Socialists: Get out of the closet!

[Syrinx]

It's going to take some socialist grit to get us out of a far-right hole.

[secondwind]

1. Reporting for duty. K&R

[martymar64]

2. Right here.

I've never been in the closet about my socialist leanings.
For me, being a socialist is a point of pride, not shame.

[sharesunited]

3. Lawrence O'Donnell has given me all the cover I need.

And he may be surprised at my numbers if I do.

[watrwefitinfor]

4. Is this a roll call?

Present.

Wat

[marmar]

5. Out.

nt

[Klukie]

6. I tried....but it didn't go over very well

I agree with you for what it is worth :hi:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9433324

[Scuba]

7. Here.

[deutsey]

8. K&R

[blindpig]

9. If ya need somebody to fight fascists, who ya gonna call?

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

10. Been out for a while

Here is an interesting article, synopsis of a book, by the author, Ted Rall.

"The Anti-American Manifesto"

Good read.

http://www.alternet.org/books/148796/as_the_country_falls_apart%2C_it%27s_time_for_our_revolution/

[WVRICK13]

11. Here and Accounted For

No closet here.

[Catherina]

12. Halfway

between socialism and communism, reporting right here.

The more they pretend to be left, while moving further right, the further left they push me.

Reporting for duty with "no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole".






VERS UN AUTRE MONDE POSSIBLE. Il faut dénoncer les ravages causés par le capitalisme et l'impérialisme, et mettre en valeur les propositions alternatives du peuple mondial aux niveaux social, politique et économique.

[JanMichael]

13. Been out for 9 years. So far not much luck. nt.

[DirkGently]

14. More open (democratic) Socialism might clarify the debate a bit.

i.e., your average Democratic leader is NOT.

[dreamnightwind]

15. I agree

It really will take some socialist reforms to get out of this. So I'm sorta with you. I'd be happy to be a plain old Democrat if we had real Democrats.

[cilla4progress]

16. Totally!

Too bad it has such an image problem. We need to point to Scandanavia, Holland?, Germany?, and other successful socialist democracies as the way forward (though admittedly all are suffering in this global financial mess).

[de novo]

17. Present,

[tavalon]

18. Newly minted, unsure of what I should be doing as a socialist, but

reporting anyway.

[Puregonzo1188]

19. I'm a socialist. I don't mean European style social democracy. I mean I think democracy should be

extended to the economy and workers should democratically control the means of production.

[Zephie]

20. Hello!

Present and accounted for.

[blondeatlast]

21. We certainly do need some serious socialist policies.

I'm not 100% opposed to some heavily regulated capitalism, though. Can I claim to be present?

[and-justice-for-all]

22. I am and I wear my Socialist Party of America shirt often..nt

[Dyler Turden]

23. K&R

[Hun Joro]

24. I'm out.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

25. What does it mean?

Being for humanity?

Standing together for each other?

Fighting the Fascist regime that encompasses us all?

Yes on all those accounts.

I was a democrat thirty eight years ago, fighting against a war that was illegal.

My stance was democrat. I fought for justice, truth, equality.

My stance is the same today. But I have been shifted the the left.

First, I was a democrat, then a liberal, then progressive, now a socialist.

I have not changed, my beliefs are consistent, varied by age and times, but the same.

My country changed. Its beliefs moved me further to the left, I stayed the same.

Standing still, I moved. Standing still I was moved.

That is JUST WRONG. Believe you me, not that I mind, I will fight for my stance.

We must fight, we must be heard, workers must unite!

But I understand, you may win the lottery and get rich, you may get that get rich scheme to work,
you may be one of a million to "Have the American Dream".

:sarcasm:

May you be so lucky, so blessed, meet you in Hell, (Michigan, right down the road.)

[Segami]

39. Its just a word BUT the Repukes have effectively ( might I add ) massaged clueless nimble minds

into submission jerking them to believe that ' word ' constitutes a very bad conclusion for their lives. These party grifters have successfully conditioned the masses into cringing each and every time they hear that ' word ' mentioned. The imagery attached has the same effect as finding a long strand of someone's hair in your food or the sound of a stick of chalk screeching across on the blackboard or maybe becoming the new boogieman found under every government program rock.

