Pence likens Democratic health-care and energy agenda to socialism

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post



By Anne Gearan March 1 at 4:06 PM

Vice President Pence warned Friday that “socialist” policies embraced by Democrats, including presidential candidates, risk throwing the country into the kind of economic free-fall and autocratic grip ravaging Venezuela.

Pence also said President Trump was right to leave the negotiating table with North Korea on Thursday and vowed that the United States will insist on eradicating the nuclear weapons threat in future talks.

Pence mocked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a Democratic candidate challenging President Trump in 2020, as an out-of-touch socialist and the health-care and energy policies endorsed by several others among the 2020 Democratic field as big government.

“Democrats openly advocate an economic system that has impoverished millions of people around the world,” Pence said in an address to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pence-likens-democratic-health-care-and-energy-agenda-to-socialism/2019/03/01/5e522bfe-3c30-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html

[atreides1]

1. Nothing shows Christianity

Like mocking someone else, because that's what Jesus was all about!!!

I hate Pence and everything he stands for, and I don't give two shits that he has a kid in the military...because all that gives us is a possible religious fanatic with military training!!!

[hibbing]

2. Help me mommy, I'm scared! n/t

[elleng]

3. Dems gotta fashion our way 'around' this,

EDUCATE re: socialism, for one thing, and find loud and persuasive voices.

Thought, from upthread post: Liken repugs mantra to contrast with religions, 'Christianity.'

[rwsanders]

8. Jim Wallis did a good job in one of his books

But I think the biggest thing is to not be afraid of the label. The wing-nuts were successful with making "liberal" a dirty word and the candidates diligently danced a jig to prove they weren't.
Now contrast this with the Trump maniacs: call them "deplorable" and they wear it as a badge of honor.
Take the label, they don't understand it anyway, and explain it in a way that makes them look like idiots for using it as a pejorative.

Then we need a Michelle Wolf, Louis Black, or Samatha Bee to come up with a label for republicans that is so vile and disgusting that we can dare them to take it up as a label and wear it on their shirts.

[elleng]

24. Not looking for a label,

but a useful approach for elections, primaries for Potus, for congresscritters, and for state and local reps.

'Deplorable' was and is not useful.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Namecalling aside

Pence doesn’t have one sane reason to be against health and peace and a clean planet.

[DinahMoeHum]

5. Says a douchebag with no vision whatsoever.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18)

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. Fuck Mike Pence. n/t

[yaesu]

7. It always amazes me whenever pense can put enough words together to form a sentence nt

[BlueWI]

9. The socialist scare tactics will only work for so long.

Welcome to the 21st century. Attitudes toward socialism are changing, and the combination of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have modelled for the mainstream an ability to talk about economic systems comparatively. This is an overdue and important trend.

[area51]

10. Careful, Pence,

your owner Trump asked why Medicare couldn't cover everyone!

[fascisthunter]

11. Fine... call it Socialist. Now let's talk about details

You know, like what the policies actually do and don’t do. If you can’t argue about the actual proposals and just red bait, then you lose the argument. We are willing to go there. The argument will not be whether it is “socialist” or not, but whether it’s a benefit to citizens and the country as a whole. And then we let the people decide. So call it socialist all you want.

[msongs]

12. he is a decent man nt

[world wide wally]

13. So, where is Trump's terrific health care plan that covers everybody and is cheaper?

[jayschool2013]

14. Screw Ronald Reagan

and his rotting corpse.

It's his "government is bad" mantra that has ruined political discourse.

How can you negotiate with people who's only desire for "freedom" is freedom from the government.

It's insane.

