The 18th congressional district that the socialist meat packer is running in includes most of the city of Houston. On their first day of petitioning Dutrow and his supporters collected 105 signatures from people in the workers district that surrounds the campaign offices. Five hundred signatures are required for ballot status. Campaign supporters are planning to submit 1,500.

"It's good to see a workers' campaign here in Texas," said Oscar Riveras as he signed the petition. "I wish you well." After signing he stopped to look at the books on the campaign table. He picked up El desorden mundial del capitalismo (Capitalism's World Disorder). "That name says a lot," he commented.

The night before petitioning began, Dutrow gave a talk at the Militant Labor Forum, where he outlined the campaign's support for the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and called for an end to Washington's aid to the Israeli regime. The socialist candidate encouraged those in attendance to learn about and defend five Cuban revolutionaries framed up and imprisoned by the U.S. government. The five were living in Florida where they were gathering information on the activities of right-wing organizations that have carried out violent attacks against Cuba. He called for the release of nearly 600 prisoners Washington holds in brutal conditions at its naval base in Guantánamo, Cuba, and in Afghanistan.  
 
'We work harder and harder'
Out on the street the next day, Walter Singleton, a chemical worker in Houston for 43 years, was glad to meet the socialist can didate. "We work harder and harder and the rich in this country just get richer and richer," he observed. He responded to campaign signs supporting the Palestinians, "Have you seen what they are doing to those people?" he asked. "They are fighting them with tanks. They have rocks and they are going after them with the most powerful military forces."

One man said he didn't want to sign because he believed "the Jews need a place of their own." But he listened to the socialist candidate as he put forward another view: "Many people think that Israel is a refuge," said Dutrow. Explaining that Israel was established as a military garrison state to threaten and terrorize the Arab masses on behalf of imperialism, the socialist candidate said the country has been from the start "a death trap for the Jewish people." Dutrow told him that his campaign is for a revolution against the Israeli state and the establishment of a democratic, secular Palestine. "That is in the interests of all working people," he said. "Only then will Palestinians and Jews be able to live as equals."

A woman standing nearby said, "Give me that petition. I'll sign for anyone willing to tell the truth about what is happening in Israel today."

Greg Garcia signed after reading the socialist candidate's flyer. "I'll sign for anyone speaking out against Israel's war against the Palestinians," he said. "That aggression has been going on a long time. And the Bush administration is behind Israel all the way."

When approached by a petitioner, one woman asked, "Is he running again? I signed for him when he was running for mayor. I wish he would get elected so I wouldn't have to do all this work in the hot sun!" She laughed as she signed, adding that she thought it was important for working people to run their own candidates.  
 
Opposes Supreme Court decision
A young G.I., home on leave for Easter weekend, asked if he could sign even though he was in the service. He agreed with Dutrow on the importance of rights for workers, particularly immigrants. Like many people the socialist campaigners met, he was concerned about the recent Supreme Court decision striking down a back pay settlement for a worker fired for participating in a union-organizing drive. The court ruled that because the worker was an undocumented immigrant the boss is not liable for paying wages lost due to the unjust firing.

At the meeting with campaign supporters at the end of the day, Dutrow said the response to the socialist campaign "was exhilarating. Working people we met are deeply affected by the determination of Palestinians and other fighters. Many who signed our petitions see their rights and those of other workers in the cross hairs of the so-called justice system--from the courts to the cops.

"We met workers who said they had been looking for a party like ours that doesn't promise anything phony but is ready to fight injustice," he said. "And we know we will meet many more as we campaign."

Jacquie Henderson is a sewing machine operator in Houston. Steve Warshell contributed to this article.  
 
 
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