The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Clinton vs. Obama—A Race to Serve Big Business

Dec 3, 2007

The big news on the Democrats’ side of things is the race in the polls between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Behind that scene is the race for campaign money.

Through the third quarter of this year, Clinton and Obama had each received over 75 million dollars in contributions. Whatever both claim in terms of getting lots of little donations, both are funded by Big Business.

It is no surprise then that both stand for positions that benefit only Big Business. In one way or another the financial groups that tore up the mortgage markets are looking to put their hands on the Social Security trust fund. Both Clinton and Obama let it be known that they think “something needs to be done about Social Security.” And that something clearly means handing part of it over to Wall Street.

Both want to tap into the sentiment against the war in Iraq, but neither proposes anything like getting out immediately. Both say the U.S. has interests it has to defend in the Middle East. Those interests are OIL!

It’s usually the case that the Republicans get more money from Big Business. If there’s a shift this time it is simply because Big Business knows the Republican Party is so discredited that the Democrats, whether Clinton, Obama, or someone else, can do a better job of fooling people.

No matter which of these candidates wins, no matter whether Republican or Democrat, the next administration will continue to tap government coffers to give it to business, while cutting government services to working people.

That is–until working people get themselves into position to make their voices heard.

The workers’ power is in the streets, not in the voting booth.