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Why it Must Be All-Out for 10/2/10 By Mark Solomon About three years ago Portside posted an article, "Let's Build The Mother of All Coalitions." The article stressed the urgent need to end the near-fatal fragmentation of progressive movements. It called for a unified, coherent and effective coalition to counteract the dangerous growth of the right wing and to finally offer a focused multi-issue vision and program to win a latent progressive majority to engagement in battle for a better country and world. That "mother of all coalitions" was projected as the powerful independent force fully capable of imposing upon the political system progressive policies and programs. With shared resources, it would generate ideas to deal with growing multifaceted crises. It would tackle the political and cultural barriers that impede multiracial and multi-class unity. In short, it would constitute the broad social movement that is absolutely required to beat back reaction and overcome corporate-military control of government. The "One Nation Working Together" rally in Washington, D.C. on October 10 is the best moment yet to create that unbeatable alliance. It's an historic collaboration of organizations across the political and social landscape - the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, United for Peace and Justice, the US Student Association, the National Council of La Raza and scores of other groups. The organizers have promised that the massive rally will be the start of ongoing coalition to impact the country's political and social life. This fleeting moment to finally build the coalition of the progressive majority must not be allowed to slip away. Far too much is at stake. - The alarming growth of the far right portends a lethal brand of native fascism spawned by nagging economic crisis and festering racism. - A persistent, grating crisis of unemployment now affects vast numbers beyond the official 9.5 percent joblessness figures. As many as 30 million or more are impacted by the frightening prospect of joblessness, home foreclosure, schools ridden by fiscal crisis and skyrocketing costs of health care. - By virtually every scientific measure, an environmental catastrophe is upon us, bringing drastic changes in weather patterns, rising water temperatures, ferocious storms, drastic disruption of agriculture and increasing health hazards. - Incarceration and deportation of over 350,000 immigrants is a growing scandal that is undermining basic constitutional protection for all. - A simmering war in Iraq, a rising tide of military and civilian deaths in Afghanistan in an intractable, un-winnable war, new US bases in Latin America - all signal an endless train of "long wars" with vast profits for military industries and deepening misery for civilian populations, including ours. Those crises are deeply interconnected and cannot be dealt with separately. That compelling reality requires that progressives act together. The jobless crisis is structural and political. It is driven by the export of jobs under globalization, by technological change and by ruthless corporate attacks on labor. That requires a vast economic restructuring built upon the creation by government of millions of "green jobs" to tackle the environmental crisis. That also entails an end to the massive drain of the nation's resources in wars and in proliferating military bases around the world. It's time to build a new majority social movement based upon the inseparability of issues and upon the mobilization and cooperation of all sectors of the progressive community. There are disagreements among progressives in assessing the current Obama administration. But there is also a strong consensus that as in the past, a compelling grass roots social movement is required to move the administration and set the country on a path of saving and expanding democracy. It's time to come to Washington to massively display the power of that emerging coalition; to swamp the Glen Beck August 23 charade by producing far greater numbers. It's time to beat back the Tea Party challenge in the coming elections. It's time to utilize a successful 10/2/10 rally to spark a permanent winning coalition of all progressive forces. _____________________________________________ Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it. Submit via email: [log in to unmask] Submit via the Web: portside.org/submit Frequently asked questions: portside.org/faq Subscribe: portside.org/subscribe Unsubscribe: portside.org/unsubscribe Account assistance: portside.org/contact Search the archives: portside.org/archive