Cafferty File: Mistake for some in GOP to call Democrats ‘Socialists’?
By Heather Saturday Apr 25, 2009 2:00pm
From The Cafferty File April 24, 2009.
It seems like some Republicans still haven’t realized that they lost big-time last November because the American people are sick and tired of their style of politics. And here’s Exhibit A: a conservative faction of the Republican National Committee wants the party to brand Democrats as Socialists.
Politico reports RNC member James Bopp, Jr. of Indiana is accusing President Obama of wanting to restructure American society along socialist ideals, saying: “Just as President Reagan’s identification of the Soviet Union as the evil ‘empire’ galvanized opposition to Communism, we hope that the accurate depiction of the Democrats as a Socialist Party will galvanize opposition to their march to Socialism.”
16 RNC members agreed to the resolution and are petitioning Chairman Michael Steele to set a special meeting to consider it. An RNC spokesman wouldn’t say what Steele thinks about all this, but a memo from earlier this month suggests that while he agrees with hardliners who say the president is leading the country toward socialism, he’s probably not going to make it official party policy.
And it’s not just Democrats who they’re after — Bopp also wanted to criticize the three Republicans who supported the stimulus package: Senators Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. But that effort was apparently watered down — the resolution instead praises those in the party who have opposed bailouts and Democratic spending plans.
Several Republicans threw around the “socialist” label during last year’s campaign; and more recently Congressman Spencer Bachus of Alabama claimed there were 17 socialists in Congress. None of this seems like the best way for the party to attract voters.
Here’s my question to you: Is it a mistake for some Republicans to try and brand Democrats as ‘Socialists’?
Linda from Kentucky writes:
This is precisely why I have no faith at all in the Republican Party. They keep trying to appeal to their knuckle-dragging base. I notice Meghan McCain making the rounds, trying to yank the party back to some semblance of reason. More power to her. The rest of them are idiots.Bruce from St. Paul, Minnesota writes:
There are multiple problems with this strategy. First, people do not associate socialism with any particular evil regime. Many don’t even know what it means. Others think we could use a little socialism around here. Secondly, they are using it as a defense against healthcare reform and a more fair tax system without offering any intelligent alternative.Reed from Washington writes:
Politically, this approach will not pay off for the GOP. It can only serve to rally a portion of the base that doesn’t require it, while alienating moderate Republicans such as myself.Kerry writes:
It is much, much worse than just the perceived “socialism.” My guess is they are now headed (thanks to Obama) on a road to fascism and/or communism!Charles from Oregon writes:
Jack, The Republicans are using the labels Socialist, Fascist, etc., to raise fear in the hearts of Americans. To them it’s like cooking spaghetti: if it sticks, then it’s done and ready to be used to fool the people of the U.S. Unfortunately, they’re showing how trivial they are because they have no new ideas of their own.Scott writes:
The Republicans are wrong; there are way more than 17 Socialists in Congress.Kim from Blair, Nebraska writes:
Probably, but give ‘em enough rope and they will hang themselves. I believe they almost have enough already.
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Labeling the Democrats as socialists is a shabby deception which blurs the definition of socialism and is an assault on language itself. However, once the obfuscation becomes apparent, it will probably have the contrary effect of promoting socialism. Whether it represents a net gain for America remains to be seen, but it is certainly a mistake for Republicans.
Ya, the bushies are still trying to make arguments with labels, and that's flat out ignorant.
I suggest that Democrats propose a resolution to officially brand Republicans as 'Dickheads', or possibly 'Shitheads'. Either will do.
Can we get some support for this?
How funny! I second that
... Nazis.
Either of the others will suffice, I suppose.
I use the phrase "tiny-brained folk," but shitheads is fine by me.
Ya, why not? They're just LABELS, LABELS, LABELS. they have NO SUBSTANCE, only pop!
Republicans have a label across their foreheads that reads "GUILTY", so they want lot's of labels around to distract.
In honor of our former vice president.
The Theocratic Fascist Party is what I have been calling them for awhile.
How about the "Cheney party, aka Dickheads" to get away with the double entendre?
