In its 1972 convention, the Socialist Party had two Co-Chairmen, Bayard Rustin and Charles S. Zimmerman of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU); and a First National Vice Chairman, James S. Glaser, who were re-elected by acclamation. In his opening speech to the convention, Co-Chairman Bayard Rustin called for the group to organize against the "reactionary policies of the Nixon Administration" while he also criticized the "irresponsibility and élitism of the 'New Politics' liberals".The party changed its name to Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) by a vote of 73 to 34. Renaming the party as SDUSA was meant to be "realistic". "The New York Times" observed that the Socialist Party had last sponsored a candidate for President in 1956, who received only 2,121 votes and which were cast in only six states. Because the party no longer sponsored candidates in presidential elections, the name "Party" had been "misleading" as "Party" had hindered the recruiting of activists who participated in the Democratic Party, according to the majority report. The name "Socialist" was replaced by "Social Democrats" because many Americans associated the word "socialism" with Soviet Communism. The party also wished to distinguish itself from two small Marxist parties, the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Labor Party.