Does it matter that the chair of the Democratic National Committee doesn’t know if her party is socialist?
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews was grilling Debbie Wasserman-Schultz on the meaning of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s popularity within the Democratic Party. Mrs. Wasserman-Schultz responded by boasting that the Democrats “really are a Big Tent Party.” Then Matthews veered out her comfort zone of horse-race politics and self-congratulatory posturing.
“What is the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist?” he asked.
Mrs. W‑S chuckled. Uncomfortably.
“I used to think there was a big difference,” Matthews went on. “What do you think it is?” Mrs. W‑S evaded, blathering on how it is that the difference between Democrats and Republicans is what will really count in the upcoming election.
Karl Dickey, at the Examiner, holds that Democrats, today, are socialists: “one only needs to look at the Democratic Party’s platform to understand that it is a socialistic political party.”
Meanwhile, Juan Williams, discussing the issue on Fox News’s The Five, argues that there is a big difference between Democrats and socialists: Dems just like regulation and redistributing wealth; socialists want to nationalize industry and run everything through a central bureau.
And that is the definition that anti-socialist economists Yves Guyot and Ludwig von Mises settled on. Technically, Williams is right.
But the fact that the head of the Democratic Party waffled on the distinction says more about the party than a definitive answer would have.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
7 replies on “Are Democrats Socialists?”
Wasserman-Shultz, upon reflection, should report to Matthews Sanders is a socialist. Further the centrist Democrats (and many of the centerist Republicans) are not socialist, they are a rekindling of the extremely dangerous, bellicose and destructive variant, national socialists, aka nazis.
They who do not study history are condemned to relive it.
Paul, I seldom take the time to watch TV but I saw this little repartee and your choice of the deer in headlights was a perfect visual.
I cannot believe the lack of knowledge among so many spokespeople and pundits.
JFB, as so many times I agree with you. Socialism is a secondary problem compared to the rising nationalism (Fascism to be blunt). I listen carefully and so many prominent people parrot these nationalistic cliches evidently with no understanding of what they are advocating.
It is so much easier to force with the point of a bayonet than rely on messy, unpredictable and uncontrolled voluntary exchange that the politicians, who do that domestically, think that they can — even should — follow that path globally.
In the long are voluntary free trade or tyranny domestically, war internationally.
“Father forgive them, they know not what they do”.
Williams’ comment is an obfuscation. Nationalizing industry is wealth redistribution and regulation is running things from central bureaus.
@ JFB
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
f you are speaking of politicians, forgiveness is not in order. Ignorance of the laws of humanity, is not excuse. Instead of forgiveness, prepare an especially seedy place in the dung pile for them; face down!
And let’s not get caught in their word games. We have to constantly paint two clear pictures: (1) a society where people band together to form a government with limits and rights, and (2) a society where government has special high status allowing it to force everyone to do what those at the top think is best, where there really are no limits or rights.
Ultimately, there wasn’t any meaningful difference between fascist Hitler and communist Pol Pot.
In providing his take on the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist, Juan Williams gave us the classic definition of a facist.