How about the Party of:
Corporate Republicans Against People - CRAP
Republicans Against Public Ethose - RAPE
Republicans And Boneheads Invoking Evil Stuff - RABIES
If you think the GOP is in shambles now, just wait until the end of Obama's term when none of their ridiculous claims will have come to fruition.
done.
That's when the fierce campaigning to undo his majority will begin in earnest. That's when the big knives will come out.
Busheviks left behind a feculent cess the reek of which touches EVERY aspect of the Government. Everything they touched they fucked up. Nothing works the way it's supposed to.
Obama more or less promised he could fix it. All of it. Which was and is ridiculous, on the face of it. Jesus hisseff couldn't cleanse Washington of all the corruption growing there unchecked.
That's why he's put so much on the table.
He figures he'll get a winner on one of 'em.
And really, that's all he needs: one BIG win. Now what will count for a "win" and for whom is an eternally debatable question.
I am pretty certain that, whatever it is, it will be as much cosmetic asa 'real,' and reversible.
But I think he's on a thin edge, a slender wire. If the Pukes and their press can either prevent a serious "victory," or diminish and/or rebuke a even a small one--and if the economy is still in serious flux--Obama could become a lame duck in nov. '10
Hard to say whether the big knives come out in '10 or '12, as I believe the "unitary" Presidency is clearly always the grand prize for the right wing.
The GOP is currently like a cornered beast that is only beginning to realize its predicament. Rest assured, though, as you say; the knives will come out.
I'm not sure one single big win for Obama is the only winning scenario for the next eight to sixteen years (though, indeed, it is a winner.) However, given the big win scenario, the clear objective is universal, single-payer health care. Pass that--game over.
Let them bring out the big knives. They'll do more damage to themselves flailing away than they will do to Obama.
The only hint of a threat the Republican party has put out recently was electing Michael Steele, and they've already slashed him across the jugular while flailing around, and he's slowly bleeding to death. I'm hoping their next step will be to rally around Ron Paul, and split him off into a third, libertarian party. (Yeah, I know, there's already a Libertarian party, but Ron Paul's followers don't know that.)
The limbaugh party doesn't have any big knives. They have Palin, Bachmann, Gingrich, Cantor.... These knives are not only teeny tiny, they're not even sharp!
"Big knives". That has to be my laugh of the day.
It's like after 9/11, when you couldn't take a plastic knife on an airplane. You could do a hell of a lot more damage with a ball-point pen, but the idiots in charge (once again) had it bass-ackwards:
The 'sword' is mightier than the pen. Yeah, right.
Is it a mistake for some Republicans to try and brand Democrats as ‘Socialists’?
Duh.
Oh and somebody should point out to commentor Kerry that fascism and communism are mutually exclusive. Better use tiny words though...
The G-nO-P hasn't had a good idea since Eisenhower. Red Baiting....spare me. Only the idiot G-nO-P dead enders would fall for that.
I think we are in the last throes, if you will, of the dead ender insurgents of the Republican guard...er...party.
compared to what they are calling Dems and Obama behind closed doors. I'm just waiting for Morton Kondracke to publicly refer to Obama as a tar baby.
In refering to Latinos and African Americans as 'mud people' and 'sub human'
that there is already a Democratic Socialist Party.
and a fine intelligent group they are.
Aside from the laughable stupidity of this reprehensible stunt by Bopp, the D'oh-P equates socialism with Soviet style communism. Note to the Stupid Sixteen: Read a history book and learn the difference. Better yet, drop out of public service altogether.
Boy are these people losers or what. Jesus H. Christ.
I am a socialist, I hope no one thinks I am a Democrat.
There are some important differences between the Ds and Rs but it is very narrow in terms of the world's politics.
What we have in this country is State Capitalism, that is Crony Capitalism. That remains true regardless of the party.
Sadly
Every since the advent of the National Security Act of 1947, the creation of the National Security State, the CIA, the MIC and the invention of the cold war, the propaganda has been ramped up in extreme against socialism.
It was all a matter of keeping the war bucks for the profiteers flowing non stop.
The Islamists were substituted for a while, they are running out of steam.
