Thursday, October 16, 2008

Good News Comrades, the Revolution has been Achieved!

Here is a blog entry by Hiltzoy at the Washington Monthly that proclaims that Socialism has been brought to us by the most unlikely means. The Right has nationalized the banks and industry to give us the long awaited Revolution! Hurrah for the Capitalist Running Dogs, they have brought us the longed for Revolution. They have broken the chains of the workers and given us all the debts of the bankrupt economic system that is left after the rich have looted everything in sight and run off for their yachts and sailed away.

But wait a second... did we want this "revolution" brought to us by Bush? I don't remember anybody calling for it. So why have the right wing nuts who hate the poor and the working class so much brought us this new dispensation? Well, here is Hiltzoy's take...

The Corner: Objectively Pro-Socialist

K-Lo gets an email about the stock market:

"OK, I'll say it...I believe today's massive decline was, in part (and maybe a big "in part"), in fear that the debate tonight won't go well for McCain and the implications that will have for an Obama victory. The likelihood of a recession has been talked about and, probably, factored in to a lot of folks' thinking already... ...if tonight's debate tracks well for McCain, you'll see a positive response tomorrow; if it doesn't, hold on; it won't be pretty. Call it: 'Flight to Safety (from Socialism).'"

No doubt they're all worried that Obama might do something drastic, like, I don't know, take over one of the world's largest insurance companies, or maybe even nationalize the banks.

Oh, wait...

Seriously: given all the fretting on the right about Obama's possible socialist leanings, of which I have seen precisely no evidence, you'd think they would have noticed that someone has recently been taking steps that are genuinely socialist. And that someone isn't our guy; he's theirs.

There are several ways to end up with socialism. One is to try to bring it about. There is, as I said, no evidence that Obama wants to do that. But another is to govern so disastrously that drastic steps like nationalizing banks look like the least bad option. That was the Bush administration's route. And even though I'm sure that Bush did not intend to nationalize banks and an insurance company, he accomplished it anyways, through sheer ineptitude.

If the people at the Corner are really worried about socialism, they should spend less time trying to conjure evidence of it out of thin air, and more time trying to make sure that their party nominates and elects people who will actually govern competently. Their years of cheerleading for Bush's incompetent leadership have done more to bring about socialism in this country than William Ayers ever did.

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