[pnwmom]

15. Everyone calling themselves a Democratic Socialist is likening their views to socialism.

There is a difference between Democratic Socialism, a form of socialism, and Social Democracy (as practiced in Scandinavian countries, for example), which too many don't understand.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production,[1] with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.[2]

Democratic socialists hold that capitalism is inherently incompatible with what they hold to be the democratic values of liberty, equality and solidarity; and that these ideals can only be achieved through the realization of a socialist society. Democratic socialism can be supportive of either revolutionary or reformist politics as a means to establish socialism.[3]

The term democratic socialism is sometimes used synonymously with socialism, but the adjective democratic is sometimes used to distinguish democratic socialists from Marxist–Leninist-inspired socialism which to some is viewed as being non-democratic in practice.[4][5] Democratic socialists oppose the Stalinist political system and Soviet economic model, rejecting the perceived authoritarian form of governance and highly centralized command economy that took form in the Soviet Union and other socialist states in the early 20th century.[6]

Democratic socialism is further distinguished from social democracy on the basis that democratic socialists are committed to systemic transformation of the economy from capitalism to socialism whereas social democracy is supportive of reforms to capitalism.[7] In contrast to social democrats, democratic socialists believe that reforms aimed at addressing social inequalities and state interventions aimed at suppressing the economic contradictions of capitalism will only see them emerge elsewhere in a different guise. As socialists, democratic socialists believe that the systemic issues of capitalism can only be solved by replacing the capitalist system with a socialist system—i.e. by replacing private ownership with social ownership of the means of production.

https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/#govt

From the site of the Democratic Socialists of America:

We believe that the workers and consumers who are affected by economic institutions should own and control them.

Social ownership could take many forms, such as worker-owned cooperatives or publicly owned enterprises managed by workers and consumer representatives. Democratic socialists favor as much decentralization as possible. While the large concentrations of capital in industries such as energy and steel may necessitate some form of state ownership, many consumer-goods industries might be best run as cooperatives.

[sandensea]

16. We liken the GOPee corporate welfare handouts to socialism too.

And theirs is far more coatly, yet accomplishes nothing.

[Maxheader]

17. Shut up puppet boy...You don't know anything...

Except when its time to lick cheetoz...di....er, um...shoes...

[BHDem53]

18. Shut up and get back on the shelf!

[dlk]

19. Every Country on the Planet is a Mixture of Socialism and Capitalism-Dems Should Start Speaking Up

The only difference between countries is the percentages of each. It's time to start countering the Republicans' attempts to demonize socialism. - facts matter, even in the fact-free, Republican spin zone.

[Alpeduez21]

20. Hey, shitstain jr!

Farm subsidies are socialism.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

21. Now you got it, Mikey!

Hard to believe a self-professed Christian hasn't read the part of the Bible where Jesus is saying we should take care of each other. I guess he's a Leviticus kind of guy.

One of many of my favorite scenes from "West Wing."

[Bayard]

30. Good one!

[SamKnause]

22. Stupid evil fuck.

Take your fascism, racism and theocracy and shove them up your lily white ass.

[Evolve Dammit]

23. Dems need to lay out examples of other countries that put us to shame with "socialist" programs

Like health care. Last I checked we were #36. Education, child care, etc., etc.

[salin]

25. Short version: "Let the eat Cake!"

as he continues (for decades) to tax those of lesser means - to give largess to those with greater means - and cuts services - as calls any alternative "Socialism !!1"

[flotsam]

26. Only an American

Would feel entitled not to starve or freeze while our military scrapes by with just over half our budget.

[Doitnow]

27. Okay, if democratic socialism is SO bad, let's get rid of

public schools, fire and police departments, public libraries, the U.S. Military, public roads and hiways, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, public prisons and hospitals, the V. A., public universities, parks, toilets, drinking fountains and parking. (Feel free to add to the list.)

Looks like we're already a bit socialized. If we could just stop having wars for oil and giving rich people and corporations big tax breaks, think of what else we could do with all that wasted money. THAT'S how we could pay for needed things in this country.

[Progressive Jones]

28. The right wing operates under the

simplistic, dumb guy understanding of what socialism is. All they see is "Soviet Union".

[Bayard]

29. Lawrence O'Donnell played this clip from the West Wing last night on his show

And incidentally, HE wrote it!

[Rizen]

31. So it's okay to bail out farmers from Trump's idiocy...

but Democrat socialism is bad. How stupid are republicans?

[Vinca]

32. I bet the same crowd loves their socialist Medicare.