“Fighting for Jobs Against Republican Obstructionism” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on June 11, 2010. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

Editor’s note: Below is an excerpted and slightly edited portion of Sam Webb’s main political report to the Communist Party’s national convention held last month. Read the full speech at CPUSA.org.

In the past, I said we are entering an era of reforms and possibly radical reforms. In hindsight, I overstated the nature of the election victory. The right, while undeniably weakened, wasn’t decisively defeated. That remains to be done.

“Mass Movement Building in the Obama Era” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on June 10, 2010. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from the main political report delivered to the Communist Party USA’s 29th national convention, held in New York city on May 22. Sam Webb chairs the CPUSA. The full report, titled “A way out of the deepening crisis,” can be found at CPUSA.org

What a difference between now and five years ago when we convened in Chicago!

“Eight Rough and Random Thoughts on Socialism” first appeared on  PoliticalAffairs.net on April 22, 2010. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

(1) Socialism has its material roots in the inability of capitalism to solve humanity’s problems. Working people gravitate toward a radical critique of society out of necessity, out of a sense that the existing arrangements of society (people don’t necessarily call it capitalism) fail to fulfill their material and spiritual needs. It is no coincidence that around the time of the economic meltdown last fall, public opinion polls showed growing support for socialism.

“The Right’s Last Dance: 2008 Elections” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on July 25, 2009. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

Report to the CPUSA National Committee, July 7, 2007

To begin, I want to acknowledge that more than my fingerprints are on this report. Many comrades in discussions and by email gave me ideas and suggestions that I believe give the report more depth and range. I want to thank the comrades who took time out to convey their thinking.

The report focuses on some aspects of the current situation. It doesn’t try to span the entire country or the globe. Its aim is less ambitious. I will make an assessment of the Bush administration and the people’s struggle against its policies. Then the report will look at the 2008 elections and some of the main questions that will frame them. Finally, some aspects of our party’s work will be considered.