Hammer and Drivel

Socialists are living breathing arguments against themselves and their ideology. A case in point is Baltimore City Mayoral candidate A. Robert Kaufman. His campaign site and press releases read like the Communist Manifesto or a William Z. Foster speech. Perhaps Kaufman does not realize the Cold War is over and his side lost. Then again, maybe he does and is still bitter about that whole freedom thing for Eastern Europe.

Kaufmann teaches the course The Class Struggle and the Road to Socialism, where he "teaches" that "socialism is the only answer to the myriad of crises wrought by capitalism in its imperialist stage”, at the Johns Hopkins/Baltimore Free University. The JHU/BFU offers other intellectual fare such as, I kid you not, Delights of Gastronomy I and II, Shower Singing, Anarchism for Beginners and Beer History and Appreciation.

Set aside for a moment that Kaufman preaches an ideology responsible for the murder of nearly 100 million people all in the name of “social justice,” he is quite simply a whiner.

I received two press releases, more like childish tantrums, from Kaufman’s campaign complaining that he has been disrespected because he did not know about two candidate forums. Let’s take them one at a time so you can see the socialist mindset at work.

Here is his release about the WOLB radio forum:

I have spent my life protesting against discrimination of blacks, gays,
immigrants, and others. It is an abomination for a black or gay
radio talk show host to now discriminate against myself, and deny his radio
listeners the benefit of my solutions to the social crisis. This is
happening in a publicly advertised Mayoral Candidates Forum. The forum is
scheduled on WOLB Radio for the Larry Young Show, Thursday, August 9, 2007 from 8 to 10 a.m.
I had a medical procedure at Union Memorial hospitals cheduled for 10 am on Thursday, which I have had to cancel, as I only found outabout the forum on Wednesday morning. I asked the other invited candidates to refuse to participate unless I am treated with equal respect. We will see just how principled these candidates are. I will be at the station by 8 a.m.

He either missed the invitation or wasn’t invited, so in the socialist mindset it automatically means discrimination. Socialism is a secular religion, and socialists are on the side of the angels and so WOLB must be discriminating against him. Kaufman also complains that since had a scheduling conflict, the other candidates must rearrange their schedule to accommodate him? WOLB is a private company, which is most likely Kaufman’s real beef, and they can invite whoever they want to appear on their programs, no matter the civil rights record of the candidate they did not invite.

Here is his release concerning the BUILD/Black Chamber of Commerce/Harbel Community Association Forum. It reads much like the first:

I was not invited to your recent Candidates Forum, and in fact found out aboutit after the event. I will take pains to verify whether or not you will have a forum in the next election I participate in. If my health permits, I will conduct a C.O.R.E. sit-in at your forum, and you will treat me with the respect I deserve, or have the onus of having me arrested. Were your members told I was a candidate and why I was not invited? Given my civil rights/civil liberties, and pro-labor activities for the last 60 years, you ought to be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

Here he is again with the association of disrespect and subtle accusation of racism, and he wonders why groups do not invite him to their forums.

For a better understanding of why he is not invited take a look at a few of his responses to the City Paper candidate questionnaire and you can see why no one takes him seriously.

Q: Which city department should be first in line for cuts during budget crises? Which city department should be last in line?

A:Well, there is certainly a good deal of waste and corruption in any ruling class
government. So long as there are private entrepreneurs–particularly large
enterprises to bribe officials, there will be bribery. A popular socialist
society will create more democratic institutions–workers councils–which could
look out for society's interests.

Q: What does a candidate's business and personal financial situation say about his/her ability to manage the city's affairs?

A: What is far more important is what side of the class struggle he or she is committed to.

Q: Over the past several years, the Baltimore Police Department leadership has experienced a lot of turnover. How do you propose to stabilize the department and its leadership?

A: The historical role of police have always been to maintain existing property relations. The greater unjust division of wealth and poverty-the more efforts by the increasing number of impoverished to gain economic security by any means possible

It should be no mystery, except maybe to Kaufman, that a candidate, who espouses an ideology that leads to abject human misery, is not invited to serious mayoral candidate forums.