BREAD AND ROSES – NEW PARTY ESTABLISHED
A new political party has been formed in Maryland, ahead of the November elections. It’s being spearheaded by philosopher Dr. Jerome Segal, a conflict resolution expert at the University of Maryland, who received over 20,000 votes in his run against Ben Cardin in the Democratic Senate Primary in June.
Earlier this week, Segal submitted 19,500 petitions signed by Maryland residents to the state Board of Elections, in support of the establishment of the socialist “Bread and Roses” party. Under state law, ten thousand signatures are required to organize a political party.
Segal spent more than $1.4 million on his campaign against Cardin in the Senate primary. His decision to form “Bread and Roses” stems from a conclusion he reached through the primary experience: that working inside the Democratic Party is not the right course for developing what he calls “The New Socialism.” In Segal’s view, the left-wing of the Democratic party is dominated by Senator Sanders view of socialism, which Segal sees as essential, but also narrow, shallow and unimaginative. Segal, is internationally known for his highly creative work on potential solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Segal’s campaign raised the question: “What is an economy for?” and called for “Making America user friendly for people who are pursuing an alternative American Dream, not tied to ever higher levels of consumption.
In explicating “Bread and Roses:
– “Bread” stands for a decent society (largely the Sanders’ objectives)
– “Roses” stands for “Beauty, meaningful work, moderate consumption and more leisure time to do what really matters in life”
– A foreign policy oriented towards justice and peace. (one area of particular focus – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)
By getting his signatures turned in this week, Segal met, in principle, the deadline for himself being on the ballot this November. Whether this will occur, is not yet clear. The Board of Elections yesterday rejected his candidacy as the Bread and Roses nominee for US Senate, invoking Maryland’s “Sore Loser” law.
Segal plans to take his case to court, arguing that far from being a sore loser, he wasn’t given a fair chance of winning the primary as a result of Cardin’s refusal to debate and the almost total lack of media coverage. He believes that because Maryland voters were denied the opportunity to make an informed decision, he should be given the chance to make his case in this fall’s Senate race debates.