman's rights in Iran.
When the Green Party got actual power in Germany they had no interest in stopping the war in the Balkans.
E. A. Costa
August 9th, 2010 at 8:54 am
"Demonstrations didn't work during VN either"
That is only half true. Kent State changed all of that to a large degree.
But you are right about the rest. It was complex of many events.
By the way, Raimondo's absurdity in one of is essays that it was the US "Trotskyites" who engineered some very effective anti-Vietnam antiwar umbrella, is a laugh and a half.
All he establishes with such ideological nonsense is that either he was not there, or if he was, he had no idea what was going on.
E. A. Costa
August 9th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Slavoj Zizek is very insightful on this topic.
lesterness
August 10th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Racism is the typical American vice. Nearly all of us have some in us.
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August 14th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
[...] of Kevin Zeese, head of Voters for Peace – and some pretty articulate arguments made by both Zeese and Medea Benjamin on behalf of the left-right strategy, proves that the conference was more than [...]
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[...] of Kevin Zeese, head of Voters for Peace – and some pretty articulate arguments made by both Zeese and Medea Benjamin on behalf of the left-right strategy, proves that the conference was more than [...]