The War Mongers are back to talking about Socialists.
that the Dems would be labeled center-right in almost every other democracy in the industrialized world.
Which makes all this talk about socialism from the GOP even the more pathetic.
"that the Dems would be labeled center-right in almost every other democracy in the industrialized world."
Almost? Seriously, this isn't a rhetorical question, but IS there another democratic, developed country that you know of where the U.S. Democratic party wouldn't be considered center-right? I can't think of one. The only country that comes close would be Israel, and even then, only in terms of foreign policy, not domestic policy.
Not that that matters WITHIN the U.S., however, where the Overton Window has been shoved so far to the right that it's hard to even think of the country as having a 'political spectrum.' There's right, and far right.
It is a bit sad how many Americans boast how only America has liberty and freedom- when in reality America has fewer freedoms and less liberty than what you will find in Canada, Australia or Europe.
Point this out to a right winger, and surprise surprise, they will threaten you with violence
britain
and
israel
and
canada
and
australia
The Conservative party of Britain, Conservative party of Canada, and Conservative party of Australia are to the left of the U.S. Democratic party on almost every issue, except for a few foreign policy issues where they are at par with the Democratic party.
Can you list one policy issue where the Conservative parties of Britain, Canada, or Australia are to the right of the U.S. Democrats? (And I wouldn't count the U.S. invasion of Iraq, since most of the Democrats in Congress voted FOR that in 2003.)
With the exception of those idiots and wannabe Nazi's the BNP the Tories are about as far right as it gets here in the UK and they are just left of the Dems right now.
The Dems are no progressives, don't make that mistake.
People here are hopeful the Obama will not be another Bush, but that is really about it. There is no illusion that the Dems are even as far left as Labor (who is really more centrist than anything).
Hell, Sarkozy was held up as a friend of the right by the Republicans when he was elected, I found that hilarious given that as an arch conservative in France he's really quite a bit to the left of the Dems on most things.
I think it is a mistake but I do not think it would result in a "contrary effect of promoting socialism". I just don't believe it would be very effective. It could result in limited galvanizing effect for older people that remember the cold war vividly and want nothing to do with socialism that would remind them too much of communism. Instead they should resolve to a campaign of bringing to light the dangers of too much government social influence and emphasize the negative consequences.
Robby,
Their base would never be able to comprehend that. The political IQ of the people they are pandering to is in single digits. They have no idea what the differences are between the different political/economic ideologies.
they think they live in a democracy
Anybody who thinks that communism and fascism are in anyway compatible, (like commentor Kerry above), has no clue what they are talking about. All they know are Limbaugh attack points.
Just not true. I live in a huge republican state and the everyday people that you would come in contact with are far more informed then they are given credit for. Some are small business owners that are very educated and definitely understand the financial implications of political/economic ideologies. Some of these people are my friends who are good family people. Even though they may dissagree with your opnions they are not stupid people.
But the types who were at the tea bag parties and McCain/Palin rallies are the ones who steer the GOP and the Republicans in congress. Not the Republican types who are your friends and the good family people you speak of.
Robby, what huge Republican state do you live in if I may ask?
Texas
case closed.
What about you Mr. Seveneights what great cosmopolitan state is it that you hail from?
New York. Manhattan to be exact.
Well you should visit sometime you might just change your mind about Texas. Hell you may even change your address.
*
And it was the longest year of my life.
letter carrier, I would rather take the cold of the north than a summer in Tejas.
Tell me about it I was a tank welder two summers when I was younger talk about torture. They should use that as "enhanced integration". That and working in attics in the summer where the two hottest jobs I can remember having. I feel sorry for the roofers.
Looking out my window over my land there is a cool wind blowing in and everything is green. The wildflowers are blooming all over and my neighbors are riding horses with their little girl. A car may pass every 20 min. or so. As big city as you may think you are I can't imagine anywhere better than this.
I can get the same thing when I go to Vermont without folks shooting at me, politicians trying to away my rights and folks beating bibles in my face telling my I'm immoral and going to hell. Go tell your neighbors riding the horse with the little girl you're gay and see how perfect life is for you there. Better yet, tell them you're Muslim, even better, a Demmycrat who voted for Obama.
