Socialist Equality Party The Socialist Equality Party is the name of several branches of the Trotskyist International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), the largest being in the United States. They are best known for publishing the World Socialist Web Site. In the United States, the SEP is running Congressional candidates and a Presidential ticket in the 2004 elections. It has nominated Bill Van Auken for President and Jim Lawrence for Vice-President in the 2004 Presidential elections, in which its main call is for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq. The origins of the SEP lie in the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) of the early 1960s. Tim Wohlforth was a youth leader in that party and was opposed to the course of the organisation. With others, including James Robertson, he formed a tendency within the SWP called the Revolutionary Tendency (RT). It developed links with Gerry Healy's Socialist Labour League in Britain. The two main leaders of the RT had different evaluations of the SWP. Robertson's position led the SWP to expel him and his supporters first. Wohlforth's split the RT by remaining in the SWP. His supporters formed a group named the Reorganised Minority Tendency, but were themselves expelled a short while later. They claimed that this was due to their criticisms of the Sri Lankan Lanka Sri Samaja Parti. They then formed the American Committee of the Fourth International (ACFI) and became the United States section of the ICFI, which by then was dominated by Healy. The ACFI grew throughout the 1960s along with most leftist groupings. It used similar recruitment techniques to Healy's SLL, for instance drawing youth towards the group based on the organisation of events which combined entertainment and politics. Recruits were then encouraged to work for the group carrying out tasks at a frantic rate. The result was a high turnover of members through "burnout". The ACFI was renamed the Workers League and developed into a nationwide organisation with hundreds of members, but suffered a collapse in 1972. As the leadership had so closely aligned themselves with Gerry Healy, when he decided that Wohlforth and Nancy Fields were no longer the right people to run the group and he declared that they were agents of the CIA, they resigned from the group with little resistance. In the midst of turmoil in Healy's group, by then called the Workers Revolutionary Party, the group renamed itself the Socialist Equality Party in 1995. It is now based in Michigan and recently endorsed John Christopher Burton when he ran in the California recall. Other Socialist Equality Parties linked to the one in the United States exist in Australia, Canada, Germany, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. Presidential candidates 1996 - Jerome White 2004 - Bill Van Auken External link World Socialist Web Site Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Equality_Party