PSL Presidential Candidate Peta Lindsay tours Washington State, New Mexico

Next stop: Midwest!

The Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Presidential Candidate Peta Lindsay just completed a tour stop in Washington State and is now in New Mexico meeting with activists and community members to discuss socialism and the PSL’s participation in the elections.

Check out the reports and photos from the tour below, and make sure to find an upcoming tour event in your area! The next leg of the tour is Sept. 23-Oct. 2 in the Midwest, with events in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.

Washington State

Peta Lindsay and Josh Simpson, founder of anti-war GI coffeehouse Coffee Strong, Washington State, Sept. 16

PSL Presidential Candidate Peta Lindsay spent a busy weekend in Washington State as part of her two-month national campaign tour.

The first day, Sept. 15, was spent in Seattle. The campaign started out by joining a picket line and march in the working-class Lake City neighborhood against three major banks and their role in the prison-industrial complex: Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase.

As passers-by gave the thumbs up and motorists honked to show their support, Lindsay and her supporters distributed campaign literature and talked to protest organizers about the campaign. Lindsay met Dorli Rainey, the octogenarian activist from Seattle who was pepper-sprayed last year at an Occupy protest and has since become an international symbol of resistance.

The campaign drove north to the Town Center mall of Lake Forest Park, where anti-war activists were holding a vigil as they have done every Saturday for the past decade. Vigil participants were excited to meet Lindsay and eagerly took campaign literature.

The tour swung to downtown Seattle to leaflet at the Mobile Food Rodeo, a street fair with dozens of food trucks in the South Lake Union area.

Lindsay and her supporters then attended a rally and fundraiser for the Chicago Teachers Union held at the Seattle Labor Temple. Speakers at this rally included Jeff Johnson, head of the Washington State Labor Council; David Freiboth, head of the Martin Luther King County Labor Council; Adrienne Dale, President of the Tacoma Teachers Union, and many others. A striking Chicago teacher spoke by Skype. The campaign leafleted and talked to activists as they entered the hall.

The day ended with an informal reception at the PSL office. Discussion focused on how to refute the “lesser of two evils” argument.

The second day, Sept. 16, took the campaign to the South Sound area. Starting in Olympia, Lindsay and her team campaigned on the campus of The Evergreen State College, stopping to visit with interested students in the dorms. The team also distributed literature in downtown Olympia.

Next, the tour made a visit to Coffee Strong, the anti-war GI coffeehouse located near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. There, Lindsay spoke with Coffee Strong founder and Iraq war veteran Josh Simpson.

Finally, the tour wound up with a lively meet-and-greet at the Harmon Hub pub in Tacoma. There, Lindsay and her Seattle-based supporters met with a group of young Tacoma activists interested in socialism. Lindsay asked what had brought each person to become a socialist. One young couple explained that it was their own experiences as workers that had made them realize how they were exploited. Brandon had tried to organize a union at his workplace in Texas at age 16, and was fired. His struggle to receive health care, and watching the movie “Sicko,” made him realize that socialism was the answer.

New Mexico

Tabling for the Linday/Osorio Presidential Campaign at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, Sept. 18

On Sept. 18, the Lindsay/Osorio campaign hit the streets of Albuquerque, N.M., with a “Meet and Greet” at the University of New Mexico. A beautiful campaign display stood out boldly in front of the UNM Student Union Building with a bright banner calling on all to “Meet Peta Lindsay—Socialist Candidate for President for the PSL.”

Organizers from PSL Albuquerque commented on the success of the day, where large numbers of students stopped by the PSL table to meet Lindsay and discuss the Lindsay/Osorio 10-Point Program. NBC affiliate KOB-TV also attended and conducted a lengthy interview with Lindsay. Hundreds of pieces of campaign literature were distributed to students, faculty and staff. Many people signed up to find out more about PSL and how to get involved.

On the evening of Sept. 19, Lindsay spoke at a forum on the attacks on women’s rights and how to fight back. Lindsay gave an in-depth history of recent attacks on women’s rights by the extreme right wing, and the lack of support from the Democratic Party.

Lindsay contended that the government’s response toward the progressive demands of a broad mass movement—be it the movements against racism, for union rights, for LGBT equality and more—are determined by the movement’s strength and militancy, not the discretion of politicians. Lindsay also explained that the capitalist class continuously seeks to overturn and push back progressive gains made by the working class, and that only in a socialist society—with the abolition of class exploitation—can full equality be established and preserved. After a discussion period, audience members stayed around to talk to Lindsay and to sign up for more information about the PSL.

On the morning of Sept. 20, Lindsay and PSL members attended a demonstration in support of a ballot initiative for the Nov. 6 election that calls for an increase in minimum wage for Albuquerque workers. Lindsay/Osorio campaign organizers distributed a statement affirming that such measures are important as part of an ongoing struggle for a true living wage, as outlined in the Lindsay/Osorio Campaign’s 10-Point Program. The 10-Point Program calls for jobs to be a constitutional right for all workers, with a minimum wage of $20 an hour.

In the afternoon, Lindsay and PSL members constructed a beautiful table display about the campaign on the campus of Central New Mexico College, meeting and greeting many students and workers at the community college.

On Sept. 21, Lindsay was interviewed by the Alibi, a popular weekly newspaper read throughout the city. In the evening, Lindsay attended a showing of the acclaimed film “Precious Knowledge,” which covers the struggle against the attacks on the Mexican American Studies program in Arizona. Lindsay was joined by activists formerly from Tucson for the standing-room only event, and her remarks helped fuel a lively discussion following the film.

On Sept. 22, Lindsay was in Las Vegas, N.M., for a radio interview on Community Peace Radio on KFUN-AM1230 and KLVF-FM110.7 originally scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mountain Time. The show was streamed live at KFUNonline.com, and ended up being extended for an additional 30 minutes due to the large number of call-ins.

PSL members, friends and supporters of the Lindsay/Osorio 2012 campaign will gather tonight for a get-together at 305 Washington Street SE in Albuquerque to go over the exciting moments of the tour before Lindsay heads to the next tour stops in the Midwest.

Get involved with the Lindsay/Osorio 2012 Presidential Campaign today!

Request Peta Lindsay or Yari Osorio as a speaker for an event in your area.

Join the Party for Socialism and Liberation!