Difference between revisions of "Myths/Obama is a socialist"
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| − | {{hdr/myth|Barack Obama is a socialist; the Obama administration advocates socialist policies}} | + | {{hdr/myth|Barack Obama is a socialist; the Obama administration advocates [[socialist]] policies}} |
==Myth== | ==Myth== | ||
===Examples=== | ===Examples=== | ||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
You've got to be kidding me. | You've got to be kidding me. | ||
{{box/quote| | {{box/quote| | ||
| − | Look, there’s no reason for | + | Look, there’s no reason for "socialism" to serve as a synonym for "stuff Republicans don't like." It’s an actual word with a fairly specific meaning, involving public ownership of the means of production. |
| − | And it in no way reflects the Obama era. After corporate profits reached all-time highs, the stock markets reached all-time highs, and the sharp drop in the unemployment rate was based almost entirely on private-sector job growth, I thought to myself, | + | And it in no way reflects the Obama era. After corporate profits reached all-time highs, the stock markets reached all-time highs, and the sharp drop in the unemployment rate was based almost entirely on private-sector job growth, I thought to myself, "Well, at least they’ll stop calling Obama a ‘socialist.’" But here we are anyway, hearing the same nonsense. |
| − | Have we considered the possibility that Republicans literally | + | Have we considered the possibility that Republicans literally don't know what "socialism" means? Isn't it plausible that knee-jerk partisans have relied so heavily on the word for so long that they simply have lost track of its definition? |
| − | Cruz complained last year, | + | Cruz complained last year, "Right now, the top 1 percent in this country ... earn a higher share of our national income than any time since 1928." I'm curious: does the far-right senator believe those are economic conditions created by "an unmitigated socialist"? Or does Cruz believe the president is just really ineffective in implementing his socialist vision? |
|Steve Benen<ref name=TRMS /> | |Steve Benen<ref name=TRMS /> | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | {{box/quote| | ||
| + | Socialism means the public ownership of the means of production. Does President Obama advocate that? Nope, he doesn’t. Has never suggested a single policy that would even hint at it. This is just an attempt to poison the well. The American public thinks socialists are evil and therefore calling someone a socialist inoculates those people against supporting them. | ||
| + | |Ed Brayton<ref name=EB /> | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
<references> | <references> | ||
| − | <ref name=TRMS>'''2015-04-22''' [http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/thats-not-what-socialism-means That’s not what 'socialism' means] ( | + | <ref name=TRMS>'''2015-04-22''' [http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/thats-not-what-socialism-means That’s not what 'socialism' means] (Steve Benen)(via [https://plus.google.com/u/0/+TheRachelMaddowShow/posts/91Q2Gpmk278 Google+])</ref> |
<ref name=bloomberg>'''2015-04-21''' [http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-21/ted-cruz-says-president-obama-is-an-unmitigated-socialist- Ted Cruz Says President Obama Is an 'Unmitigated Socialist']</ref> | <ref name=bloomberg>'''2015-04-21''' [http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-21/ted-cruz-says-president-obama-is-an-unmitigated-socialist- Ted Cruz Says President Obama Is an 'Unmitigated Socialist']</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name=EB>'''2015-04-23''' [http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2015/04/23/cruz-president-obama-an-unmitigated-socialist/ Cruz: President Obama an 'Unmitigated Socialist'] (Ed Brayton)</ref> | ||
| + | </references> | ||
Latest revision as of 21:24, 23 April 2015
[[category:myths|Barack Obama is a socialist; the Obama administration advocates socialist policies]]
| Myth: Barack Obama is a socialist; the Obama administration advocates socialist policies |
Myth
Examples
- "After eight years of Obama-style socialism, we need to shrink government." — George Pataki ad: "What Matters" - No Distractions! (video)
- "Obama is a disaster because he’s an unmitigated socialist..." — Ted Cruz[1]
Reality
You've got to be kidding me.
“
Look, there’s no reason for "socialism" to serve as a synonym for "stuff Republicans don't like." It’s an actual word with a fairly specific meaning, involving public ownership of the means of production.
And it in no way reflects the Obama era. After corporate profits reached all-time highs, the stock markets reached all-time highs, and the sharp drop in the unemployment rate was based almost entirely on private-sector job growth, I thought to myself, "Well, at least they’ll stop calling Obama a ‘socialist.’" But here we are anyway, hearing the same nonsense.
Have we considered the possibility that Republicans literally don't know what "socialism" means? Isn't it plausible that knee-jerk partisans have relied so heavily on the word for so long that they simply have lost track of its definition?
Cruz complained last year, "Right now, the top 1 percent in this country ... earn a higher share of our national income than any time since 1928." I'm curious: does the far-right senator believe those are economic conditions created by "an unmitigated socialist"? Or does Cruz believe the president is just really ineffective in implementing his socialist vision?
”
“
Socialism means the public ownership of the means of production. Does President Obama advocate that? Nope, he doesn’t. Has never suggested a single policy that would even hint at it. This is just an attempt to poison the well. The American public thinks socialists are evil and therefore calling someone a socialist inoculates those people against supporting them.
”
Sources
- ↑ 2015-04-21 Ted Cruz Says President Obama Is an 'Unmitigated Socialist'
- ↑ 2015-04-22 That’s not what 'socialism' means (Steve Benen)(via Google+)
- ↑ 2015-04-23 Cruz: President Obama an 'Unmitigated Socialist' (Ed Brayton)