"can't we all just get along?" here we go again. "he said/she said." line up the opposing camps. i mean, this dispute is about as unusual, creative, and inspiring as the 18th verse of "somos el barco". i respect adolph reed. i also respect paul zarembka. what nefarious force wishes to force me to choose between respecting two leftists? apparently the mazzochi/reed group is convinced that the zarembka/buffalo group is so hopelessly sectarian that they have to be expelled. apparently the zarembka/buffalo group is convinced that the Labor Party is so hopelessly undemocratic that it should be opposed outright by encouraging unions to rescind their endorsements. i have trouble swallowing either of these views. (i have a sore throat today.) is there not some third party which is trusted by both sides which would agree to mediate the dispute? and seek a negotiated solution? i am more alarmed by the nature of the dispute than the facts of the dispute. such disputes do not do us credit, comrades. raise your hand if you're excited by the prospect of participating in a movement where disputes are "resolved" by splits, purges, and diatribes rather than dialogue and negotiation. i would think that if both sides negotiate in good faith this dispute could be resolved, without all the in-fighting. if the LP leadership refuses to negotiate in good faith, that will lend credence to the view that the LP leadership is hopelessly anti-democratic. if the zarembka/buffalo group refuses to negotiate in good faith, that will lend credence to the view that they are hopelessly sectarian. if both sides refuse to negotiate in good faith, "a plague o' both your houses". Electoral politics. [n.] That area of strategy with the uncanny ability to make leftists get really loopy and attempt to scratch each others' eyes out. ___________________________________ Robert Naiman 1821 W. Cullerton (note new address 9/23) Chicago Il 60608-2716 (h) 312-421-1776 (effective 9/26) Urban Planning and Policy (M/C 348) 1007 W. Harrison Room 1180 Chicago, Il 60607-7137 (o) 312-996-2126 (voice mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://icarus.uic.edu/~rnaima1/