Stefan Vilcins

Showing your support for Socialist Party presidential candidate David McReynolds isn't always easy. In fact, just trying to figure out where he's giving his campaign speech can be downright tricky.

McReynolds is in town for the week to campaign for his presidential run as the official candidate of the Socialist Party, and has picked the University of Illinois as his first Chicago campaign stop. Inside UIC's Chicago Circle Center though, it's surprisingly tough to find any indication of that. Signs abound for everything from the next fraternity meeting to an upcoming job fair, but nothing about McReynolds. Without explicit instructions, one might think McReynolds' appearance has been canceled. Either that, or this is one of the lowest-key presidential campaign visits ever. Luckily, I have directions to room 605 CCC, where twenty or so people await McReynolds' arrival.

The audience is mostly student-aged, and, when McReynolds finally arrives in appropriately low-key fashion, it becomes apparent that the few older people in attendance are on a first-name basis with him. Many of them are, after all, Socialist Party veterans, and one of them, J. Quinn Brisben, even ran for president himself on the Socialist ticket, back in 1992.

Right from the start, McReynolds makes short work of defining the nature of his leadership role within the party. "Whether the Socialist Party likes it or not, I am the official Socialist candidate in this race... There may very well be some Socialists who don't even agree with much of what I'm saying here today."

And that's saying something, considering many of the campaign issues raised by McReynolds are decidedly difficult to oppose -- raising the minimum wage, improving education and creating universal healthcare coverage. But with or without agreement among the party and its numerous factions, McReynolds insists that promoting the political positions of the Socialist Party isn't the goal of his presidential campaign. "What we would like to do is put the issues of socialism back on the agenda, and let the people decide what should be done about them," he says.

That philosophy is perhaps more central to the party than even being elected to office. Which is good, because even McReynolds admits that the Socialist Party's chances of winning an election anytime soon are slim.

"Socialism isn't a mass movement here [in Chicago], or anywhere else... My running for office this year is only a symbol of our presence," McReynolds says.

That presence in Chicago is indeed limited, with an active membership of less than 100, but McReynolds points to an online election poll on the popularly visited Website selectsmart.com, which matches users' political ideologies with "compatible" presidential candidates. The online poll has him finishing second only to Bill Bradley, out of more than 680,000 votes cast nationwide.

During the Q & A that follows the speech, former candidate J. Quinn Brisben raises his hand during for the requisite rhetorical question: "What will the average Chicagoan get out of voting Socialist at the polls this year?"

"A stronger socialist organization in Chicago," McReynolds responds.

A campaign staffer jokingly adds: "Not to mention a free button."

(03/02/2000)


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