The 32nd Convention

The 32nd Convention of CPUSA started on June 7th and went largely as expected. During the convention, we saw the passing of 23 resolutions. Some were genuinely correct in many aspects, such as Resolution #1 regarding Palestine, Resolution #2 regarding labor, and Resolution #10 regarding the DPRK and Asia.

What made this convention noteworthy, though, wasn’t the passing of correct resolutions, nor the passing of incorrect resolutions, but rather the discussion and forcing through of Resolution #5 pertaining to the 2024 presidential election and the party's explicit willingness to serve as a lapdog of the Democratic Party.

This resolution went on to commit the Communist Party to invest all its power and resources to “participation in the broad front to defeat Trump, Trumpism, and the MAGA Republicans.” The resolution went on to state that the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2024 elections will be a “decisive defeat for the corporate right-wing and fascist forces. This will help change the balance of forces and clear the way to change the direction of our nation—to slash the military budget, end the sending of weapons to Israel, tax the rich, win quality healthcare for all, strengthen the right to vote, strengthen union organizing rights, restore Roe v. Wade, and end police murder of people of color.”

Despite only being a small portion of the resolution, it showcases the full text's attempt to infantilize not only members of the Communist Party but American voters in general. The authors of this resolution believe that the American people will forget that during the past four years under the Biden administration, the United States have been the unrelenting cheerleaders of the Israeli Defense Forces genocidal campaign in Palestine; that it was Joe Biden that executively blocked railroad workers from striking; and that our massively bloated military budget has only expanded.

No Democratic Centralism Permitted

During the opening of the 32nd Convention, the rules and presiding committee were presented. Per the party constitution, these rules are to be democratically adopted. If any person were to disagree with the presented rules, they are to be discussed prior to adoption.

The rules presented indicated that votes on resolutions would not be counted and would rather be conducted solely as a verbal “yes" or “no” vote, with the stipulation being if there was a split in the vote that the final decision would be taken to the National Committee, a body which is functionally subservient to the Sims-Cambron leadership clique.

During the presentation of these rules, objections were made, and these objections were subsequently ignored; marking the first, but not last, instance of disregard of the Communist Party's Constitution during this convention.

Prior to opening discussion on Resolution #5, Sims rambled at length about the “MAGA fascist threat,” at times outright claiming that if Joe Biden was not reelected in 2024 that “red state police” would be kicking down doors to drag immigrants and people of color to concentration camps.

When discussion was opened for Resolution #5, 51 people attempted to sign up to speak. Of those 51, only four were ultimately selected to speak. All four had been hand-selected by the presiding committee and were explicitly pro-resolution members of the party. At no point were dissenting voices to the resolution allowed to voice their opinions in any way whatsoever. This fact alone entirely invalidates the "freedom of debate" principle in Democratic Centralism, a key element in Marxism-Leninism, a principle to which the CPUSA still purports to adhere.

Prior to voting on Resolution #5, a motion was made for the vote to be counted and conducted via secret ballot. A separate motion was made for a non-secret, counted vote to be tallied regarding the resolution. Both were rejected by the presiding committee.

When the time came for the uncounted, verbal-only vote, it was clear that those suspected of voting against the resolution had their clubs placed away from the presiding committee to amplify those likely to vote in favor. The vote occurred, and the results were divided. As expected, it went to the National Committee, and the resolution passed. During this convention, the National Committee also predictably reelected both Sims and Cambron as National Co-Chairs of the party, fully subverting all notions of Democratic Centralism.

The Future of the Communist Party

Dissent has been successfully crushed in the Communist Party during this convention, with the next one not scheduled until 2028. However, the current leadership has failed to inspire any faith in their commitment to Marxism, their ability to lead the party into relevance with the working class, or their interest in adhering to the rules they present to party members.

They have also been unable to fully remove or crush those committed to the scientific process of Marxism-Leninism; these members will likely continue to organize within the party and gain popularity. If the Communist Party truly wishes to succeed, it must abandon the Democratic Party and serve as a guiding light for workers, away from the rabid liberalism it currently endorses.