The Butcher, The Socialist, The White House Candidate
ALSO RUNNING
October 10th, 2008
The presidential election of 1912 marked Socialism's peak in American politics. Candidate Eugene Debs, in his third race for president, received 6 percent of the popular vote.
In 2004, socialist Róger Calero won 3,689 votes nationwide-not enough to make up a fraction of a percentage point.
Running under the Socialist Workers Party-started in 1938, and currently one of several socialist parties in America today-Calero traveled the country to collect petition signatures for ballot access and rally union members that he believes are the bulk of his base.
"We're a party that is rooted in the working class, oriented toward the labor movement," Calero said. "It's an effective vehicle to fight for the demands and needs of working people."
Calero, born in Nicaragua, entered socialist politics while working as a butcher and meat packer. In 2000, he organized a strike at his meat packing plant when the boss tried to decertify the union, he said.
As a supporter of union rights, he has fought alongside immigrants in May Day demonstrations to support legalizing undocumented workers. He said the immigration debate is the most important fight facing the working class people today.
Calero also dabbles in journalism as a contributing editor to The Militant, a weekly socialist newspaper in the city.
After running for president in 2004, he tried for the Senate in 2006. He came in second to last place with 6,967 votes-slightly edging out the Socialist Equality candidate.
In this year's presidential race, Calero said he had aimed to get on the ballot in 13 states, including Washington, D.C., and had so far secured a spot in seven states, including New York.
Calero said that third-party candidates and groups often fail in their objectives when they act as pressure groups on one wing of the two major parties. As a union organizer, Calero feels that he can deliver more results for union workers with the Socialist Workers Party than with the Democratic Party, which has been aligned with the labor movement.
"They're a capitalist party," Calero said. "Our experience is that the only way we can make significant gains for working people is when we act on our own."
He sharply criticized both major party presidential candidates and said that while Sen. Barack Obama is casting himself as an agent of change, he would not bring about enough change.
"More and more you see a convergence of their politics," Calero said. "It only confirms that the attacks against the working people have been bipartisan."
In 2004, socialist Róger Calero won 3,689 votes nationwide-not enough to make up a fraction of a percentage point.
Running under the Socialist Workers Party-started in 1938, and currently one of several socialist parties in America today-Calero traveled the country to collect petition signatures for ballot access and rally union members that he believes are the bulk of his base.
"We're a party that is rooted in the working class, oriented toward the labor movement," Calero said. "It's an effective vehicle to fight for the demands and needs of working people."
Calero, born in Nicaragua, entered socialist politics while working as a butcher and meat packer. In 2000, he organized a strike at his meat packing plant when the boss tried to decertify the union, he said.
As a supporter of union rights, he has fought alongside immigrants in May Day demonstrations to support legalizing undocumented workers. He said the immigration debate is the most important fight facing the working class people today.
Calero also dabbles in journalism as a contributing editor to The Militant, a weekly socialist newspaper in the city.
After running for president in 2004, he tried for the Senate in 2006. He came in second to last place with 6,967 votes-slightly edging out the Socialist Equality candidate.
In this year's presidential race, Calero said he had aimed to get on the ballot in 13 states, including Washington, D.C., and had so far secured a spot in seven states, including New York.
Calero said that third-party candidates and groups often fail in their objectives when they act as pressure groups on one wing of the two major parties. As a union organizer, Calero feels that he can deliver more results for union workers with the Socialist Workers Party than with the Democratic Party, which has been aligned with the labor movement.
"They're a capitalist party," Calero said. "Our experience is that the only way we can make significant gains for working people is when we act on our own."
He sharply criticized both major party presidential candidates and said that while Sen. Barack Obama is casting himself as an agent of change, he would not bring about enough change.
"More and more you see a convergence of their politics," Calero said. "It only confirms that the attacks against the working people have been bipartisan."