If you're white, straight, conservative, Christian and like to shoot critters I'm sure Texas is probably nirvana. For me I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
I'm like Eva Gabor (without the pearls).
"New York is where I'd rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue."
Being a minority I have experienced prejudice before thing is you don't here me whining about it. The times I have been to Dallas to be honest I could not get out fast enough myself. Too much traffic, crime, and smog. I don't believe in stereo types about gay people but I know others do. I would ask the little girl's father what he thinks but I think they only speak spanish and mine is not so good. I guess if your happy in New York good for you.
I didn't whine when I was in Texas. Had I stayed much longer I probably would have though. Which is why I left. I'm not a whiner if I don't like my circumstances I don't bitch about it, I change them.
Glad you are happy there.
I'll leave you with a couple of posts from Kos. The two from 4/23 and 4/24 I think may be of interests to some of your Republicans friends especially to the half who, according to this poll would be half including your governor, that support succession. http://kos.dailykos.com/
NEVER going back.
Never been and never going. Call me close minded, but there's a big planet out here to see.
PS, the "case closed" comment was priceless. (6 & 7/8)
Except for Austin, it sounds like a vast, hot wasteland. Nothing I have heard about the place makes me even want to visit it, much less live there for Chrissakes.
Every time they showed bush at his barren, scorched, dusty hellhole of a "ranch" I thought "Thank God I don't have to live there!"
You love it. You can have it. I'll stay here in Ohio. OK?
hahahahahahahaha
The ones who want to hold a vote to attempt to brand the Democratic Party as "The Democrat Socialist Party". That isn't smart and it isn't being pushed by smart people. Not all ideologues are stupid but these ones are.
The terms are mutually exclusive.
' I do not think it would result in a "contrary effect of promoting socialism". '
It depends on how you define 'promoting.' From a "little boy who cried wolf too often" point of view, it would probably blunt the American peoples' knee-jerk fear of the WORD socialism, and if enough people actually believe that Obama is a socialist (which he obviously isn't), and his policies help the country, then people will make the false link and think socialism isn't so bad. At worst, I think their foolish use of the label socialism might promote a healthy discussion on the 24/7 news cycle about what exactly socialism really IS. ie-instead of doing what Democrats, liberals, and moderates usually do when they're called "socialist," which is to start yelping "NO WE'RE NOT!" and then put on an orange hunting vest and run off to the woods to shoot animals, they can respond by saying "what do you MEAN by 'socialist?' What's your definition of it, and how are we similar to that?" That kind of an approach will do more to destroy the critics than the usual denial approach, which does more harm than good.
" Instead they should resolve to a campaign of bringing to light the dangers of too much government social influence and emphasize the negative consequences."
Who should? The Democrats or the Republicans? Again, I suppose it depends on your definition of "social influence" but the Republicans could NEVER do THAT, since the Culture Warriors are all that's left of their base. The Democrats, on the other hand, would do PRETTY WELL if they talked about the dangers of too much government social influence, and I think they're already doing that.
On the other hand, if by social influence you mean personal dependance on government etc. (the same tune the Republicans have been singing for decades) you're right, they can still get some milage out of that, but only if Obama chooses not to capture the "personal responsibility/ stand on your own two feet" ground out from under them, and I don't think he'll do that. He's already gone half way to snatching the religious dog-whistle politics ground out from under them (did you SEE his "Sermon of The Mount" economic speech? Incredible!), so I don't see why he won't capture the personal responsibility ground as well.
I encourage them to all the name calling they can muster. The only people it attracts are the low IQ inbred group or as the media puts it their base. Independents shy away from that crap. I know because I am one
Rightwingers are about redistribution of the wealth also, it's just that they want it all, all, to go to the top. Medicare, Social Security, Veterans Hospitals, and many other "government programs" are socialistic. So, why not get meaningful healthcare, that the citizenry can contribute to. Remember when Bush wanted to privatized Social Security? He was like Bernard Madoff-we'd all have been screwed. Wakeup folks on the Right, they are just using you, with no benefit to you.
