Socialism is the collective ownership by all the people of the factories, mills, mines, railroads, land and all other instruments of production.
Huge hat tip to my good friend Dan Curry at Reverse Spin for this story.
Rich Whitney, Illinois' Green Party candidate, has been getting a lot of attention lately because his standing in the latest polls in the Illinois' gubernatorial race has him in double-digits.
The Greens' base of support is on the Left, however, as a strong supporter of gun-owners' rights, Whitney has attracted some conservative support.
Whitney is elusive about his history. And it's obvious why that is. For 18 years, Whitney was a member of the Socialist Labor Party of America. Being a former Socialist is not a sin, after all, David Horowitz is a former Communist. People have a right to change their minds and let their beliefs evolve. America is a forgiving nation, but not so much to those who hide their past.
From a letter-to-the-editor to the Illinois Times:
There are two types of lies: lies of commission and lies of omission. Green Party gubernatorial candidate Richard Whitney told little green lies of both types when Terry Martin of the Illinois Channel asked him two direct questions during a recently televised interview: "What is your history? What party have you identified with over your adult life?"
To these questions Whitney replied: "I’ve always been independent-minded. I’ve never been a member of the Democratic or Republican parties. . . . I actually have been a Green for over 10 years now, because I helped found . . . our local in 1996 . . . . I’ve been always very much involved in third-party kind of politics in trying to get us out of this stranglehold of the two party system.” (Watch the video at http://www.whitneyforgov.org)
Fact is that the 51-year-old candidate and 10-year veteran of the Green Party belonged to the Socialist Labor Party for 18 years, from 1975 until 1993. There’s nothing wrong with being a Socialist, at least I don’t think so. There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind about being a Socialist. However, there is something wrong about a candidate asking for your trust while concealing the truth when asked: "What is your history? What party have you identified with over your adult life?"
Green and yellow really do go together.
Robert Bills
National secretary
Socialist Labor Party of America
Running for political office as a Socialist, or an ex-Socialist, is viewed as a liability. Richard M. Nixon--in his first electoral contest--hounded his opponent, Congressman Jerry Voorhis, into political oblivion partly because Voorhis was an admitted ex-Socialist.
Curry uncovered this snippet of Socialist-era Whitney in a 1989 resolution sponsored by the future Green:
Capitalism has not triumphed over socialism, nor has it proved to be a superior system. Its real battle with socialism has yet to be fought. And capitalism’s own disintegration is increasingly demonstrating that it must give way to a higher, superior form of social organization—socialism—if the human race is to survive and flourish.
Fraternally submitted,
[signed] RICHARD WHITNEY
Delegate
Okay, Rich, open up about your past.
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