# Does The USA Communist party Still Exist? How Big is It? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868 "2005-04-11T23:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/1 "2005-04-11T23:20:04Z")
I’ve always wonderd whta the old-line Marxists of the USA CP have been doing, since the fall of the evil empire. It strikes me that very few people would be interested in joining such an organization, given the horrors that communism visied upon the Russian people. Anyway, is the newspaper “THE DAILEY WORKER” still published? And does the FBI still infiltrate the party’smeetings? Where’s the headquarters of the CP? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/2 "2005-04-11T23:26:40Z")
> **[Communist Party USA](https://www.cpusa.org/)** > > Official website of the Communist Party USA, est. 1919. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/3 "2005-04-12T00:40:28Z")
They don’t even run candidates for election anymore. They just endores the Democratic Party’s candidates. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/4 "2005-04-12T00:53:47Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > They don’t even run candidates for election anymore. They just endores the Democratic Party’s candidates. Stunning. Simply stunning. Like any real communist or even socialist, progressive or true liberal does anything but vomit at the thought of the democratic party. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/5 "2005-04-12T01:00:38Z")
In name only? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/6 "2005-04-12T03:19:13Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > Stunning. Simply stunning. Like any real communist or even socialist, progressive or true liberal does anything but vomit at the thought of the democratic party. Not only that, but it’s completely [false](http://www.cpusa.org/article/articleview/591/1/56/). > [@](#): > > \*\*2. The CPUSA does not endorse any candidate for President in the 2004 election. \*\* > We do not endorse the candidates of other political parties. We > have refrained from fielding our own candidate so as not to > distract from the main effort of defeating Bush and the > ultra-riight extremist agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/7 "2005-04-12T15:40:49Z")
Considering that “defeating Bush” was code for “vote for Kerry” among many of the minor parties (and, heck, even the DNC and allies themselves phrased things this way at times) of the Left, I’d have to say that even if the CP didn’t overtly, technically endorse the Democratic ticket, they did so through insinuation. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/8 "2005-04-12T19:26:12Z")
Is **Olentzero** around any more? IIRC he’s a Communist. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/9 "2005-04-12T19:33:05Z")
> [@Crandolph](#): > > Considering that “defeating Bush” was code for “vote for Kerry” among many of the minor parties (and, heck, even the DNC and allies themselves phrased things this way at times) of the Left, I’d have to say that even if the CP didn’t overtly, technically endorse the Democratic ticket, they did so through insinuation. One might reasonably argue that, in fact I think it would be a **great debate**. However, in **general** the **question** ’s answer is no, CPUSA did not endorse a candidate in the 2004 presidential election, nor did it endorse a non-CPUSA candidate in any other major elections that year. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/10 "2005-04-12T19:34:14Z")
> [@Crandolph](#): > > Considering that “defeating Bush” was code for “vote for Kerry” among many of the minor parties (and, heck, even the DNC and allies themselves phrased things this way at times) of the Left, I’d have to say that even if the CP didn’t overtly, technically endorse the Democratic ticket, they did so through insinuation. This is so simpleminded it’s wrong. The CPUSA, like a whole hell of a lot of other people in 2004, wanted to get Bush out _By Any (Legal) Means Necessary_. In this country, that meant abandoning your principles and voting for whoever the Democrats ran that year. I am by no means a Democrat if I have any reasonable choice in the matter, but I voted Kerry simply to try and get Bush and his cronies out of office. **Quartz** : **Olentzero** left quite publically years ago. There are other Socialists on this board, but I don’t know of any Communists. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-usa-communist-party-still-exist-how-big-is-it/298868/11 "2005-04-12T19:45:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Olentzero left quite publically years ago. Well, if April 4, 2005 is years ago, yeah. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?username=Olentzero](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?username=Olentzero) Note the last activity date: 04-04-2005 01:04 PM and he’s listed as a Charter Member.