BROOKLYN, January 8—Teachers and their friends had a delicious dinner and an even more scintillating conversation about possible presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and the current elections. This teacher discussion group was focused on the how elections are used by capitalism. We began by discussing how things were going in each other’s schools, getting to know one another, and introducing ourselves. This was the second time for most that they were all meeting, but there were some new people for the first time. We all watched a video on Trump from The Guardian and read CHALLENGE’s July 2015 editorial that discussed Sanders in depth.
One parent, also a school psychologist, provided some insight into the current contradictions in schools when she said that “some kids just aren’t ready for college.” This led into a fruitful discussion about how bosses use education to sort out the working class. Though Sanders promised free college tuition to those who earned the right to go to college, this would actually be used to reinforce the idea that those who didn’t make it into college deserve the struggles, oppression, and exploitation that they get. We identified this policy as racist, because primarily Black and Latin students are excluded from college.
We then connected free college to imperialist war. How? In order to pay for college tuition, Sanders would have to discipline the rich and effectively raise taxes. That way, when the time comes for imperialist war with China and Russia, the U.S. will have the money to fix the U.S.’s failing infrastructure and fund the military. So, if Sanders ever actually provided free college tuition, it may benefit the working class some, but it would actually benefit the bosses more in the long run.
With this in mind, we continued by discussing who was the bigger danger for the working class: a gutter racist like Trump or a left-leaning liberal like Bernie Sanders.
On the surface, it seems that Trump is the main danger. He whips up racism and openly talks about deporting millions of immigrants. A teacher and friend of the Party said that Sanders made a lot of promises and had a lot of appeal, followed up by another friend who said that he gave her hope. A PL’er countered that he still served the ruling class and was a career politician. When it was brought up that he didn’t want to take the Super Pac money, we discussed that he was doing this in order to build his image as against corporations. This is no different than some rappers who refused to sign to a major label in order to maintain his “cred” and ultimately continue to sell lots of albums the way that he had been. Sanders Sanders will not fight against the Democratic Party in the interests of the working class when the rich will be the ones financing him and putting him in the White House. Rather, he will play right into their hands: he pacifies the working class and gets them to work within the system, all the while building for imperialist war.
One PL’er highlighted that Bernie Sanders does not have a pro-worker history. His voting record is not anti-war. Sanders had anti-war protesters arrested when they occupied his office as they were protesting his support for the Bill Clinton’s bombing of Kosovo. He also supports the apartheid state of Israel. In fact, Sanders wants to be commander-in-chief of the most powerful military responsible for millions of deaths in Iraq, Syria, Mexico, El Salvador, Haiti, Vietnam, and so many other countries.  
Many well-meaning anti-racists are lining up to support Sanders because they see him as the lesser evil. CHALLENGE was a major instrument in unmasking Sanders as yet another tool of the imperialists during our discussion. Though not every person there was convinced of the need to build for communist revolution by joining PLP, they did agree to come to our next discussion in February. Small Victory! By getting teachers to consistently come and discuss these important political ideas, we will eventually be able to solidify our understanding of the world as well. We have much to learn from our friends just as they have much to learn from us.
All politicians are masters of war, or aspiring to be. “Come you masters of war, you that hide behind desks. I just want you to know I can see through your masks” Sanders is just another politician in a long line of misleaders who wears a worker-friendly mask. Support working-class struggle, not politicians and their war agendas. Learn to fight, fight to learn!