"Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made

[BeckyDem]

Link to tweet

[beachbumbob]

1. solicialism was and still has a sense of racism and bigotry

tied to it that is used but not said.

the simple "We don' want our hard earned money to go to "THEM"." is what rallies the republican/conservative mindset.

Democrats need better messaging

[Farmer-Rick]

29. Nope that certainly isn't how I see socialism

Only among people like Ayn Rand is socialism equated with racism and bigotry.

But RepubliCONS being proud of their stupidity use the word for most anything they don't like.

[BlueMTexpat]

34. Can you please provide

cites to where socialism has had a sense of racism and bigotry?

[brooklynite]

2. What makes the attack easier is when the subject of the attack say's he's a Socialist...

[LongtimeAZDem]

4. Exactly

[TidalWave46]

5. That does make it a bit easier. lol

What's funny is that people get all bothered that a socialist is called a socialist. They want the term to be accepted yet they run like hell from it.

[Gothmog]

8. Washington Post- Bernie Sanders wants Americans to buy into socialism. He's got some conving to do

Link to tweet

Republicans are downright giddy about all this. What’s a scarier term to the American public than “socialist”? And with one of the leaders in the Democratic Party embracing it, their pitch to voters that Democrats want to radically change the country to something unrecognizable just got a lot easier.

“You add up things like packing the Supreme Court, getting rid of the electoral college, the Green New Deal and Medicare for none and you have a prescription of turning America into something it never has been and never should be,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said recently. “So we intend to be on the offense in running our races."

“We’re going into the war with some socialists,” Trump told a fundraiser in April.

This could be the defining debate of the 2020 election. Trump is so happy with that. Sanders is fine with that. The rest of the candidates aren’t so sure. But given the way this debate is shaping up, they may have no choice but to pick a side.

[yellowdogintexas]

27. that is the #1 reason Senator Sanders will not be elected president

even if he could go into the wayback machine and shave off 20 or so years.

He is forever branded with socialism and the other side will be all over it for the entire campaign. The only reason they are laying low with it now is that the race is too tight.

I have long believed they want Sanders to win the nomination because they think he would be the easiest to defeat

[Farmer-Rick]

30. Did you read the comment about socialism you are posting on?

You just proved the point.

[Farmer-Rick]

32. So you don't want to help the people...you are good with just helping the filthy rich?

Because you are doing exactly what the quote blames The oligarchs of doing.

[TidalWave46]

3. They will always use it. It's an easy go to.

We might have one or two people in the House I would label as a socialist an one Independent without much to show in the Senate who is a socialist.

It's simply a fear tactic that is fed to people when they are young and it sticks.

TidalWave46: Yes, I want to expand the scope of the Federal Government.

Republican: Socialist!!!!

TidalWave46: Let me explain the difference between socialism and capitalism to you.



You see, the knuckle draggers argument is a bit easier to make than having a discussion about reality.

[Gothmog]

6. Washington Post-Analysis How Trump wins in 2020: Americans see his opponent as a "socialist"

Link to tweet

But there is one matchup in which Trump actually leads: When voters have to choose between him and a candidate they believe is a “socialist,” Trump led 49 percent to 43 percent.

This is obviously a hypothetical exercise. The idea that the Democratic nominee will call themselves a socialist is far-fetched (even Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont prefers to be called a “democratic socialist&quot . And just because Trump argues that his opponent is a socialist doesn’t mean they will be viewed by everyone — or even most people — accordingly.

But the finding does hint at how central this question could be to Trump’s reelection hopes. Given Trump’s long-standing unpopularity, a big question has always been whether he will be able to take the eventual Democratic nominee and drag them down to his level. He showed he could do it in 2016 with Hillary Clinton, who ended the campaign as unpopular as Trump was, but it’s not clear whether he’ll be able to do it again.

Trump also has some material to work with. The Democratic candidates in the first debate two weeks ago went further to the left on issues such as health care and immigration than in any modern Democratic primary. Many of them embraced single-payer health care, and some even said they would eliminate private health insurance. Many said they would decriminalize crossing the border without documentation, making it a civil matter. And many said they would support health-care coverage for undocumented immigrants, which California only recently became the first state to experiment with.

[el_bryanto]

7. Socialism is an inexact word

But it is one I would use to describe what I support - I might use qualifiers like Western European style socialism or Democratic socialism, but I feel that at this point they are going to attack us for being socialists whether we use the term or not, so may as well go down saying what I believe. A market economy / capitalism is the best way to deal with some problems, but it is, in many fields, creating more and worse problems than it is solving.

Bryant
http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Act_of_Reparation]

11. It's pretty precise, actually.

Socialism is an economic theory that advocates collective ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange.

"Western European style socialism" isn't socialism per se, but a well-regulated capitalist system.