Perhaps the DNC can draft a resolution to call the Republican Party:
Criminals
Morally Bankrupt Bastards
Racist Thugs
Assholes
Ignorant Party of No
Nut Jobs.
or
War Crime Defendents
We're morons, dude.
Childish name calling is all these losers have anymore. I hope it backfires bigtime and we do become Democratic Socialist with an emphasis on democracy and participation.
is it just my pc or is the new video player a lagarama?
yes it is.
Does that make Republicans Anti-social?
I wonder how long it will take the GOP to realize they've got an entire generation of voters on their hands that has grown up after Russia fell from power, or were young enough when it happened that Russia was never a threat in our minds. Socialism isn't the same boogey man to us as it was to our parents, and frankly hammering on it like this over and over only serves to emphasize further how out of touch the GOP is.
Social Security. Medicare. Medicaid. These are the three most popular, successful government programs in the history of the country. And all three of them are specifically, unabashedly Socialist. Hell, one of them even has "Social" right in its name!
You see, Kerry and the other fools out there, America has what is known as a "mixed economy" that includes a balance of capitalism and socialism, just like every other advanced democracy in the world. The balance began to tip heavily, and dangerously, toward unfettered capitalism during the Bush Disaster.
I wish that the tea-party fools would have put down their "No Socialism" signs and held up "No Social Security" or "No Medicare" signs instead. I wonder how far that would get them!
This whole argument, like all arguments from the right, is so stupid it's hardly worth discussing.
Rushuplican Party
Rethuglican Party
Republiklan Party
or combine all three:
Rushthugliklan Party
Send the RushThuglaban Klan to RushThuglistan where they belong.
Cafferty's report ellides an important thing: these fools want to officially call the Democratic Party , the "Democrat Socialist" party. Literally.
Besides combining two insults in one, I have to ask how skull-fuckingly dumb these people are that they think they are allowed to literally rename the opposing party on their own insulting, viciously stupid terms.
This is all they have left, people. This is what they're reduced to. You'd think they were 10 year-olds in a schoolyard, but this is what the Republicans are considering, they think it's a good idea. Pathological, petty, unbelievably stupid and useless, they expose themselves for what they are. Intellectual pissants with no ideas, sheer obnoxiousness and obstruction is their raison d'etre.
Ya, let's hope they keep it up.
I'm with Stephen Pizzo on this one.
If the Repugs want truth in political advertising so be it.
The Dems can call themselves Democratic Socialists, or perhaps Socialist Dems as they do here in England.
And the Repugs can call themselves the Republic Fascist Party.
Or perhaps the Fascist Nationalists of America.
Or anything that makes it clear that they are fascists in the classical corporate loving, nationalistic flag waving, homeland/motherland/fatherland protecting American versions of Mussolini's old Party of hate.
Or maybe they could just go with Rich White Crooks Party.
That works too as long as they don't try to claim they aren't gay.
While this is truly insane and stupid, as an actual socialist, I hope that they keep it up. the most recent polling indicates that the more the Republicans identify Democrats, Obama, and his policies with socialism, the more acceptable socialism becomes to Americans as whole. Of course these things are generally far from socialist (or a most very weakly so) we will take all the positive publicity that we can get.
the right have been saying how they need to, again, take congress back like they did in 96'. Some of the big differences this time is that they have no leader like they did with Newt. The internet is playing a huge part and the Republicans (which have too many people that don't get hte intertubes) are many steps behind.
Being leaderless, they have made many mistakes and those will take many years to fix. It is hard to fix stupid and video is damning evidence.
With every move they make, they marginalize themselves.
With every criticism against Dems and Obama, they grow less effective.
The daily spoiled child tantrums make the victory in November all the more sweet.
He always asks loaded questions, but this time he even gives a hint!
Clearly no one on CNN has ever heard of science-based polling.
we need you to tell us that. I suppose Foxnews wouldn't do that, ever.
You're proof that stupidity is not monopolized by the right wing.
Opps sorry, you probably didn't need me to tell you that either.
What is science-based polling? Asking Americans which talking points they like best?
US style capitalism is a failure- why can't Repugs see that?
THEY make plenty of money along with their patrons and enjoy the highest standard of living in the world. They just have to stand on the necks of everybody else to sustain it.
