You could knock me over with a feather: the Republicans have adopted a new meme and it makes no sense! Didn't see that coming.
So every Republican talking head, starting with John McCain and his marionette Sarah Palin, is screaming "socialism!!!" "redistribution of wealth!!!" As if there is some tax system that is not a redistribution of wealth. And coming from Sarah Palin, whose state owns all its oil and divvies up profits to its people (socialism, anyone?) it's particularly amusing.
What happened when Bush and his Congress pushed his tax-cuts for the wealthy? Redistribution of wealth. Up. And if we were to return to the (highly successful) tax policies present during the Clinton years? Redistribution of wealth. Down. Is there anything more obvious? It reminds me of the politician (some say it was, ironically, Red-baiting Florida Senator George Smathers) who said of his opponent: in college he matriculated in public, his wife was a known thespian, and he practiced nepotism with his sister-in-law.
Once again we are left to wonder if the people who fall for this (some of them are intelligent enough to be reading and commenting on this blog) are present in large enough numbers to affect an election. Meanwhile, anyone wanna predict how many more days before John McCain forswears his last vestige of honor and starts campaigning on Reverend Wright?
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ReplyDeleteLove your blogs, Dr. Schwab. But you should seriously consider doing away with the comments on this one.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right--and it's interesting that nobody cried about socialism when Bush sent out all those useless checks to everyone. Did people really believe it was "free" money? Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteBuh-bye, Frank.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think there's a difference between deciding how best to fund the government and simply taxing some in order to send checks to other people?
ReplyDeleteOn the Bush checks--not socialism, but stupid. But the Demo congress went along, didn't they? I kept my check and figured it was a tax rebate.
BC
Mr. Hand!?!?!?!? You Censored me???
ReplyDeleteFor what Dude? Oh that, OK, free country I guess, America, I mean, Canada sucks. Laters
Hello Sid,
ReplyDeleteGood to find your NEW blog.
You may recall me as the female radio broadcaster who interviewed you a few years ago on Portland's reading service through Oregon Public Broadcasting. I am now affiliated with KGW.com, Ch. 8's website.
I'm also a former Floridian and political junkie since the age of eight. My father was a Democrat and a lawyer who practiced in Dade County, Florida. He was also elected a councilman and then served as vice-Mayor of the town of North Miami, Florida.
You might wish to check out the wikipedia article on George Smathers -- my father and I supported both Claude Pepper and George Smathers through my growing-up years. Smathers debunked the purported 1950 speech. This is what appears in Wikipedia:
"...the race is most famous for a speech Smathers never gave. A reporter made up a hoax that Smathers gave a speech to a rural audience using fancy words to create the implication that Pepper was sinister. Smathers reportedly had said, 'Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper before his marriage habitually practiced celibacy...' While it is sometimes said that Time magazine reported these items, the magazine actually referred to the quote as a 'yarn.' The leading reporter who actually covered Smathers said he always gave the same hum-drum speech. No Florida newspapers covering the campaign ever reported such remarks contemporaneously. Smathers offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove he said it, and there were no takers before his death (in 2007)."
I guess these urban legends never die!
Warm regards,
Ellen
Hi Ellen, nice to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteI'm aware of that wikipedia article, in fact it's linked in my post!
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ReplyDeleteHey Ellen, thanks for the Shoutout!! And its a "Hideout" not a "Lair". Thanks for goin out on a limb and predicting an Obama victory with 350EVs, I'm stayin with my McCain 285EV guess, but what do I know? I thought "W" would win in 2004. Wierd!!
ReplyDeleteAs Gore Vidal said, "Socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the rest of us."
ReplyDeleteThe bank bailout was the most socialist act in living memory. (Krugman said something funny: there are no atheists in foxholes and no libertarians in a financial crisis.)
What particularly galls me about the moneycrat portion of the GOP is that while they preach about the the holiness of capitalism, they actually fear it. Capitalism is the most redistributive force that exists. When they say 'capitalism' what they actually mean is 'the security of our pocketbooks'.
anonymous: agreed. The same is true of democracy. They fear that even more than capitalism, in that they focus huge efforts every election to disenfranchise voters.
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