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# So Why all the Screaming about Socialism?
August 27 2018
Written by Richard Lee Abrams.
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CORRUPTION WATCH-Just when it looked as if the Dems might pull it together and gain back a majority in Congress in the November 2018 elections, they’ve taken to screaming about the need for Socialism.
Never mind that the programs they promote are not Socialism. Universal Health is not Socialism. Even Medicare for All is not Socialism, but my inbox is being flooded with all these Dems rallying the troops for Socialism.
**One Thing Moderate GOP Hates More than Trump Is Socialism**
If there is one thing which the centrist GOP reviles more than Trump, it is godless Socialism. No one would take a call to embrace Communism seriously, so the Lefties have taken to clamoring for “Socialist this, Socialist that.” They are constantly trying to spread the propaganda that everything good in the world comes wrapped up in Socialism.
The transgender candidate running for governor in Vermont, Christine Hallquist, however, knows better. She told *CNN’s*John Berman, “I'm not sure what socialism is.” She knows the insanity of branding oneself Socialist. Hallquist runs away from that label even in Vermont, the only state which has a Socialist Senator, Bernie Sanders.
Prior to the 2018 primary in Texas, however, we saw Franklin Byrum run as an open Socialist, tweeting, “Stood with DSA *comrades*in the Sunday *New York Times*,” after he had admitted that running “as a socialist. I’m a far-left candidate.”
Let’s not discuss the obvious Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has stoked the fires of delusions of grandeur among the Alt-Left.
**So, What’s Up, Doc?**
Motives are often individual, but there seems to be a method in the madness of the Dem Alt-Left to tout the Socialist moniker. First, the purists think that it’s better to lose to Satan himself than compromise. This thinking is identical to the right-wing fringe tea baggers, who have renamed themselves “Freedom Caucus,” now says they are the crucial voting bloc in a GOP Congress. Sometimes zealotry pays off. Next, we have the other Dems who are making a Hail Mary pass to get attention. And finally, we have the revenge of the Berniecrats who are still furious at the Democratic Establishment who they believe stole the nomination from Bernie in favor of Hillary. While they rail against Trump for his Russia connections, they overlook that it was Russian hacking that revealed what Hillary and Wasserman had done.
**Power Mongering Unites the Socialists**
I suppose using pejorative words to describe politicians who lust after power is a little unfair. After all, that is the nature of the beast. In analytical terms, however, these puerile declarations extolling the virtues of “Socialism” and calling each other “comrades” may fit into an overall plan.
The moderate GOP is being held hostage by its right-wing Freedom Caucus, so the Republicans can pass nothing the centrists want without adding on a lot of tea bagger chazerai. If the Alt-Left, aka Socialist comrades, can get enough of their candidates elected, they hope to hold centrist Dems hostage in a similar fashion. In fact, if Socialists reduce the margin of the Dem victory, all the better for them. The Socialists’ comrades do not want too many sensible Dems in the House who could end up enacting legislation without acceding to demands from the Alt-Left.
**Ersatz-Socialists**
It matters not that these comrades are faux Socialists. In Socialism, the government owns the means of production. Thus, for health care to be socialized, all the doctors would work for the government and all the hospitals would be owned by the government. Under Socialism, the auto manufacturers would be nationalized as would Google, Facebook and Apple in addition to all the oil companies and other businesses. None of these pretend socialists have any intention of nationalizing American industry.
The common element is that they crave power and they believe that they can dictate what a Democratic Congress does if they gain enough seats so that the House Democrats cannot pass any significant legislation without their votes.
**There Is a Rational Solution**
If the Americans people will drop their passion for right wing racism, religious purity and if the left-wing ceases its identity politics, we can have a functioning nation. We could have had one even with The Orange Mouth and his Twitter rages, but it required both parties to stop pitting Americans against Americans causing the huge centrist population of the country to be perpetually ignored. If Nancy Pelosi had allowed the centrist Democrats to cooperate with the centrist GOP, Congress would have had a sensible working majority. Trump would have had no need for his daily tirades. Since Trump loves praise, if the country functioned properly rather than having Nazis marching through the streets “shouting Jews shall not replace us,” he would have gotten some kudos.
If our Socialist comrades don’t end up repulsing so many GOP voters that the GOP retains its majority in Congress, the Dems might be smart enough to jettison Pelosi and elect a genuine centrist as Speaker of the House. That way the moderate GOP and the moderate Dems can ignore their divisive fringes and cooperate enough to listen to Colin Kaepernick. America can live up to its promise to be great, but divisive, hateful politics will not get us there.
*(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney and a CityWatch contributor. He can be reached at:* *****. Abrams’ views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.*
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