[el_bryanto]

13. That is a definition of socialism, yes, but my point is it isn't the only one. nt

[Act_of_Reparation]

15. It's the only official definition.

There are colloquial uses of the word that can diverge from the official definition quite significantly. But this is the case for every word in every language on earth. They're all "imprecise".

[LanternWaste]

24. There are political, social and economic definitions which are all valid... and quite different.

There are political, social and economic definitions which are all valid... and quite different. Then, stir in the classical, the formal, the legal definitions (all valid, and none any more or less valid than the others) and you've argued yourself into a knot.



Official? By what objective and standard measure do you limit the word to one and only one definition?

[Act_of_Reparation]

25. Wow, very fascinating.

I especially like the part where you said the same thing twice, just in case I missed it the first time. Being an idiot, I am always tripping over things and misplacing my car keys and accidentally burning my breakfast cereal. It sure is comforting to know there's people like you looking out for less intellectually capable citizens, such as myself.

Excelsior!

[Humanist_Activist]

20. That collective is usually defined as the workers, its the how...

of ownership where the differences among socialists and anarchists largely lie.

[Act_of_Reparation]

23. I guess it would depend on what kind of anarchism you're talking about.

Many would contend a socialist state is an anarchist state, though some anarchists would probably disagree.

Particularly those capitalist-anarchist types... which I would argue aren't really anarchists at all. But that's an argument for another day.

[yellowdogintexas]

28. the current trendy definition of 'socialism' is "Venezuela"!!!! nt

[BeckyDem]

16. Thank you, Bryant. +1

[blm]

9. Why do some Dems join them?

Some Dem operatives see it as a useful fear tactic to use against those Dem candidates promoting a healthy accountability for economic capitalism in order to advance their own political fortunes.

[BeckyDem]

17. Yes. Been that way for a long time.

[redqueen]

12. K&R nt

[Amimnoch]

18. Yet the very people who instituted these programs decried, not embraced socialsim.

For example, FDR was very much for government activism, and did institute the socialist style program of Social Security, but he did not embrace socialism itself, he did not identify as a socialist, and furthermore he himself saw socialism as something that should be feared:

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/08/16/democrats-socialism-fdr-roosevelt-227622

[Uncle Joe]

19. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread BeckyDem.

[Humanist_Activist]

21. Socialism is usually how I define my economic politics, given the dystopic capitalistic system...

we live under in the United States, along with most of the rest of the world, I don't see how anyone can't be a skeptic of Capitalism.

[The Valley Below]

22. Truman's point is that none of these things are true. None of these things are socialism.

Not that socialism is an ideology to embrace.

That's why he led the free world in the Cold War and sent our troops to fight (and sometimes die) in the Korean War.

Truman warned us not to buy into right-wing talking points and to pursue liberal social programs without worrying about the smears.

Good lessons for liberals who embrace the proud traditions of the Democratic Party.

[Hortensis]

26. Exactly. +1000. nt

[ritapria]

31. We must move to the Center in the General

It gave us 2 terms of George W. Bush and , at least, one term of Donald Trump …. The media have pounded this narrative into our minds - endlessly . Center , Center , Center .. The Donors demand Incremental change ...The perception of change - but no real change ….Do the Donors want a progressive to win the Presidency ? ...Methinks they will quietly celebrate a Trump victory over Bernie Sanders ….Do they secretly love those Trump Tax cuts ? Those Corporate tax cuts are really scrumptious ……The people are sicked and tired of 45 long years of stagnant wages ………..A demented cruel health care scam run by greedy private health insurance companies ….Fight for the People ...Deliver for the People and they will deliver for you …….

[keithbvadu2]

33. But not so bad when it benefits Trumpsters

But not so bad when it benefits Trumpsters

[Gothmog]

35. The grandson of GHW Bush is running this ad attacking socialism

TX CD 22 is an open seat with Pete Olson retiring. The DCCC has targeted this seat for flipping. There are 15 candidates in GOP primary including the grandson of GHW Bush. Another candidate, Kathleen Wall, is running in the GOP primary and she spent $6 million in 2018 running in GOP primary for TX CD 2 and did not make GOP primary runoff. I have had Wall block walkers come to my house twice (I live in a very GOP neighborhood) and I have found Wall doorhanger on my door twice now.

Pierce Bush is running against socialism

Link to tweet

Sri Preston Kulkarni is the leading Democrat for this seat (Sri has a GOP type and another person running against him in the Texas Democratic Primary) I texted this ad to Sri and he knew about it already. Sri Preston Kulkarni is a great guy and we need to flip this seat

If sanders is the nominee, we can forget about this seat and we will have Kevin McCarthy as speaker

[BeckyDem]

36. Liars and swindlers say all kinds of things. Are you ready to fight for Americans or run ?

They will twist ANYTHING we say, ANYTHING. Obama won regardless. So we say what is right and just and fight them, period.