Monday, February 29, 2016

The Fifth Column Interview with SPUSA Pres. Candidate Mimi Soltysik

29 February 2016

The Fifth Column 

Los Angeles, California (TFC) – Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik is an American political activist for the Socialist Party USA. He has been nominated to be the party’s candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 election. [from wikipedia]

John: How did you get involved in social justice/activism?


Mimi: I think like so many who do this sort of thing, it’s been a process shaped by life experience. For me personally, I went from being a punk rock skateboarding kid who got into a ton of trouble to an adult who played in a band, still got into a lot of trouble, and who added substance abuse as a bonus. Things got pretty ugly for me. My health had deteriorated and I reached a point where life essentially became meaningless. I was fairly-well disconnected from any feelings of care for others or myself. It wasn’t necessarily a specific moment, rather a period of time where I felt that I was either going to fade out or I was going to somehow start to learn again and engage life. It wasn’t easy, and I was frequently confused and frustrated. But, I started taking very small steps forward. I started to read. I spent a bit of time reflecting on who I was and why I was here. Ultimately, I made a choice and here we are....

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Monday, February 22, 2016

A voice for the American Socialist: An interview with Mimi Soltysik, Socialist Party USA Presidential candidate

22 February 2016

By Eoin Higgins
The American Herald Tribune 

As the primary season gets under way in the 2016 Presidential election, the nation's political focus is squarely on candidates from the two main parties, the Democrats and the Republicans.
Both parties have had a tumultuous time of it already. It’s a year for outsiders. On the Republican side, billionaire Donald Trump, whose outrageous ethno-nationalism has won him a devout following in the country’s right wing, is devouring all the oxygen in the party.

The Democrats are facing the possibility of an upset from surging independent Bernie Sanders. Sanders, a nominal socialist from Vermont, has upended what was supposed to be a smooth nomination-coronation for Hillary Clinton.

With all the excitement, it’s easy to forget that there are other candidates in the race for the presidency, outside of the two major parties. The American Herald Tribune is proud to feature a conversation with Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik, the Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party USA. Soltysik is running with activist and organizer Angela Nicole Walker as his running mate.

The Tribune and Soltysik collaborated over email for a question and answer dialogue after a brief phone call on Friday. What follows is a lightly edited transcript.

The American Herald Tribune: Hi Mimi. Thanks for doing this interview. Let’s start off with an introduction: Who are you?

Mimi: I suppose I'll always be trying to figure that one out. I think I look pretty silly when I'm clean-shaven, so I usually have a beard. I love music and I love to read. I love to laugh. I loathe injustice. It makes me feel violent.

My name is Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik and I am the Socialist Party USA's 2016 presidential candidate. I live in Los Angeles with my wife and two cats....

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Is socialism now acceptable in the US?

26 February 2016

By Jeremy Au Yong
The Straits Times

"One of the few books offering an explanation of the ideology - Democratic Socialism: A Global Survey by Donald Busky - itself notes the struggle to find a consensus definition.For instance, it noted the disagreements over whether democratic socialism and social democracy are the same thing.

Following the US campaign, one might come to assume that the two are interchangeable, but Mr Busky - formerly a prominent member of the democratic socialist organisation known as Socialist Party USA - contends that they are not.

'Social democracy is a somewhat controversial term among democratic socialists. Many democratic socialists use social democracy as a synonym for democratic socialism, while others, particularly revolutionary democratic socialists, do not; the latter seeing social democracy as something less than socialism - a milder, evolutionary ideology that seeks merely to reform capitalism,' he writes.
Democratic socialism, he says, is the 'wing of the socialist movement that combines a belief in a socially owned economy with that of a political democracy.'

In short, it appears that while social democracy embraces capitalism but seeks to humanise it through state intervention, democratic socialists want to replace the privately owned profit-driven economy with one that is socially owned...."

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Friday, February 19, 2016

We Asked America's Young Socialists What They Think of Bernie Sanders

19 February 2016

By Mike Pearl
Vice 

"But while Sanders may have been a young socialist, the groups he used to associate with haven't been too eager to claim him as one of their own. In particular, the current leaders of the Young People's Socialist League told VICE that they don't care much for the Democratic presidential candidate's brand of 'socialism.'
 
Today, YPSL mostly focuses on issues pertaining directly to students—specifically, students of Moorpark University, which is the only school that's had an active branch of YPSL since 2011, when the Socialist Party USA voted to let YPSL become a separate entity. According to the group's current chair, Jen McClellan, once YPSL was on its own, its members were free to think smaller...."

