John Bachtell, former national committee chairperson of CPUSA, continues the party's decades long tradition of making shit up to discredit the left's greatest accomplishments. Liberals hate that Stalin and the greater communist movement destroyed the independence of Ukraine's ruling class and brought an end to the centuries of antisemitic violence they used to preserve their power.
SMDH my dickhead.
Check this shit out @Alaskaball@hexbear.net
Stalin was a very famous russian chauvinist. you can tell it simply by his name : Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, the most RUZZIAN of names
I remember he did get into some spat with Lenin once where Lenin accused him of being a "Great Russia Chauvinist" but it could've been exaggerated and I'm not going to pretend to know about ethnic relations in late imperial Russia/early USSR.
Not really. It was common after 1956. Even Sankara said anti-Stalin things and John Bachtell, I believe, is from that era.
Huge difference between just criticising Stalin and endorsing "holodomor", literal nazi propaganda. Or calling the relationship the soviets had with ukraine "colonialism".
It absolutely reeks.
I'm aware, and John Bachtell has gotten into trouble for making these sorts of comment; including almost getting expelled on at least one particular occasion by Joe Sims and the gang.
I surmise that, at least since the 70s/80s era, he was never really a fan of Stalin, since the general opinion of the Stalin years was fuzzy during that era, and after 1991 he started to believe a lot of things from the mainstream media.
It should be noted that the main Twitter account discounts the "Holodomor."
This is precisely what I'm getting at with the ""communist"" part and my pointing out how sus it is. This isn't the mindset or behaviour of someone without brainworms, and it stinks of anticommunism if anything. I wouldn't trust this guy with anything important.
If you took that to be me attacking the party, it's not. This is just something that needs to be fought and cleared out.
I can't say much, all I can say is the years of FBI surveillance and ostracism have been hard, and I imagine that John Bachtell has been reprimanded before for this behavior and there's a good reason why he was ousted from leadership.
I assure you, we're no stranger to, say, fighting PatSocs, for example, and we'll fight other internal battles as well (though the PatSocs are more an example of interloping entryists from outside).
This is such an ahistorical take. Not even something that requires a deep dive, a cursory glance of the Wikipedia page for Ukraine shows it’s nonsense to describe the relationship between the two countries as “colonial.”
Everything that happened between 1917 and 1990, in Russia, was Colonialist. Then they got a brief reprieve during the period in which Gorbachev and Yeltsin brought the liberating free market energy of Fukuyama's End of History capitalism into the heart of the Soviet Union and everything was cool until, idk, 2010 maybe? But once Putin put on the One Ring and joined House Slytherin, he fell to the Dark Side of the Force and was corrupted by the Infiniti Stones. That's when the evil Russian colonialism started again. And so now we're in a Glorious Liberal Crusade to free all the Lost Peoples of Eastern Europe from the tyranny of the Russian Oligarchs.
If you're a Real Leftist who has accepted the Spirit of Woke into your heart, you'll hear the call of the Horn of Gondor and Avengers Assemble online to tell all those Russian Bots to Get Off My Plane. Because we're not anything like the Old America of that Evil Tyrant Trump. We're New America and we're Fighting The Good Fight. Ignore Wikipedia. That's propaganda. Don't trust it. Trust me, the guy who is on the internet right now. Ukraine is Good and Russia is Evil. If you don't pick the right side, we'll know that you're an Ork and its okay for us to do literally anything to you as a result.
Everything before 1917? That was princess Anastasia having really cute ballroom dancing parties.
I know @Pluto@hexbear.net is a member here. Any thoughts on this?
@Pluto@hexbear.net I'm interested to hear your thoughts too. Why is John doing this?
Not Pluto, but there is a vast disconnect between many local CPUSA and the national group. There are often proper commies locally and incoherent popular front liberals nationally. There is no real program or coherent line, so there are also nazbols and shit in some local groups.
This can be maintained precisely because nobody wants to be associated with national's liberalism. If folks joined en masse and stomached it for a few years, the party could be made communist again. Some folks, like JT from Second Thought, are trying to do that reform (with limited success unfortunately).
"Not Pluto, but there is a vast disconnect between many local CPUSA and the national group."
There is not.
