Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992, Page 49
any other way of getting out. Another said that every morning for the past six months she
cried and cried in the shower, then pulled herself together, and went off to her facility.
One leading cadre, when asked by Baxter about his group’s discussion, reported that some of
the militants were saying that they had no self-esteem. “Fuck that!” she snorted. “They came
in with no self-esteem.” Thus, the cadres who were leading these meetings were in turmoil.
How could they report back to Baxter what was being said? How could they stop this flow of
emotion? Wasn’t this becoming terribly antiparty? Wouldn’t Baxter simply go through the roof
if she knew what was going on in these meetings? And, for some, how to deal with Sandra’s
whisperings to go back to the meetings and start talking openly with the militants about
Baxter?
In the middle of this tension and breaking of ranks, Baxter left for another of her trips to
Eastern Europe. Without Baxter’s threatening presence and without Sandra playing her crucial
role of whipping everyone back into line, and with sufficient cracks in the structure, the
Workers Democratic Union blew wide open. As I wrote in my journal at the time, “The hopes
for the future were many eleven years ago --and the wounds are deep and plentiful eleven
years later.”
Notes
1. For a more detailed understanding of the social and intellectual roots of the New Left and
their implications, see Defining the Political by Dick Howard, chapters 6 and 7, and The
Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage by Todd Gitlin.
2. The process of party formation outlined here was reconstructed from interviews and
personal conversations between myself and some of the founders. These took place 13 to
16 years after the actual events. To my knowledge, none of the original founding
documents is still in existence, nor are there any remaining written records.
3. Upon Baxter’s urging, a number of students who were in this circle later moved to San
Francisco to join her party, the WDU.
4. The mention of Meyer refers to the book, The Moulding of Communists: The Training of
the Communist Cadre by Frank S. Meyer. This book is a description of training and
membership in the Communist Party-U.S.A., written by a longtime member. Baxter
heavily edited this book and it was reissued to the membership of the Workers Democratic
Union as an internal document and its main training manual, under the title Training of the
Cadre. The use of this text as a very effective source of members’ indoctrination will be
explored in the complete version of this study.
5. It was learned after the WDU’s dissolution that Baxter had attempted unsuccessfully to
form a similar group with some women friends and colleagues in Canada. She would boss
them around and try to get them to wait on her. For whatever reasons, it didn’t work. She
left shortly thereafter for San Francisco.
6. To be expelled without prejudice meant that the ex-member could be spoken to if seen,
could sometimes do work with one of the party’s front groups, would often be expected to
give a regular monthly “donation,” and, in some cases, after a certain amount of time
determined by the party, could apply to rejoin the organization.
7. These types of ceremonies, along with singing at meetings, diminished as the party aged
and Baxter grew more cynical and less involved in the daily workings of the organization.
At one time, forgetting to bring the party’s Songbook to the Branch meeting was
considered an example of utter disrespect and lack of discipline. Many a militant was sent
home to retrieve his or her Songbook, slinking back to the meeting in shame to await
further criticism. In later years, the Songbook, once an honored symbol, gathered dust on
militants’ shelves and was rarely mentioned.
any other way of getting out. Another said that every morning for the past six months she
cried and cried in the shower, then pulled herself together, and went off to her facility.
One leading cadre, when asked by Baxter about his group’s discussion, reported that some of
the militants were saying that they had no self-esteem. “Fuck that!” she snorted. “They came
in with no self-esteem.” Thus, the cadres who were leading these meetings were in turmoil.
How could they report back to Baxter what was being said? How could they stop this flow of
emotion? Wasn’t this becoming terribly antiparty? Wouldn’t Baxter simply go through the roof
if she knew what was going on in these meetings? And, for some, how to deal with Sandra’s
whisperings to go back to the meetings and start talking openly with the militants about
Baxter?
In the middle of this tension and breaking of ranks, Baxter left for another of her trips to
Eastern Europe. Without Baxter’s threatening presence and without Sandra playing her crucial
role of whipping everyone back into line, and with sufficient cracks in the structure, the
Workers Democratic Union blew wide open. As I wrote in my journal at the time, “The hopes
for the future were many eleven years ago --and the wounds are deep and plentiful eleven
years later.”
Notes
1. For a more detailed understanding of the social and intellectual roots of the New Left and
their implications, see Defining the Political by Dick Howard, chapters 6 and 7, and The
Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage by Todd Gitlin.
2. The process of party formation outlined here was reconstructed from interviews and
personal conversations between myself and some of the founders. These took place 13 to
16 years after the actual events. To my knowledge, none of the original founding
documents is still in existence, nor are there any remaining written records.
3. Upon Baxter’s urging, a number of students who were in this circle later moved to San
Francisco to join her party, the WDU.
4. The mention of Meyer refers to the book, The Moulding of Communists: The Training of
the Communist Cadre by Frank S. Meyer. This book is a description of training and
membership in the Communist Party-U.S.A., written by a longtime member. Baxter
heavily edited this book and it was reissued to the membership of the Workers Democratic
Union as an internal document and its main training manual, under the title Training of the
Cadre. The use of this text as a very effective source of members’ indoctrination will be
explored in the complete version of this study.
5. It was learned after the WDU’s dissolution that Baxter had attempted unsuccessfully to
form a similar group with some women friends and colleagues in Canada. She would boss
them around and try to get them to wait on her. For whatever reasons, it didn’t work. She
left shortly thereafter for San Francisco.
6. To be expelled without prejudice meant that the ex-member could be spoken to if seen,
could sometimes do work with one of the party’s front groups, would often be expected to
give a regular monthly “donation,” and, in some cases, after a certain amount of time
determined by the party, could apply to rejoin the organization.
7. These types of ceremonies, along with singing at meetings, diminished as the party aged
and Baxter grew more cynical and less involved in the daily workings of the organization.
At one time, forgetting to bring the party’s Songbook to the Branch meeting was
considered an example of utter disrespect and lack of discipline. Many a militant was sent
home to retrieve his or her Songbook, slinking back to the meeting in shame to await
further criticism. In later years, the Songbook, once an honored symbol, gathered dust on
militants’ shelves and was rarely mentioned.