[slay]

26. I'm out and ready!

unfortunately nobody in power except Bernie Sanders agrees with us. :(

[TheWebHead]

27. If you're going to emerge from the closet

you have a responsibility to explain how you're going to pay for it while maintaining 3%+ GDP growth when you have $14 trillion in debt, and future debt obligations for existing Social Security, Medicare and pensions for public employees expected to reach multiples of those trillions in the future..

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. Ending the wars would be a start

That's one of the goals of Democratic Socialism.

[sabrina 1]

29. It wasn't Socialists who ran up that debt. Those were Capitalists.

SS is paid for by the people, not the Government. It contributed nothing to the debt or the deficit. The SS fund is the only Government administered program that has a surplus and even in these time, and for decades to come, can meet its obligations, unlike the Capitalist programs. A great, fiscally conservative Socialist program.

Wars, bailouts for failed, corrupt Wall St. Banks added to the deficit.

The Bush Tax Cuts added to the deficit.

If there are not enough workers to pay into SS in the future, that will not be the fault of Socialists, it will be the fault of Capitalists sending those jobs overseas, for profit.

[TheWebHead]

30. there isn't a dime in the ss trust fund

from the CBO's own web site at http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=1209&type=0&sequence=1

These balances are available to finance future benefit payments and other trust fund expenditures--but only in a bookkeeping sense. These funds are not set up to be pension funds, like the funds of private pension plans. They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures. The existence of large trust fund balances, therefore, does not, by itself, have any impact on the Government's ability to pay benefits.

[sabrina 1]

31. That is total BS!

So much so, I am not even going to bother refuting it except to say this, what you call a 'claim on the treasury' is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Treasury Bonds, which belong to the American people and they will be honored. Tell your story to the rest of this country's creditors, like China eg, also holders of U.S. Treasury bonds.

This is pure rightwing scare tactics, now it seems adopted by some on the left, because we now have a Democratic president whose choice of anti-SS billionaires to put on a commission to look into the deficit, which SS had nothing to do with, have made it known that the real goal of that commission was to preserve the wealth for the wealthy and attempt to make the working class pay for the debts they ran up.

They must really think the people in general are as dumb as Fox viewers.

[Greyhound]

42. Is there any reich-wing BS you don't believe? n/t

[usregimechange]

32. Not a socialist, sorry.

[thanks_imjustlurking]

33. Socialist here.

What is the point of government if it doesn't serve the common good?

[XemaSab]

34. .

:patriot:

[jillan]

35. Proud socialist right here - got our first house with the help of a VA loan, have a family member

who receives social security. My children attended public school, as did I. Did lots of research at the public library. Lots of newly paved roads in my part of town. Have a nephew in the military. And I got a speeding ticket from a cop last month - sometimes socialism does suck.

[sellitman]

36. I'm a Socialist. Time to REALLY change this Country!

Now what?

[caty]

37. When I think

of liberals (far left), I think " let's try to be all for one, and one for all"

When I think of conservatives, I think "every man for himself, the hell with anyone else".

When I think of the teabaggers, I think, "get off my lawn or I'll blow you away with my sawed off shotgun".

When I think of socialists, I think "finally, we CAN be all for one and one for all, and find pride in that."

[Odin2005]

38. Reporting!

ORGANIZE!!!

[unkachuck]

40. I don't see why....

....it's so difficult to overcome the corporate anti-Socialism propaganda in this dysfunctional country?

Capitalism is 'me' getting wealthy and 'me' having a better life.

Socialism is 'we' getting wealthy and 'we' having a better life.

America is 'me' getting wealthy and 'we' having a better life.

It just doesn't work that way....

[Greyhound]

41. Never been in any closet, but it's nice to see more and more joining us. K&R. n/t

:kick: & R

[donheld]

43. Hello

[postulater]

44. I still have The Guardian with the full page photo of Chairman Mao

from when he died.

Small market capitalist with commons projects based on socialist principles.

[eridani]

45. In America these days, being a socialist means just being strongly in favor of public goods

It will be a long time before we can get to talking about the ownership of the means of production.

[Diclotican]

46. Syrinx

Syrinx

Never been In the closet in the first place... Somewhat mellowed by the years, but still....

Diclotican

[Lugnut]

47. Present!

:hi:

[kctim]

48. The whole 2 or 3 thousand?

Oh noes. Socialists to the left and baggers to the right. :scared: