The backlash is mounting and the Dems’ popularity is ebbing.
Problem is that a recent poll shows only 53% of Americans prefer capitalism to socialism.
The poll didn’t reveal how many Americans know the difference between capitalism, socialism and Communism.
I’d say, maybe 20%.
In any event, how long will it before it will be ok for a politician to admit to being a socialist or communist?
Read the comments that follow this Politico.com story, which shows its own bias and laziness.
Link is here:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/…
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as you peer into the oracle that only you and Glenn Beck can see, please tell me how the congressional Republicans are faring by comparison. Oh yeah, their popularity is plunging, down around–what now? 17 % or so.
How, oh Wise One, will the Goopers win elections outside of the shrinking number of states they now control with numbers like those? And, given your pulled-out-of-your-arse guesstimate that only 20% of Americans know the difference (as defined by you and Glenn I assume) between communism, socialism, and Marxism, who are these growing ranks of people openly calling the Dems and Obama these things, and more importantly–from an electoral perspective–how will the Goopers regain power by appealing to 20% of the electorate? I know, I know, questions that require thought and I wouldn’t want your head to pop, it being Good Friday and all.
Or continue your denial.
Since the conversation here isn’t very interesting, you might want to see what bloggers are saying about socialism vs. capitalism and comments on those views.
Seems to be general agreement that there has been a mix of socialism and capitalism in this and other countries for generations.
And it seems pretty clear that many thoughtful people think President Obama and most Dems are socialists as are some Repubs.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytim…
The Rassmussen poll shows that 53% strongly support capitalism, 20% socialism and the balance don’t know. People under 30 are more likely to support socialism. Grownups don’t.
which is attributed to conservative blogger Mark Thompson (who I haven’t heard of, but will read more as he seems to be intelligent and thoughtful – extremely rare combo for a conservative blogger):
Words for you to take to heart, AS.
To the AS’s of the world, a 4% hike in the income tax rate for the wealthiest Americans, coupled with a REDUCTION for most of us is socialism. Shipping pallets of taxpayer money off to Iraq–where they promptly go missing, ehhhh–not so much.
Having grown up on military bases in a divided Europe–visiting East Berlin when there was an East Berlin, for example–I have no false impressions about the repression that was the Soviet system. I am still not a fan of China (but I would love to visit).
But rather than ‘adults’ being the ones who view the world in a bifurcated, binary mode (we good, them bad), the adult understands that morality is colored in shades of gray. I stand by my earlier assessments that the AS’s of the world are ethical and intellectual infants.
The backlash is mounting and the number Another Skeptic’s supporters has dropped in half – to 1.
Bad news is hard to hear, isn’t it? 🙂
If more Americans are open to socialism (as they were during the Great Depression)….
and desperate ‘pubs resort to calling Dems “communist” and “socialist…”
How is that bad for the Dems?
Side note: I saw this poll at a news website and asked the same question – do these people even understand what they were being asked?
what does that have to do with this discussion?
When one of the voices in your head turns against you.
Its a poll about fear words with no substance; it presupposes that there are pure economic systems, that on one end is ‘capitalism’ (what’s that? are we talking Russia, post-Soviet proto-capitalism? are we talking the U.S. circa 1910? 1933? 2009?) and the other ‘socialism’ or ‘communism.’ They are empty emotive words without much meaning–Canada? Brazil? Cuba? China? France?
How are the billions we funnel off to Halliburton not ‘socialism’ and how is pubic education spending not? It’s a poll custom made for people like Hannity and Another Skeptic.
Honestly I couldn’t have answered either, or rather would have answered neither.
I don’t believe economic thought stopped in the 19th century with Adam Smith and Karl Marx–we live in a blended system, as do people in most modern countries.
I happen to think that education, health care, meeting basic needs–collectively in many cases–should be part of the reason that societies come together, since in Wingnutlandia a 4% tax hike for the wealthy means we have become Karl Marx’s wet dream, I am pretty sure I know where that puts me on AS’s little scale.
I also founded, run, and am the employee of a corporation, invest in the market, have a Health Savings Account, own a home, and generally participate in the market system every way I can to feather my own nest…
It’s a stupid poll, an absurd question, and shows nothing to suggest that
But then as one of AS’s diaries I know I expect too much–logic, consistency, progression of argument: defensible premises leading to a conclusion, etc.
until wingnuts like yourself actually learn what socialism is? The fact that your ‘evidence’ of socialism rests in the highest marginal tax rate going from 34% to 39% (still lower than they were for a good bit of Reagan’s presidency) while others are going down tells me all I need to know.
All hail the great socialist, Ronald Reagan, or something.
under the Great Socialist Devil Dwight D. Eisenhower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S…
Just a reminder pf the definition of Socialism, since Conservatives are throwing it out everywhere, accusing elected officials of being Socialists and claiming to have a list of them.
to examine if the party that is the most-trashed by commentators in the media does best. I say this because the vocalists on the left are decrying Obama’s compromising policies (see Ariana Huffington’s rant against Obama’s “coddling” of banks http://www.huffingtonpost.com/… while those on the right are, unsurprisingly, denouncing the “socialism” and “communism” as this poster has so kindly demonstrated here.
Yet despite all that, real polling puts Obama at about 60+% approval. http://www.gallup.com/poll/117…
It seems that everyone in politics kow-tows to the media, I wonder if this could be an indication that doing that is a mistake.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B…
He’s a socialist and won his Senate election with 65% of the vote. So um, yeah, having a clue is fun.
Keep trying though AS
the more the right wing will hate him.
with stickers calling for Obama’s impeachment. These people are fucking nuts.
Which high crime and misdemeanor is he accused of? I mean if authorizing torture is OK then I’m pretty sure having Stevie Wonder play at the WH is alright too.
… being the part that I just remembered, is that it also said “Obama bin Lyin’.” It didn’t give any other reason for impeachment. I assume his high crime and/or misdemeanor is being a Democrat.
Canada is arguably a more socialistic country than the United States, and Sweden is more socialistic than Canada, but by basic measures of democratic freedom-free elections, viable political parties, a vigorous press, peaceful transitions of power-the argument cannot be made that Swedes have less political freedom than Americans.
China is one of the biggest capitalistic countries in world but with an incredibly repressive, one party political system. The Russian government is virtually totalitarian, yet huge fortunes continue to be amassed by private corporations and individuals.
If there is a march to socialism in the United States, it has been done completely within the bounds of our political system, by a party that was chosen in a free and open election. If you really think the U.S. is becoming too socialistic, go make your fortune in China.
How can we foment discord and hatred when the facts work against us? (Speaking as a right wing nut.)
As per the times, I was forced to take an American vs. Communism class in order to graduate from HS. We thought it sort of funny, certainly a waste of time and effort with a real world waiting for us. (And they forgot to mention that some of my friends would be killed fighting Communism, all for nothing.)
What I learned I used forty years later; I was able to see that the Bush administration was everything we were warned about.