WA: International Socialist Conference Held in Seattle

From the Socialist Party UK:

More than 140 people came to discuss socialist ideas for changing the world at the socialism conference, organised by the CWI-affiliated organisation Socialist Alternative and held at Seattle University, which marked a big step forward for socialists in Washington State.

The discussion "Where is the change Obama promised? - resisting war and cuts in jobs and education" featured prominent anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who set up a camp outside George Bush's Texas ranch in 2005 to ask him why her son Casey was sent to die in Iraq.

Cindy explained how she had concluded that capitalism is the root cause of wars and the economic crisis we face.  The discussion dealt with the role of the two-headed "war party", as Cindy termed the big-business Democratic and Republican parties that dominate the US political system.

Cindy spoke about how Democratic Party leaders promised her that if she helped get them elected, they would end the war. However, after they took control of Congress in the 2006 elections, they failed to follow through on their promises. In 2008 Cindy decided to run an independent, anti-war campaign for Congress against Democratic Party House leader Nancy Pelosi, coming in second place and winning an impressive 17% of the vote.

The discussion also featured Richard Curtis, an independent left-wing Washington candidate for the US Senate, as well as Philip Locker, a national organiser for Socialist Alternative. Philip explained how the working class anger has led to many opinion polls showing a growth in support for socialist ideas.