Where Is This Socialism Or Communism Meme Coming From?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Last I checked there was no central planning and nationalization of the means of production.

Obama's stimulus plan strikes me as garden variety Keynesianism; expansive fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate and compensate for depressed consumer spending.

[Deja Q]

1. Because those people give dumbshits an undeserved reputation.

And that ain't easy to do.

[Child_Of_Isis]

2. The Republicans ? eom

[eShirl]

3. People who think Joe McCarthy was a hero?

[treestar]

4. Republics believe they can change the meanings of words

And would like to dumb us all down to their black and white view of the world, thus anything to the left of complete laissez-faire is "socialism" "communism" and "Marxism."

Any government restriction puts a limit on what they can do with their property and thus is "communist."

[Jackpine Radical]

12. And, in their lexicon, socialism and fascism are synonyms.

The Nazis were the National Socialists, after all, and that proves it!

Droolers.

[treestar]

16. "marxist" and "communist" and "trotskyite" are synonyms of

"socialist" and "liberal democrat" also too.

Morans.

[Berry Cool]

14. You said it. Their thinking is totally binary.

It's much easier for a simple mind to process the world by being able to sort everything out into two boxes. Either you're black, or you're white. (I'm convinced that part of the reason Obama upsets them so is that he can't easily be categorized that way.) Either you're for us, or against us. Either you're for rampant unfettered laissez-faire capitalism, or you're a pinko commie Marxist socialist.

Gray areas scare the crap out of them. Anything that requires them to make fine distinctions and sort out different facets of complex issues scares them. Because such stuff requires thought and work, and doesn't always leave you with the glowing, steady conviction that you are Right and everyone else is Wrong, but sometimes with even more of a feeling like you're not sure. They don't like that. Not at all.

[pipi_k]

21. I think you nailed it

with the first sentence in your second paragraph...

"Gray areas scare the crap out of them."


Gray areas...conflicting thoughts and feelings...those things really are too much for some people to handle. For some reason, things HAVE to be either black or white, yes or no, this or that. Any deviation from either/or really freaks them out.

I just read something about "cognitive dissonance". People might think that it's about a lack of intelligence (I'll admit I think they're stupid too, at times) but it's really a psychological disorder...Interesting reading, if people are up to it.

[Jackpine Radical]

25. Yes. One of the distinguishing differences between the liberal

and conservative mindsets (more properly, between authoritarian and non-authoritarian) is tolerance for ambiguity. The ability to say I don't know, I don't have enough evidence to make up my mind.

[rurallib]

5. Mommy's basement?

[Deja Q]

10. What, not the milkman's basement?

:hide:

[shraby]

6. That's thrown out into the mix whenever the

people who shower before and after work for a living need a helping hand cause the "haves" don't want them to get it.

[Autumn]

7. Whatever it is, I want more

it seems much better than what we have had.

[rfranklin]

8. They are down to the bottom of the barrel of scare tactics...

that have worked in the past. If you read columns in the Wall Street Journal and similar publications and websites they love to throw those "epithets" around. Its part of the "money is God" credo.

[WinkyDink]

9. Newsweek?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/183663

[Wetzelbill]

11. It's a pejorative that Republicans throw out whenever you disagree with them

It doesn't matter if it's economic policy or foreign policy, they'll find a way to call you one of those. No matter how crazy an idea they have if you oppose it, you're a commie or a socialist. It's just standard stuff. Nevermind that 99 percent of them don't even know what either means.

[CrispyQ]

22. My mother called Nancy Pelosi a socialist & a fascist at the same time.

:crazy:

[Wetzelbill]

28. And somehow that makes sense

Not the terms going together, but that a RWer would say that, lol.

[Zen Democrat]

13. It started with Rush Limbaugh calling Obama a socialist/communist during the campaign.

All my right-wing acquaintances began accusing Obama of being a "socialist" during the same week last year, so it had to be an official talking point from the idiot blowhard. Terrorist! Communist! Socialist! Oh My!