And I myself am but an extension of the democratic command of the National Committee.
"so there are also nazbols and shit in some local groups."
We keep kicking out PatSocs; we are the main victims of the PatSocs, as they come in to infiltrate and try and take us over and attack trans comrades and neurodivergent comrades.
"If folks joined en masse and stomached it for a few years,"
All I can say is that I do not condone entryism, especially as the PatSocs are doing just that right now.
"the party could be made communist again"
It already is Marxist-Leninist per our Party Program and Constitution as well as National Committee.
As someone that knows several CPUSA members across 5 states I can absolutely tell you that the disconnect is real and that national is liberal as shit, not M-L. Their popular front stance is not reluctant, you can tell by leadership's overall behaviors.
Also your argument about entryism really just undercuts telling anyone to ever join, as the reform movement is the only thing I could ever use to get a communist to join it rather than another org. I'll resume being reticent to suggest this.
As someone that knows more than several CPUSA members, I can tell you that that is not the case.
And the United Front is becoming more popular as time has gone on.
No, I am not reticent on the last point, to be clear: if you don't agree with the CPUSA's Party Program and Constitution as well as general politics then please join another organization or start your own, please.
It's bad enough that PatSocs are trying to take us over and we have to continually fight them off and harassing people like myself and other comrades.
Entryism is absolutely wrong.
Just providing informed feedback, which I'll also refrain from going forward. Most folks just ignore and joke about the party. I thought this might be more comradely, but it's clearly unwanted.
No, I do not condone entryism, I'm sorry.
We've had many trans comrades harassed by PatSocs and entryism opens up people like that to our org, which I don't want any further. Again, I'm sorry, but while I have nothing against you, I cannot condone that, and entryism, to me, even without the PatSoc factor, is morally wrong.
As an outsider, just to be clear, your behavior here has firmly reinforced my resolve that I will absolutely never consider joining your party. You should probably refrain from speaking publicly on behalf of your party if you're interested in getting new members.
You will find that comrade to be extremely resistant to criticism of their party, regardless of your good intentions.
Is it Bachtell?
Hold on.
I'm seeing just the tagged comments. Wait.
Yeah, I heard Bachtell caused trouble against about Russia even though he was almost expelled for the last article. Hold on.
I assumed that the FBI stopped bothering. They basically finished the job.
At this point it's tradition. They probably get a challenge coin after doing their CPUSA disruption assignment.
The Old Party had a illustrious history from its Founding to the passing of Gus Hall. At it was a party of the people, many stories of its accomplishments weren't bombastic nor grand, like how the bourgeoise media presents the political parties, but are the stories of the accomplishments of the working class. These stories range from helping black families chased out of their homes by segregationist red-liners find both temporary and later permanent housing, to helping to build unions that still stand today. If America was at war, you could count on the old party to protest against it as the vanguard for peace in ending U.S hostilities.
It had its flaws - as any communist party does - but from Ruthenberg to Hall the party was on the right side of history
We did not; we fought against segregation and fought for the Scottsboro boys most famously.
We were one of the first ones to be against segregation.
W.E.B. DuBois was a member of the CPUSA.
Perhaps you're referring to the Socialist Labor Party?
Or the AFL (before it turned into the AFL-CIO)?
(I don't mean to besmirch either though.)
Perhaps you’re referring to the Socialist Labor Party?
Probably. I'm not from US so I don't know much about its organizations.
I don’t mean to besmirch either though.
Absolutely. I was wrong. I haven't any right to say shit about other people's organisations without knowing about them.
It's understandable.
People smack-talk CPUSA all the time, but nobody knows our history beyond Settlers by J. Sakai and the other book Black Bolshevik by Harry Haywood.
So, anyway, I admire you saying that last part. 🤝
They were okay in the 1930s-40s. They weren't segregated but in the 20s they were the image of crackkker incompetence trying to organize with black people (most often attempting to organize on behalf of black people, failing to build power by embedding with and growing from the workers). They did learn lessons and course-correct, though.
Actually, we had quite a few prominent Black members since the 1920s.
Mostly the late 1920s, but sure. CPUSA still only had a few hundred black members during this period and did a poor job organizing with black workers at the time. A good book on this topic is Hammer and Hoe, where it tells the story of eventual success of Marxian organizing with and by black Americans including by CPUSA and their notorious work in Alabama.
