More on the intra-left struggles. Via : "The war within : America's battle over Vietnam <https://archive.org/details/warwithin00tomw>," by Tom Wells.
"The invasion of Laos and the specter it raised of even greater escalation—including an invasion of North Vietnam—spurred organizing for the spring demonstrations. On February 19–21, over two thousand young people attended a national student antiwar conference sponsored by the SWP-controlled Student Mobilization Committee at Washington’s Catholic University. The conferees endorsed the April 24 demonstration. Prior to the meeting, the FBI had orchestrated a political pressure campaign to force the university to cancel it, including anonymous mailings charging that the Catholic Church had been “duped again” by the Trotskyists. “Considering financial support CU receives from Roman Catholics throughout U.S., majority of whom are undoubtedly anti-communist and loyal Americans,” J. Edgar Hoover wrote FBI field offices, “it appears unique counterintelligence situation presented with potential to have SMC conference cancelled.” The FBI’s dirty tricks forced the SMC to secure a million-dollar insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London against potential damage from “riots” at the conference.25 Given the new crisis in Indochina, many antiwar activists beseeched NPAC and PCPJ to set aside their differences and unite on a national protest. “NPAC set a date. PCPJ set a date. Beautiful!” Norma Becker sarcastically remarked. “Two ‘massive’ national antiwar actions are now scheduled to take place in D.C. a week apart. Great!” Becker went on: Certain outcomes of this division and its inevitable competitive struggle for support are predictable: smaller, narrower, less effective actions this Spring; mutual recrimination and bitterness among movement activists; demoralization and disgust within the ranks of the movement. We perhaps, placing priority on our rather petty power politics and pathetic ego trips, deserve this…but the people of Indochina don’t!26 In late February, faced with NPAC’s apparent determination to plow ahead with April 24 regardless of other activists’ wishes, PCPJ decided to cancel the protest it had planned for May 2 and support the April demonstration. NPAC refused to allow PCPJ any control over the organization of it, however, despite PCPJ’s efforts to build it. Brad Lyttle remembered: We went over all of the aspects of the demonstration to see how PCPJ would be involved, and PCPJ wasn’t going to be involved. “How’s the money going to be divided once it’s collected?” “Well,” the SWP said, “we’re not going to give you any money. What we’ll have is competitive fund-raising.” …They were just so contemptuous of PCPJ’s organizing machinery that they thought that PCPJ couldn’t collect anything and they’d collect everything. “The sound system—who’s going to pay for the sound system?” Well, they’d pay for the sound system, even though it was originally decided that we’d split the cost, because if you control the sound system you control the demonstration.… Physically, I had nightmares working with the SWP on that demonstration because they lied to me directly so many times. And finally I went up to their office and I said, “Syd [Stapleton, an SWP leader], just tell me exactly why it is that you believe that the SWP is going to control this demonstration at the end rather than PCPJ?” And he looked me straight in the eye and said, “Brad, it’s because we have the permit for the rally site.” I said, “In other words, you’d call out the cops to keep PCPJ from being involved.” He didn’t say anything, but that’s what they would have done! “I was absolutely appalled by the manipulations of the SWP in actually trying to take over complete control when they were in a united effort with the People’s Coalition,” Sidney Peck recalled. “I was just totally appalled by that.”27 PCPJ decided to organize a “People’s Lobby” in Washington during the period between April 24 and May Day. The lobbyists would “talk directly and forcibly with all employees of the federal government.” They would demand an end to the war, the release of all political prisoners in the United States and a guaranteed income of $6,500 per year for a family of four. PCPJ also resolved to participate in May Day, including through nonviolent civil disobedience at the Pentagon, Justice Department, and Capitol. PCPJ would not organize illegalities on April 24; in return, NPAC would not interfere with May Day. “We just agreed not to get in each other’s way,” Fred Halstead recalled. Nevertheless, SWPers violence-baited May Day and advertised that it had been canceled. “They were basically divisive and really manipulative,” Peck said.28 Many PCPJ activists continued to be nervous about May Day as well. “I was spending a tremendous amount of time then running interference for the mostly young May Day Tribe…with my old colleagues, including Sidney Peck, [who] was very skeptical,” Dave Dellinger recalled.29<SNIP> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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