Socialist Party has annual picnic at Kern Park
by Greg J. Borowski
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
Sunday, 27 July 2008

Presidential candidate Brian Moore aims to get on 20 states' ballots

For someone who wants to lead a political revolution in the United States, Brian Moore hardly cut a commanding figure during his visit to Milwaukee.

No advance team. No staff. Virtually no attention at all.

Indeed, in that regard, the Socialist Party USA presidential candidate fit right in Saturday at the state Socialist Party's annual picnic.

The picnic, now in its 111th year, drew about 50 people to Kern Park, where the food, of course, was potluck and the entertainment was the two-person band Eric Blowtorch and the Welders.

The crowd, many with graying hair, was mostly the party regulars, a group that looks increasingly quaint in today's sharp-edged, fast-moving political world.

"I don't think it's a relic at all," said Paul Cigler of Appleton, state chairman. "We're keeping a long tradition alive, and this is a message that needs to be heard."

The late Frank Zeidler, mayor from 1948 to 1960, was the last of a long line of socialist mayors in Milwaukee, where clean government and public services was the party's calling card.

So, Milwaukee was a natural stop for Moore, a Florida resident who aims to get on the ballot in at least 20 states for the Nov. 4 election.

In Wisconsin, backers need 2,000 valid signatures, all collected between Aug. 2 and Sept. 2. So the picnic served as a launch for the effort.

The state party gave Moore $300 toward a plane ticket but couldn't find a local host. Moore ended up at the Best Western, where the $62 a night charge was OK, but more, he noted, than the $49 he paid in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Toledo, Ohio.

These things matter when you have a tight budget, such as $5,000 to get on the ballot in Washington state. Saturday was the deadline, and Moore said they were likely to fall short.

Nevertheless, when Moore got a turn at the microphone Saturday, he offered a forceful critique of the two major parties (both too corporate) and the capitalist system (based on greed and self-interest).

The antidote to both, Moore maintains, is to put the Socialist Party in power, so it can go about ending the Iraq war, implementing national health care and guaranteeing work -- and at least $35,000 a year -- for everyone.

"The status quo is turning a blind eye," Moore said. "The status quo doesn't recognize we're going to collapse."

There are signs, he said, everywhere: increasing unemployment; rising gas and food prices; the cost of health care; the ongoing war.

"I don't have to talk about the revolution or violence," Moore said, when asked how he approaches voters. "All I have to do is talk about capitalism collapsing."

When it does, the Socialist Party will be ready, he said.

In the meantime, there was time to plot and picnic Saturday. The table, with a red vinyl cloth, featured brats and chips and salsa. And the cooler, a battered foam container, held Sierra Mist, Coke Zero and Lipton Green Tea.

And, of course, there was time to pass the hat. Literally, as Cigler took it from his head and walked it around.

"Do what you can," he said.

This article can be found online at www.jsonline.com. Journalist Greg Borowski can be reached at gborowski@journalsentinel.com.