Its not a failure if you are one of the (damn I can't remeber my high school german) in crowd. Of course everyone else and the planet get screwed but, what the hell.
I remember last year and prior that, the percentage of hardcore republicans fluctuated around 31% on most polls. They would be against anyone and for anyone running a radical agenda, but for some reason that margin now falls around 26%. Are republicans waking up and smelling the coffee, even their most ardent supporters? Are Americans finally realizing on a grand scale that conservatism is damaging our country? Are conservatives starting to understand that conservatism doesn't help them one bit?
I actually think the 28% ers are anarchist, They socialize the corparate america losses and privatize the gains. They are against goverment and really have no other plan but to continue the rape of Miss Liberty.
As a proud Social Democrat, I take exception to labeling Liberals Socialists. It's an insult to Socialism.
Indeed, but it does help improve our image with the vast uneducated masses of Americans.
you're not quite right there. it's "vast,vast,vast"
With Obama, single-payer is nearly dead, but the proponents for higher health care aren't taking any chances. The Heritage Foundation plan is for tax breaks for people to buy individual policies.
However, 86% of large corporations are self insured. Se, we can say that if we want to run the country like a business, and we agree that everyone should have health care, then, the self-insured approach should be utilized as the cheapest approach, and that those who favor 300 million Americans getting individual policies are advocating the most expensive approach for the purpose of maximizing insurance company profits.
I'm noticing a step-up of insurance ads now on television, particularly around the local news. They need to keep cost analysis out of the debate. Infact, they are doing a pretty good job of keeping health care reform off the news altogether. We need to counter their "socialism" argument with the lowest cost approach being the "fiscally responsible" approach. Perhaps we need to abandon "single payer" terminology in favor to the U.S. being "self insured", to facilitate the corporate analogy. We spend 16% of GDP on health care, whereas Europe and Japan spend 11% of GDP. The 5% of GDP that the Republicans and some Democrats want to extract from Americans for their corporate pals amounts to a huge chunk of change - perhaps $600B or so?
I think the goal is still to get to a Canadian style single-payer health care system, but they're realistic enough to realize that they can't get there in one step. Have you seen any of Peter Orszag's lectures on health care? The first slide he usually shows is one that shows that it will be HEALTHCARE and not SOCIAL SECURITY that will bankrupt the U.S. in a few years if nothing is done. The second slide is one that shows how communities located near fancy research hospitals always spend more on healthcare, but don't get better results, suggesting that there are a lot of fancy, expensive procedures that do nothing. The third slide he usually shows is one talkign about the psychology of health care, and how, if you make a company health care plan mandatory UNLESS you fill out some paperwork to opt out, most people don't opt out. If you do the reverse (requiring people to fill out paper work to opt in), most people don't sign up for the company plan.
Based on this, I think the plan is going to be as follows:
1. Spend money on a study to figure out which procedures work and which are a waste of money.
2. Fix it so that Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans health care only pays for the things that work, but pays for them more often, making these programs more efficient than others. Soon, these programs will develop a good reputation for health care.
3. Remove the legislation requiring companies to provide healthcare for employees (which puts them at a competitive disadvantage compared to the rest of the developed world-and also puts big business on the side of the Democrats on this issue), and bring in a government health care plan (that simultaneously absorbs all the previous government plans) where everybody is covered UNLESS they opt out and sign up for a private plan. Make it mandatory that you either have to take the government plan or a private plan. (As "slide three" would suggest, this will be the step that gets about 80% of the public on board with the government plan, giving it a TIPPING POINT.)
4. Since the government plan doesn't need to make a profit while the private plans do, the private plans will eventually drop out because they can't compete with the government plan, and we have de facto single payer health care.
Public Schools
Public Libraries
Public Parks
Social Security
Public Fire and Police Protection
Federal Army / Navy / Marines / Coast Guard /Air Force
National Guard
Past and present Public propping up (Bailouts) of private business (Corporate Socialism). (See Chrysler, AIG etc.)
Paid Public Servants
National Museums
On and on and on - just a few examples of why we are already a socialist nation. Bet you could add a few more examples. Also betcha that Nationalized free health care won't be on your list.