If you've only read Black Bolshevik, Hammer and Hoe, and Settlers by Sakai you will have a warped perception of CPUSA history.
And the work in Alabama was not "notorious."
Look at figures like Claudia Jones and W. Alphaeus Hunton.
It's not that simple as you are suggesting, especially going by the book.
Also, Hammer and Hoe is limited in this regard and goes against CPUSA historiography, which even says that they proposed a Black Belt republic.
It's no business of mine, but I'd like to know what made you decide to leave?
You can tell me here or in DM, idc
Also, yeah, John Bachtell was ousted from leadership due to stuff like this.
We kinda hate him in the CPUSA, though I know a friend that likes him personally and knows him.
But yeah, I'm glad that Joe Sims replaced 'em.
Interesting. I've met him before. He is a nice guy. I haven't learned anything about Joe Sims yet. If you've got the time, could you post a link to any writing by him, or a video that you think is good?
I enjoyed the writing he did where he lays out his opinions on the dictatorship of the proletariat, Marxism-Leninism, and his opinion on Soviet legality.
Remember the last time I've posted about CPUSA in one of the megas? if not then here's something from there
As I mentioned I
enjoyed 
the part where he says soviet justice is more evil than sharia lawThis is barely different than talking about communism with my boomer dad. If he doesn't already know what you're talking about he just assumes whatever you said is completely insane. In my dad's defense, he's never read anything about communism. I'm gonna hold Sims to a higher standard.
Edit: I thought you were serious when you said you liked his writing. Good god.
I thought you were serious when you said you liked his writing. Good god
I'd rather be caught naked in times square than try and reconciliate my beliefs with those held by that bidencrat and his cronies
Side note, I just remembered we've actually had a similar conversation about these folks like two years back, where you mentioned meeting Mr. and Ms. Bachtell for lunch. You even cracked a joke about being a big cheese in the revisionist world because of it lmao
Lol. I remember that conversation. I'm reaching Kruschev levels of revisionism now.
Wait, are you talking about John Bachtell?
'Cause I like Joe Sims and Rosanna Cambron compared to him; in fact, I really like Joe Sims especially.
This is one of my favorite pieces my him.
But I've heard his other talks weekly, though never saved them, but this one set an impression with me during the meet with the CPC.
I did like that. I think it's cool that CPUSA is engaging with Chinese communists despite the political environment here. He might be a little optimistic about the existence of a broad antifascist alliance that includes both CPUSA and the democratic party. I still forsee a plea to vote for dems.
I, myself, do not on that last part.
And we do run our own candidates.
FYI I don't think pings work in posts. Only comments.
Also John Bachtell is president of Long View Publishing Co., the publisher of People's World.
Damn, that seems like a solid site, too. Guess the people working under him are cool at least.
I would say most of the rank-and-file and most of National Committee is cool, but you get people that you find disagreeable, imho.
Not exactly great advertisement for CPUSA. This clown was in national leadership? Is he still in the org?
Repeating Nazi propaganda like this doesn't get you expelled? Wtf?
The problem is: it's not known as Nazi propaganda and John's one that tends to believe the MSM since at least, say, 1991 or thereabouts.
I really don't know much about CPUSA in its current form other than the jokes and whatnot, but this sucks man
This is a comment you would expect to see on r/worldnews, not coming from a ML party
Eh, I'm used to it. The years, ostracism, and FBI surveillance have taken it's toll. I believe my own D.O. is nearing 90 years-old.
Dang. Well
I hope you're doing some good work in there
I'm very sorry. There's people like Joe Sims and then there's other people. John ousted Sam Webb and so he's respected for that, but it's hard to get rid of your friends sometimes.
So it goes with the National Committee, which have many good people in it (and those I disagree with), but the years have taken their toll
The General Secretary till 2014 also left abruptly and became a DNC staffer.
Not to be ASPD but this guy barely registers to me as a real person. I just see no reason to value him. Look at this man who has a pure void of tone, style, values worth a shit etc. and tell me he wasn't paid to be here somehow
🌽 🌽 🌽
