Aw: Hollande's victory in France inspires American socialists

There might be one key lesson for American socialists to take away from the French election, and it’s a familiar socialist phrase: “unite!”

France’s socialists were able to bring together a half-dozen left-wing groups into one coalition with a candidate, Hollande, they could all get behind, and he won. It was close: about 52 percent to 48 percent.

“That was really inspiring for us,” said Billy Wharton, co-chairman of Socialist Party USA, one of a handful of socialist groups in the United States.

And for U.S. socialists frustrated by their fractured movement, Occupy Wall Street offers a beacon of hope. The protest movement has claimed the mantle of the masses and demanded socialist-leaning changes from the American bourgeoisie, Obama and Romney alike.