That’s the question posed in this Christian Science Monitor article, which is worth reading.
To support the argument that he’s not a socialist, the reporter asks the Socialist Party what they think (they don’t think he is). This is like asking the Libertarian Party whether someone is a libertarian. There’s a difference between a political party and an ideology. Not to mention anything short of complete socialism is never going to meet with their approval.
Here’s what we know: There’s been a government takeover of GM, insurance companies, banks, student loans, and the health care industry. There’s the Obama EPA’s push for CO2 regulation that will allow regulation of almost every sector of our economy. I know I am missing a lot, such as the FCC regulation of the Internet (please feel free to chime in and add some more examples).
That’s a lot of socialist policies in a short period of time. Does that make him a socialist?
Not according to this historian: “Socialism suggests getting rid of capitalism altogether,” says Dr.
Rachleff. “Mr. Obama is not within a million miles of an ideology like
that.”
If someone pushes socialist policies more than capitalist policies, isn’t that a better way to classify someone a socialist rather than this “100% rule.” Practically, Obama can’t get rid of capitalism altogether even if he wanted to due to political considerations.
However, he has taken this country in a socialist direction in a very quick amount of time. It is not unreasonable to call his actions socialist (because they are). I also believe that people could reasonably label him a socialist. It isn’t a bad word or name-calling–it is an ideological classification.
In the article, the reporter, to provide evidence that Obama has been called a socialist, discusses how Dick Morris and Newt Gingrich have called Obama a socialist. This is inaccurate. Morris said that conservatives “are enraged at Barack Obama’s socialism and radicalism.” Morris isn’t calling him a socialist–he is saying that he has pushed socialist policies.
The reporter points to the title of Newt Gingrich’s new book “To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine.” Again, this isn’t calling him a socialist, but it does describe his actions.
There’s a difference between labeling someone a socialist and labeling his policies and actions as socialist. Having said this, it still wouldn’t be unfair to call him a socialist.
Please provide me one action (not words) that Obama can point to that is free-market in nature. I’d be surprised if we could find one example, but even if we do, we then need to compare that to the socialist list. The socialist side of the ledger is going to be very long.