Wall Street bailout
No bid government contracts to Halliburton
...or would that classify more as welfare?
Firemen
People who work on public highways.
People who work for the water districts.
Government employees.
Klanservatives just don't like government to help the unemployed, the elderly, the disabled, the poor, even though in most cases people have paid taxes for unemployment insurance, Social security and medicare benefits, and welfare.
The Klanservatives appear the real freeloaders of society. They tend to want to rip off workers with extreme cheap labor, attempting to cut people out of the courtroom when corporations or doctors hurt them, and with other extreme right wing klanservative actions.
How about "Home Owners" associations? Yep, this nation has gone commie alright.
From "Democrat Party" to "Democrat Socialist Party".
What next? The "Democrat Socialist Who Bite Off Kittens Heads Party"?
As Kos says, you really can't mock them enough.
So they want to use the word socialists and Democrat Party?
Ok, let them attempt this.
We'll call their party the Republiklan party and refer to members as Klanservatives.
The Republiklan party: Knights of the White Right Fright.
Religious nuts and tax cut sluts.
The Party of Ebeneezer Scrooge and Tomas de Torquemada.
The Republicans support capitalism as an ideology. I support it when it works. I support a socialist approach when that works better than a capitalist approach. The data or evidence controls.
In the case of health care, it's clear that the socialist approach taken in Europe and Japan delivers an equal or better result with less costs. The data supports copying that approach.
That's why we have to say we are both capitalists and socialists. Between the two approaches, we'll support the most cost effective approach because we're fiscally conservative and want the approach that best benefits the citizens of the country.
In one sense, the Republicans are, once again, trying to frame the debate. That needs to be sidestepped.
It needs to be confronted head on. Sidestepping it just kicks the can down the road.
Call it bull shit, not bovine excrement.
If's it's open season on renaming people, places and things we dislike, I might have a few ideas.
I think the Limbot party has slipped a cog somewhere. Fascists are anti-communist and socialist, so we can't be both. But if they insist on labels, here's one for them, The Fascist-Corporatist party. There had never been such hatred between the parties before Newt and Rush and FOX. The F-C's have caused this and deserve to be marginalized to the vanishing point.
Congressionally nuke them and show them how irrelvant they are. Kicked into the corner and left there for another 60 years until they can learn to tell the truth and stop cheating on their wives.
Stall mates.
she shoe may be soft, but the rest of me is turgid!
Indeed, somebody should point out that LIBERALS were always the first people that Fascists, Communists, and Nazis came after. (I guess we have to add Republicans to that list now, too.)
It always amuses me when wingnuts call Obama a communist in one breath and a fascist in the next. I'd always thought those movements are mutually exclusive, but they do, in fact, have two things in common. 1. A rabid sense of nationalism, and 2. a rabid hatred of liberals.
Blitzer is a tewl! Jack is a perfect gentleman, and maybe the first man to suggest a President who is black, female and not Condi Rice![this torture stuff will haunt the remainder of her public life--believe it!]
This is what happens when a political party has no integral core any more and no serious leader -- the nutjobs in the party crawl out of the woodwork and take over, chittering away with their strange insectoid offerings. Of course they take their lead from leaders-who-aren't-the-leaders like Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and Bill O'Reilly. Instead of tending to and shoring up substantive party principles and programs, they're mimicking what they hear from hate-mongers. It's really ridiculous.
Maybe there's nothing to be done as long as they're leaderless and lost but to let them continue their spiral downward and hit bottom since it's the path they choose.
Pawn insHannity, Malicious Malkin, Ann Coltergeist, Glen Beck the far right wreck, Melany Moron, Michael Whiner (Savage), need I go on?
I particularly love the ones who say they are Independents but then go on and on about the evil liberals. Independent really? Independent like the wolf wearing a sheep's skin?
That really needed to be said and Cafferty didn't disappoint as usual. The Republican's are most certainly not the same party they use to be, they've journeyed too far into Loonyland for the majority.