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

SP Presidential Candidate Mimi Soltysik Interviewed on CBC Radio

17 February 2016

CBC Radio 

Socialist Party presidential candidate Mimi Soltysik was interviewed on the February 17th episode of The Current on CBC Radio.

Click Here to Read the Interview Transcript

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

The North Star interviews Mimi Soltysik, 2016 SPUSA candidate for POTUS

16 February 2016

By Curtis Hanson
The North Star

Why run for president now?
 
Mimi: As a revolutionary organization in the United States, it’s not as if the media is regularly banging down our door for interview requests. That changes a bit during the general election. And, for obvious reasons, there’s an added interest in the socialist/radical perspective this time around. So, why not use that interest and the media coverage we might receive to offer a bottom-up, community-focused, revolutionary perspective? Why not use that interest and coverage to support an effort that seeks to facilitate community/local involvement in movement-oriented work throughout the country? We understand and acknowledge that it might look and sound a bit different from what folks expect, and we think that’s okay....

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Monday, February 15, 2016

Interview: Bernie Sanders Isn’t The Only ‘Socialist’ Running for President

15 February 2016

By AJ Segneri
IVN News 

What follows is my interview with Socialist Party USA presidential candidate, Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik. Soltysik previously ran in California’s 62nd Assembly district in 2014.

AJ: What is the motivation for running for an office, especially on a presidential ticket?

Mimi: I think we can acknowledge that a general election offers some pretty unique media opportunities for a radical socialist organization like the Socialist Party USA. Given the inclusion of Sanders and his use of “democratic socialism” throughout his campaign, it makes sense to use those opportunities to introduce different voices into the dialogue. In our case, we can use those opportunities to shift the focus from D.C. politics to the local level. The kinds of changes the people and the planet need will not happen in D.C. and a POTUS candidate certainly isn’t going to deliver those kinds of changes. This revolution will be led by the people, [at] the community level. So, using this platform, we can connect folks who are interested in the ideas to one another. When folks reach out to the Campaign, we can help to plug them into movement work in their communities....

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Thursday, February 11, 2016

Eugene Debs, el gran «paria socialista» de Estados Unidos antes que Bernie Sanders

11 February 2016

By Javier Ansorena
ABC (Spain)

"Eugene Debs es hoy una figura respetada, pero el legado del Partido Socialista que él dotó de gran fuerza hoy apenas existe. La formación se disolvió en 1972 y dio lugar a varios partidos escindidos, que han tenido un impacto simbólico en la escena política contemporánea de EE.UU. Uno de ellos es el Socialist Party USA, que presenta para este otoño una candidatura encabezada por Mimi Soltysik y Angela Nicole Walker...."

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The REAL socialist party weighs in on Bernie Sanders

11 February 2016

By Jennifer Harper
Washington Times

As a presidential hopeful, Sen. Bernard Sanders unapologetically describes himself as a “democratic socialist,” prompting much discussion among press and public about the candidate’s political pedigree. But wait. Mr. Sanders has also attracted the attention of some other socialists, like the New York-based Socialist Party USA, where the motto is, “Let’s build a future worthy of our dreams.” They too have a presidential candidate in mind for 2016. That would be Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik, who has a thought or two about Mr. Sanders.

“What I see is a candidate who’s running on the Democratic Party ticket. To me, Sanders sounds more like a progressive Democrat/social Democrat. I don’t see him putting forth a socialist proposal. I’m not seeing him talk about workers owning the means of production. I don’t see imperialism as a part of any socialist platform, period. So I think that there are some very fundamental differences,” Mr. Soltysik recently told The Socialist, the party’s official publication....

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Thursday, February 4, 2016

Why Socialists Can’t Wait for Bernie to Lose

4 February 2016

By Bill Scher 
Politico Magazine 

"Others seem themselves as 'democratic socialist,' such as Socialist Party USA, which can claim one of two municipally elected socialists in the country: Red Bank, New Jersey school board member Pat Noble.....

Stein also sees hope for increased unity in a new coalition called LeftElect, which formed last year to improve coordination between socialist parties and other independent leftist organizations, in order to bolster electoral prospects at all levels of government. Stein sits on the steering committee, and she sensed much “common purpose” for 2016 at the group first conference. But other competing socialist parties are involved, including Socialist Party USA presidential nominee Mimi Soltysik...."

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