Saturday, November 7, 2009

Opinion

Jeb Bush: What Does 'Socialism' Mean?

Many in the GOP hurl the term at the Dems, but what does it even mean?

Posted July 10, 2009

From ThinkProgress: "When asked by Tucker Carlson in an interview for Esquire magazine if he considered President Obama a socialist, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) said, 'I dont know. Define socialism for me.'" In the era of welfare states, free market capitalism, and social safety nets, what does socialism even mean? Is Obama a socialist? If so, was Bush 43? Was Clinton? Post your thoughts.

Previously: Is Pot the Answer to Budget Woes?

Take our poll: Are Obama's policies socialist?

Reader Comments

Socialism vs. Fascism; what does it matter what you call it?

Since 1913, when the 16th amendment was enacted, most politicians haven’t been able to resist the urge to play ‘sugar daddy’ with the loot they rob from the taxpayer. While Democrats are far more brazen about it, our Republicans are also guilty, as they apologetically pass out the loot for fear of being regarded as being uncompassionate to the ‘less fortunate’. Therefore, most politicians since then have become what may be regarded as socialists. Knowing that he and his brother are almost as guilty as the Democrats, Jeb Bush merely demonstrated that he is a shrewd politician as he adeptly avoided this trap set by Tucker Carlson.

More disturbing is Obama’s move beyond Socialism to Fascism, as he dictates corporate policy. Resistance is no longer enough. We must rise up and demand that politicians reverse course, rather than just slowing down this trend toward ever increasing socialization of our economy. Otherwise, there won’t be much left of our free market economy that made us the envy of the world back in the Twentieth Century. Our standard of living is not our birthright. It is not an automatic result of our citizenship. It was created by people who are now long gone. If we do not stand up and prove that we are equal to this legacy they left behind for us, we will loose it. When you demand ‘free’ benefits from the government, you are eating your seed corn. You are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. You are destroying the capital investment in this country, as you destroy the commitment in plant and equipment needed to produce what you want, and create the job you need to earn the money to pay for it. With all your ‘free’ benefits, you’ll be the fattest pampered person in the slums created by economic decline. Other countries are eager to take these jobs you destroy.

I would rather forego all healthcare benefits and all medical treatment for myself, of any kind whatsoever, to get back our freedom. We all have to die some day, and we only have to die once. As Patrick Henry said in 1775, “Give me liberty or give me death.” We only have men like him to thank for our freedom.

Please read Patrick Henry’s entire speech that this quote comes from:

http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/henry-liberty.html

Our descendants will have little if anything to thank us for, if we live out our lives like hogs at the trough shoving others aside only to grab a larger share for ourselves. Therefore we must stop demanding economic benefits from the government and we must shame others who continue demanding such things. We must shame them for their own incompetence in facing the responsibility to provide for themselves, and we must shame them for their incessant whining that always accompanies such demands. There was a time when a Democrat actually said, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” Obviously, such a man could no longer get elected by today’s Democrat party.

The Roots of Obama’s Brand of Socialism and Fascism:

Obama’s attack on the free market began long ago. Legal documents, news articles, and videos show his part in causing this crisis over the past fifteen years. Now he uses it as an excuse to do even more damage. To him, our free enterprise system is a beast that he and his allies have succeeded in wounding. Your choices as a consumer select quality and virtue over shoddy workmanship, selecting against the product of laziness and poor attitudes, which he represents. So the Obamabots, having won, are still seething with hatred for their opponents. Having wounded the beast they are now closing in for the kill. The recovery of our free market economy is not their objective. They would replace it with something else, where they imagine that losers don’t loose out to their betters. So their policies are only making matters worse. They want revenge for the unfairness they perceive in the free market.

These legal documents show Barack Obama suing Citibank under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) from 1994 to 1998, where he and other lawyers got $950,000 in legal fees without finding any evidence of wrongdoing:

http://clearinghouse.wustl.edu/chDocs/public/FH-IL-0011-9000.pdf

http://clearinghouse.wustl.edu/chDocs/public/FH-IL-0011-0007.pdf

This was part of a legalized protection racket perpetrated on our nations banks, and part of a widespread systematic shakedown, described in detail in this article published in the year 2000: "The Trillion-Dollar Bank Shakedown That Bodes Ill for Cities":

http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_1_the_trillion_dollar.html

The New York Times reported on this in 2003, and explained what additional regulatory action the Bush administration tried to initiate to protect the banks, in "New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae", only to be blocked by Democrats in congress:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

Obama, ACORN, Bill Clinton, the Clinton Administration, and members of congress explain what happened here in their own words in these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivmL-lXNy64&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJcVgJhNaU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&feature=related

This video connects the dots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_597487

Thomas Sowell summarized it all in his column, "Do Facts Matter?":

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NGRjODM1MTJlOGZiZDk2ODI4NTUzMWMxYjgwMjliMGQ

The Washington Post provides additional detail: ("Where Was Sen. Dodd? Playing the Blame Game On Fannie and Freddie"):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091102841.html

The Wall Street Journal provides additional detail: ("Blame Fannie Mae and Congress For the Credit Mess "):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212948811465427.html

This must be stopped to protect our country’s future.

Is Obama Socialist?

Of course not. His administration is only slightly left of center, and those who think otherwise are either partisan or ill-informed.

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