The Southern Baptist, leaders of the Christian Right teach "once saved, alwyas saved". Meaning: once you have accepted Christ as your Savior, your for sure going to heaven...regardless of any sin you commit after your "once saved". Therefore, any sin you commit is forgive automatically so anything you do or say is alright and no spiritual consequences.
The Republican Party believes that they are above the law and anything they do or say is fine and they are not accountable..beacuse they are Republican...and have the right and abilty of choose which laws they want to obey, when and how.
Do you see a comparison here? THEY ARE ALL NUTS and eaten up with themselves! So, to offically referr to Democrats as, "Social Democrats", makes it true, accpetable and the Democrats should adopt that new title. The more these crazy people talk, the more they turn off free-thinking Republicans and independents. They are going to wind up the Southern Baptist Evangelical Repug party...beacuse thats all that will be left. I was a Republican for over 30years...voted Obama and will do it again.
The last GOP Convention Former President Gerald Ford attended he left early and said, "The Christian Right is taking over the party...and its going in the wrong direction"...and will be its failure"
I've known MANY Southern Baptists (admittedly years ago) who did not believe that and a few who did.
Still, it's a good point, since other fundamentalists believe it, too. And somehow the politics of "good and evil" is embraced without remorse, so they can certainly broadcast any old thing they want against "heathens" and not experience one regret.
There's a disregard of the "laws of man" in this mindset as well. And at that point, it is impossible to influence such people -- no argument or reason or logic changes minds -- that's the heart of religious fundamentalism. All that's left is to drive these people back into their holes and speak to or rely on others.
Thanks for your post, Annie. Me and my family have been called "heathens" many, many times by our Christian, Southern Baptist neighbors. Our pre-school children have been approached in their yard by neighbors and told, "you and your parents are going to BURN in hell forever because your Catholics. Unless you go to the XYZ Baptist Church and get saved you will burn in fire for all eternity". There is a mind-set (brain washing)in these people which cannot be reached. The only hope for this nation is in areas other than the south...and those in the south who are free- thinkers, open-minded, and seek the truth...and a time when we can be the majority. To think we go to war to the middle east to fight radical, Muslims who believe their religion is the only true religion and should be the basis for all governments and will kill to advance their religious cause. In my opinion, a similar type of mind set.
means having universal health care, a better situation for the lower and middle class, better school systems, and laws and regulations that put corporations in check. Then I gladly say I'm all in for socialism. Couldn't possibly be worse than the mess we're in with this current system.
everyone should recieve the same care of health & welfare, education and etc. if you dig a ditch, wait on tables, sell things, drive a truck and etc..right wingers say you recieve these things thru hard work. am I right ?
nah, intelligent people say you have preventative health care. eat good stuff. don't eat bad stuff. exercise. and have low premium private insurance for big accidents or surgeries.
didn't you see Sicko? Didn't you hear Nixon and the who Kasier Permanente bs? The government destroyed health care along side the marketing of corporate america with their nutrient-free food.
Irving Kristol, the founder of the neocon philosophy and father of the arch-criminal Bill Kristol, said on CSPAN that his philosophy began with his deep study of Marxism.
Most know that the neo-cons foreign policy is that of President Wilson's (i.e. Colonel House).
George W. Bush is a socialist, along with most Republicans.
Make no mistake, what Obama is doing is the TEXTBOOK DEFINITION of ECONOMIC FASCISIM. This started with Mussolin, known as the Third Way, and continued with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and now Obama as the Fabian Society Third Way, a mix of socialism and capitalism.
When corporations are controlled by the government, that is fascism.
If you want to change the words, so as not to label someone a socialist, fine by me Orwell.
I don't call Obama a socialist because I hate black people -- I worked for Obama and am very very happy he won relatively.
But the IRS (progressive income tax), the Federal Reserve private corporation (centralize banking) etc are all found in Karl Marx's Communist Mannifesto? How do you deny that? Oh, we are progressives and it's American-style collectivism?
Oh I get it, nevermind, you are right I was wrong.
Please please please remember this isn't about left vs right, or Big Government Republican vs Big Government Democrat. It's about Americans vs collectivist bastards who don't care about you or me or anything else, just money and power. It's ain't hard to figure out.
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