Dear Socialist Worker,

Hopewell Borough is a small town in rural New Jersey, where Marc Moran was appointed to the town council on July 3. A few days after Moran's appointment, a revelation in the local newspaper shocked this small town: Marc Moran is also a member of the neo-Nazi Nazi National Alliance (NA).

Republican and Democratic Party leaders and civil rights organizations called for his resignation. By week's end, Moran had resigned from the post, and on July 16, he allegedly quit the NA.

Moran claimed to be "unaware" of the political positions of the NA, stating that he joined because of its stance on "illegal immigrants." In his writings on the NA Web site, Moran excoriates Jews, immigrants, gays and other groups. According to one Web site, Moran was a major fundraiser for the NA and served as the publisher of the NA's Vanguard News--hardly the activity of someone unfamiliar with the politics of the organization.

Moran's appointment to the town council was part of a "deal" between local Democrats and Republicans. Moran, a Republican, had already won the primary to fill the seat. After the news broke that he has racist and anti-Semitic views, council members continued to support his being on the council. Only when it became clear how divisive the issue had become did council members call for him to step down.

When fascists try to sink roots into communities, the way to counter them is through grassroots organizing. Education about the aims and nature of these groups has to be done. Pressure must be brought to bear through mass actions.

For workers and the oppressed, the alternative to fascist politics does not lie in supporting Democrats or Republicans. We can't rely on their cops or the courts. Our alternative lies in working-class organizations and communities of immigrants and people of color.

John Leslie, Trenton, N.J.

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