“The word ‘socialist’ is a really hard word,” warned former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
“Now, I love Bernie Sanders, really,” Granholm added, acknowledging she’s okay with his socialist policies — just not the term.
Not in mixed company.
The former governor of the Wolverine State was responding to a question — “How about the charges ‘he’s a socialist’?” — from Martha Raddatz, who was hosting ABC’s This Week that week.
“The socialist label is something that he applies to himself, right,” Granholm noted. “So the question is how does that play across America?”
Armed with a Gallup poll, Granholm answered that socialism doesn’t play very well at all. Voters are “even” less apt to vote for a “socialist” than for an “atheist.” In case you wondered.
So, what is the difference between a socialist and a Democrat?
“You’re the chairman of the Democratic Party, tell me the difference between you and a socialist,” Chris Matthews had implored Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz on MSNBC months ago.
“The relevant debate we’ll be having over the course of this campaign,” dodged the DNC chair, “is what’s the difference between a Democrat and a Republican.”
Chuck Todd, noting that Bernie Sanders “is an unabashed socialist” who is always praising European social democracies, echoed the question on Meet the Press: “what is the difference?”
“It’s always fun to be interviewed by Chris Matthews and I know that he enjoys that banter,” bobbed an answer-less Wasserman Schultz. “The important distinction we’ll be discussing in this campaign [blah, blah, blah] . . .”
Earlier this month, Matthews likewise asked Hillary Clinton to state the difference. Mrs. Clinton said she wasn’t a socialist but, instead, “a progressive Democrat.”
“Debbie Wasserman Schultz wouldn’t answer the question either,” Matthews replied.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “Hard Words, Soft Left”
“One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary.”
–philosopher Ayn Rand
Semantics and language have been the tool of the utopian advocates always. As their policies fail whenever placed into effect it is necessary for them redefine their identity, or at least the term associated with their policies, periodically. Any long continuation of any identifying term would make clear their history of failure.
The answer the democratic policians refuse to admit is that ffolks like Lenin, Castro, et al were/are socialists and millions of people were killed in the name of socialism. Socialism is loss of freedom for the citizens and privilege for the leaders.
“When I use a word,” said Humpty Dumpty, “it means exactly what I want it to mean. No more. No less. It’s only a question of who is to be the master. That’s all.”
Things haven’t changed that much since Lewis Carroll’s time. Still folks adding their own definitions in order to get to be the master.