Subj : Re: The America First mov
To   : Mike Powell
From : Jeff Thiele
Date : Thu Oct 20 2022 16:14:37

On 20 Oct 2022, Mike Powell said the following...
 MP> >  MP> Being informed vs. having to constantly keep an eye on what folks w
 MP> >  MP> want to erode freedoms and bring about "social change" (in the form
 MP> >  MP> socialism or worse) are different things.
 MP> > There have been no serious Socialist candidates for decades. What
 MP> > conservatives decry as socialism in no such thing, and they're just tryi
 MP> > use scare tactics and dehimanize their opponents.
 MP> That is a way of saying there is no threat when you know better.  There
 MP> have, to my knowledge, never been any serious Socialist candidates, but
 MP> there are a lot of Democrats with socialist agendas.

A true socialist agenda would entail that the means of production,
distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a
whole. No Democrat candidates are proposing this.

 MP> >  MP> Democracy would not have to
 MP> >  MP> depend on the latter if those people Ron calls the "elite" were not
 MP> >  MP> actively participating in such activities.
 MP> > In other words, Ron's "elite" are socialists. I'll be sure to keep an ey
 MP> > for any socialists.
 MP> Not just socialists.  You can probably think of a few "elites" on the GOP
 MP> side that you think are up to no good, right?

Given that you defined these elite as doing things like socialism, no.

 MP> >  MP> But they are, as do many of
 MP> >  MP> their supporters, and that is the thing I am guess he would never
 MP> >  MP> forgive them for.
 MP> > There have been no serious socialist candidates for decades.
 MP> But Democrats who are socialists include AOC and other members of "The
 MP> Squad," as well as the soon to retire Democrat from Kentucky's House
 MP> deligation, whose name suprisingly escapes me at the moment.  They all
 MP> not only were candidates but managed to get elected, and multiple times.

A true socialist agenda would entail that the means of production,
distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a
whole. No Democrat candidate is proposing this.

When you say "socialist," I think you mean "in favor of government
redistribution of wealth, particularly from the wealthy to the poor." Our
entire tax system is a government redistribution of wealth, and especially
since Reagan took office it has been redistributing wealth from the poor and
middle class to the rich.

 MP> >  MP> As I do not hold most politicians, especially
 MP> >  MP> national level ones, in very high regard, I guess I also do not.
 MP> > Is it a possibility that the fact that some, most, or all politicians ar
 MP> > untrustworthy be a reflection of the lack of political awareness among t
 MP> > who elected them?
 MP> In some cases maybe but, in the majority of races, even in the primaries,
 MP> you are stuck with multiple untrustworthy candidates.  The trustworthy
 MP> ones don't usually get any financial OR party backing and are also-rans
 MP> by the time the primary roles around.

Some are more trustworthy than others, though.

Jeff.

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