“Obama, Coalition politics, and the struggle for reforms” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on February 14, 2013. Read it on PeoplesWorld.org.

President Obama’s State of the Union speech reveals once again that president is a democratic reformer (on domestic issues) in the mold of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.

And the fact that the president has a disposition toward reform is of great significance – not only to the millions who are struggling to mitigate the worst effects of 30 years of right-wing extremism and capitalist globalization, but also to people who desire social change of a radical nature.

Here’s why.

“Is the right-wing era over? Not yet” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on January 11, 2013. Read it on PeoplesWorld.org.

Is the era of right-wing ascendancy over? I would argue that it is a bit premature to reach that conclusion.

Now don’t get me wrong. Right-wing extremism isn’t the same animal that it was a decade or two ago. Its “glory days” are behind it. The outcome of the elections last year – not to mention the divisions in the Republican Party that are cropping up now around the fiscal cliff and the president’s nomination of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary – reflect a political movement that is no longer in a commanding position politically and ideologically.

“Stand Up For Workers’ Rights, Jobs and Peace” first appeared on  PoliticalAffairs.net on April 22, 2011. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

Wisconsin: ground zero

Not in our lifetime have we witnessed such a deep going assault on the rights and conditions of the American people.

But neither have we seen such a broad surge of struggle of labor and its allies against this assault.

The enemy was joined in Wisconsin. What the Republican governor assumed would be a minor battle turned into a stunning display of people’s power and solidarity. It was truly awesome.

“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.