Let's get something straight. President Barack Obama is not a socialist; Obama is not a Marxist; Obama is not a communist and Obama is not a fascist.
Do the people who call Obama communist and fascist in the same breath realize the irony of saying that? Obama is an American Democrat. Today that means he's about as left-wing as Richard Nixon or Dwight Eisenhower.
Joseph Stalin? Nothing like him.
For example, let's take the health care bill. If the government were extremely socialist, we would have tried to pass something that resembles the health care systems of Britain or France — systems where the national government owns all of the hospitals, employs all of the health workers and provides everybody's service. If the government were middle of the road, we might have seen a proposal more like Canada's, where the government provides insurance, sets prices and contracts with private hospitals and doctors to provide care. (Did you know Canada's health care act was 14 pages long? Seven in English, seven in French.)
Guess what? We didn't see a single one of those options proposed.
The closest we got was a public option — a watered-down junior version of socialized insurance. Even that was dropped in favor of a reform that is about as right-wing as you can get while still reforming — an insurance mandate. Everyone is now required to buy insurance or pay an extra tax. If you can't afford it, the government will subsidize you, channeling money, coincidentally, right into the health insurance industry's pockets.
This is the sort of system Mitt Romney signed into law in Massachusetts, except the federal version will have a higher penalty for opting out.
Do you know where this style of reform package came from? It was a Republican alternative to single-payer plans and employer mandates, which they strongly pushed for in opposition to the Clintons' overhaul attempt in the early '90s. An employer mandate, by the way, was Nixon's more liberal, union-friendly idea to overhaul health care. That's right: Obama, on health care, is more conservative than Richard Nixon.
Checking out other elements of Obama's record, it's pretty stunning how the administration has taken over all the heavy industry in the country and instituted the Central Economic Planning committee. I'm really impressed with the way they've begun reindustrializing the Rust Belt and simultaneously redesigning regional major cities.
At least that's what it would have been like if Obama actually was a communist.
The way things are? Tax cuts are on the agenda. Guantanamo Bay is still open. We are executing a surge into Afghanistan. And, just this morning, I heard we are now letting (private) oil companies drill offshore. Man, Obama is such a left-winger!
What about nationalizing the auto industry? Okay, I'll admit, that's pretty left-wing. But note two things: First, the government will be selling the automakers "once they're back on their feet." Second, this was not nationalization for the sake of nationalization — this was nationalization because, being the Democratic party, Obama is beholden to unions, especially the UAW. He's certainly not Ayn Rand.
Let me also point out that it was President George W. Bush who pushed for the financial industry bailout (read: implicit takeover), and many of the same Republicans crying "socialism" voted to pump federal money into Wall Street pockets.
So where does this leave us?
In November 2008, Obama was elected to apocalyptic predictions among the right-wing punditry. He went on to propose health care reform very similar to the reform the Republicans themselves pushed 15 years ago.
The Republican demagoguery, of course, screamed "Socialism!" and "Takeover!" The Republican leadership, politically bound to the demagogues, locked step and moved even further to the right. That's the problem — so few people permit themselves to think critically in evaluating current events.
If they had the intellectual perspicuity and educational background to understand socialism, communism and fascism, they wouldn't make the mistake of blindly agreeing when their angry talking head of choice oversimplifies reality.
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