Having a discussion, excuse me, ATTEMPTING a discussion with a couple of them exposed their Rush-induced beliefs that Social Security and Medicare are Communism/Socialism, and they they use those terms interchangeably. They are non-thinkers, and that's what progressives are up against -- know-nothing narrow-minded hypocrites. My kindest wish for these people: May they wake up and smell the collapse of Reaganomics before they make even bigger fools of themselves.

[WinkyDink]

18. Registered Republicans should be barred from receiving S.S. benefits, Medicare, etc. I mean, they

have PRINCIPLES, right??

[Optical.Catalyst]

15. It is coming from the impotent Republicans who have been reduced to yelling 'FIRE' in the theater

The Republicans have no power to influence legislation in Washington, so they have to scream like adolescents to get attention.

I think we should just ignore the Republicans, and let them go into the junk heap of failed political parties.

[Turbineguy]

17. It's just the triumphant return

of the Commie Plot.

Recycling is the in thing.

Those who espouse this are capitalist-imperialist running dogs.

[dem629]

19. Thank you, thank you, thank you...for using the actual definition of the word.

Definitions are important...unless you're a right-wing, mouth-breather dittohead.

These people couldn't define socialism if you promised to give them a lifetime supply of Rush's favorite, Oxycontin.

[last_texas_dem]

20. Its widespread usage comes from Repug Party Leader Rush Limbaugh

Then again, I've known some real-life Republicans that basically describe any economic policy that is remotely progressive as communist. Wouldn't this make Repug luminaries like Raygun communists, too, since he allowed the progressive income tax system to stand when he had eight years in which he could have overturned it?

[baldguy]

23. The actual words mean nothing.

The ruling corporatocracy distorts the definitions as they see fit uses them to frighten the underclass into submission. If workers were made to understand what communism & socialism actually were there would be a revolution - and the overclass will do everything to avoid that.

[Born_A_Truman]

24. John McCain

The first time I heard it tossed out there was John McCain (Joe the Plumber) during the GE.

I saw his little rant on C-Span yesterday while waiting for the Senate vote. I just kept thinking how lucky we are that he wasn't elected. I can't even imagine.

[AllentownJake]

26. Honestly it comes from Richard Nixon

The Lee Atwater/PaPa Bush attacks weren't working (the blacks are taking over) this time so they had to reach back to their hate closet and they invoked Nixon's campaigns going back to 1948.

[Odin2005]

27. The pukes have been calling us Communists for over 100 years.

During the New Deal they accused FDR of trying to "Russianize America" and similar BS.

[Solomon]

29. It's a party thing. See, it was capitalism when George Bush

gave out 350 billion with no strings attached, but now that Bush is gone, it's called socialism. Especially since Obama insisted on a pay cap. See? Republicans, give money away no strings = capitalism; democrats give money with accountability = socialism.

[nxylas]

30. The 1950s called, they want their scare tactic back

The Freepers may not have noticed, but the cold war is over.

[old mark]

31. Whenever the Publicans want to demonize anyone, they call them

socialists or communists. Obama is showing more moderation than I believed he would - the stimulus bill is nothing but good sense and good economics, certainly NOTHING remotely socialist.
It is just standard Publican namecalling relying on the ignorance of their party membership.

Remember - the Publicans you see on TV are the LEADERS - the bright lights - of the GOP. The rank and file must be even dumber than the stars, no?


mark

[Baikonour]

32. You honestly think a typical repuke even knows who Kenyes is?

It's easier to just yell "SOCIALISM!" with a southern drawl than to debate the finer points of macroeconomics.

[Orsino]

33. From pinheads.

Pinheads who still think they can frighten enough of us with Communist bogeymen.

[Fearless]

34. From the people....

Who want to have the benefits of a 1st world society like public schools, fire and police, and so on, but don't want to pay for them.

To them I've related what taxes are really: They are dues to a club that provide services. We get to choose the types of services but we shouldn't get to choose to underfund those we've chosen. We cannot burn the candle at both ends.

[Honeycombe8]

35. From the folks who just nationalized our banking system? nt