The American CP enforced ideological discipline-as I undertand it, many people, Woody Gutherie, for example, were kicked out for being at variance from the "Party Line"--

All of the Communist Party organizations throughout the world were very closely connected to the Kremlin, and were subject to strict hierarchical direction--the Party in the US being no exception--

The CP in the US was, at one time, very powerful, in American domestic politics--The US Party has contributed more to effort of the world communism than is generally discussed--and American party members have played a significant role in directing the Central Committee, from the beginnings until surprisingly recently--

As to your feelings about Howard Fast, well, I cannot forget that he went to prison, did not testify against his friends, and stood with the party much longer than most people of prominence--I will warn you that he is a writer of the "And then I wrote a book that was translated in 22 languages and inspired people all over the world"I will read Denning's book--

I brought this subject up purely within the confines of our discussions about what is and isn't folk music--you have pointed out that commercial interests have manipulated content and even definitions of folk music--I was commmenting that the content and definitions had been manipulated for ideological and nationalistic reasons as well--

The degree to which individuals associated with folk music the have knowingly carried out directives of the CP is a topic thread that I don't want to start--I believe that I mentioned something to the effect that the party used folk music for propaganda purposes--folk music being "The People's Music" and the Communists have done a great deal to create and propagate images and icons that elevated the working person to mythic proportions, but this is not a big secret--

I only point out that great people's choruses singing carefully selected and professionally arranged(and occasionally rewritten) folksongs and wisecracking troubadours whose "folksongs" always decry injustices done to the working person and whose punchlines always target the "fatcats" are selling something too--