Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992, Page 47
and what Baxter was aspiring to. Baxter was professing new theories on east and west
socialisms she was taking a greater and greater interest in Eastern Europe her goal was to
get invited to the Soviet Union. Much of this was rather alienating for the average militant. It
was hard to make the leap from talking to people on the street about local ballot propositions
to getting excited about what was going on in Bulgaria. No one spoke it, but many a militant
wondered what any of this had to do with the U.S. working class.
A Climate of Terror and Alienation
About the same time (1983-1984), Baxter decided it was time to expand the party nationally.
Grouplets of militants (anywhere from three to seven cadres) were sent out to set up
“stations” in five cities in the south, midwest, and the east. This presented a new challenge
for Baxter and Sandra, who discovered the need for a way to give orders to and control party
members living thousands of miles away. The answer was computers. Suddenly everyone had
to learn how to use computers all reports and communications were to be done by computer.
The party purchased over 50 computers and modems and set up its own Bulletin Board.
Militants and party facilities were given code names: Baxter was “Mean Dog Alpha” others
had names like “Mad Max” and “Bulldog.” Everything was becoming more and more alienating
--first, the ideology then the practical work and now, the way in which orders and reports
were communicated.
Occasionally, there would be outbursts of rage from Baxter sensing that she was losing
control. Sandra was sent around to the stations to expel the “rotten apples”: those who were
making trouble, in the way, putting up barriers to the hard work necessary to build party units
away from the Center. A similar purge was going on at the party’s headquarters. A climate of
irrationality and despair prevailed. Many of the original founders were gone or demoted,
having been kicked out or reduced to low-level functionaries with shattered self-images.
Longtime members were getting expelled left and right, or disappearing into the night.
Sandra’s right-hand assistant was expelled for staying home to study on her assigned “study
night.” Leading cadres were put on trial over and over again, subjected to merciless
denunciations some were demoted, some were expelled. There was an atmosphere of terror
and instability, even more so than members had become accustomed to.
The effects of years of endless work and punitive criticism were taking their toll. The majority
of the membership at this point were those people who joined in the early years. They were
supposed to be the hearty, the loyal, the tireless they were, however, losing what little grasp
on reality they had left. They were too tired or too confused to read (much less understand)
even the daily newspaper they had little or no contact with the outside world. “Productive
work” consisted of hours of criticism sessions and primarily menial work necessary to get
Baxter ready for her next international trip, or just plain cleaning up after her. Sometimes
upper-level leadership had to spend hours trying to decipher one of Baxter’s alcoholic
computer messages so they could give direction to the militants below them. In an earlier
paper, I described the period toward the end like this:
As time went on, the dream also shattered. The political work we were doing made
less and less sense. We were actively sectarian and disruptive within the Left. We
were routinely criticized by other political groups for being divisive, cult-like, devious,
and untrustworthy. Generally others said that we existed as an organization only to
serve our leader and build her career. Internally, the negativity toward us was dealt
with by denouncing everyone else on the Left as anticommunist, by putting out great
defenses of our leader, great pumped-up presentations on our accomplishments,
inflated with lies, deceptions, and cover-ups.
In reality, more and more of the work focused on enhancing Baxter’s political and
intellectual reputation, when in fact she was no longer doing any of the theoretical
work. She was usually too drunk, depressed, hung-over, or on a rampage about
and what Baxter was aspiring to. Baxter was professing new theories on east and west
socialisms she was taking a greater and greater interest in Eastern Europe her goal was to
get invited to the Soviet Union. Much of this was rather alienating for the average militant. It
was hard to make the leap from talking to people on the street about local ballot propositions
to getting excited about what was going on in Bulgaria. No one spoke it, but many a militant
wondered what any of this had to do with the U.S. working class.
A Climate of Terror and Alienation
About the same time (1983-1984), Baxter decided it was time to expand the party nationally.
Grouplets of militants (anywhere from three to seven cadres) were sent out to set up
“stations” in five cities in the south, midwest, and the east. This presented a new challenge
for Baxter and Sandra, who discovered the need for a way to give orders to and control party
members living thousands of miles away. The answer was computers. Suddenly everyone had
to learn how to use computers all reports and communications were to be done by computer.
The party purchased over 50 computers and modems and set up its own Bulletin Board.
Militants and party facilities were given code names: Baxter was “Mean Dog Alpha” others
had names like “Mad Max” and “Bulldog.” Everything was becoming more and more alienating
--first, the ideology then the practical work and now, the way in which orders and reports
were communicated.
Occasionally, there would be outbursts of rage from Baxter sensing that she was losing
control. Sandra was sent around to the stations to expel the “rotten apples”: those who were
making trouble, in the way, putting up barriers to the hard work necessary to build party units
away from the Center. A similar purge was going on at the party’s headquarters. A climate of
irrationality and despair prevailed. Many of the original founders were gone or demoted,
having been kicked out or reduced to low-level functionaries with shattered self-images.
Longtime members were getting expelled left and right, or disappearing into the night.
Sandra’s right-hand assistant was expelled for staying home to study on her assigned “study
night.” Leading cadres were put on trial over and over again, subjected to merciless
denunciations some were demoted, some were expelled. There was an atmosphere of terror
and instability, even more so than members had become accustomed to.
The effects of years of endless work and punitive criticism were taking their toll. The majority
of the membership at this point were those people who joined in the early years. They were
supposed to be the hearty, the loyal, the tireless they were, however, losing what little grasp
on reality they had left. They were too tired or too confused to read (much less understand)
even the daily newspaper they had little or no contact with the outside world. “Productive
work” consisted of hours of criticism sessions and primarily menial work necessary to get
Baxter ready for her next international trip, or just plain cleaning up after her. Sometimes
upper-level leadership had to spend hours trying to decipher one of Baxter’s alcoholic
computer messages so they could give direction to the militants below them. In an earlier
paper, I described the period toward the end like this:
As time went on, the dream also shattered. The political work we were doing made
less and less sense. We were actively sectarian and disruptive within the Left. We
were routinely criticized by other political groups for being divisive, cult-like, devious,
and untrustworthy. Generally others said that we existed as an organization only to
serve our leader and build her career. Internally, the negativity toward us was dealt
with by denouncing everyone else on the Left as anticommunist, by putting out great
defenses of our leader, great pumped-up presentations on our accomplishments,
inflated with lies, deceptions, and cover-ups.
In reality, more and more of the work focused on enhancing Baxter’s political and
intellectual reputation, when in fact she was no longer doing any of the theoretical
work. She was usually too drunk, depressed, hung-over, or on a rampage about
