Capitalism or Socialism?

Did you hear about the latest Rasmussen Poll? In their recent telephone survey they asked American adults “Which is a better system – Capitalism, Socialism or Not Sure”? Barely half (53%) said Capitalism was better while 20% said Socialism and 27% wasn’t sure. Wow.

Digging into the demographics is even more revealing. So who favors Socialism? Mainly the young. Only 13% of people over 40 picked Socialism over Capitalism while that doubles to 26% of the thirty something crowd and jumps to one-third (33%) of the youngest adults picking Socialism as the better system. Wow again. It is one thing to be idealistic when you are young but this is carrying it too far.

Except the Rasmussen report that accompanied this finding poses the hypothesis that perhaps the young aren't as much socialistic as they are dumb. OK so they didn’t quite put it that way but that was the general gist of it. You see their survey never defined either Capitalism or Socialism, it simply asked which system was better. So maybe the 20 year olds just didn’t understand the meaning of those words so that they couldn’t make an informed decision. Hmmm. Sounds like what we saw during the Presidential election, doesn’t it?

This ignorance was supported by earlier surveys which showed that 70% of Americans supported a “free-market economy” while only 15% prefer a “government-managed economy” and another survey showed that just 14% believe the government would do a better job of running the auto companies. Granted, these surveys polled different people but if 70% want a free-market economy and yet only 53% want Capitalism then what else can you infer other than many people are poorly educated and not too bright.

Think I am being too hash? That maybe the older generation has always denigrated the younger generations? Think again. In the history of this country, never before have one-third of the younger generation turned their backs on what makes America great – the rights of the individual and instead are embracing a political system that promotes the government over the individual. And if they truly aren’t Socialists and basically didn’t understand the terminology then they are uneducated fools. So take your pick – in thirty years America will be run by either Socialists or ignorant twits. Feel better now?

Short Retort

It is one thing for Obama to be rude to Britain’s Prime Minister by giving him that gift of DVD’s. But it is another thing for him to be rude to the Queen of England. People love the Queen and you just don’t give her such a stingy gift. Even worse, for him, is that for the first time Obama looks ridiculous. Everyone is beginning to snicker at the thought of him giving this little old lady an Ipod! And one thing Obama hates is to look ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous, you probably didn’t see this quote in the UK Telegraph from Obama right before his meeting with the Queen: "And so I'm very much looking forward to meeting her for the first time later this evening. And as you might imagine, Michelle has been really thinking that through -- because I think in the imagination of people throughout America, I think what the Queen stands for and her decency and her civility, what she represents, that's very important." Huh? Where’s that teleprompter when you need it!

Going Tharn

In Richard Adam’s magical book Watership Down he describes the rabbit’s freezing when caught in the headlights of an approaching car as going tharn. I think a lot of moderates, both Democrats and Republicans, have gone tharn in the light of what is happening in Washington. The recent acts by Obama and his administration have been so unbelievable with one major change after another that many people who initially voted for the man have just frozen and gone tharn. For some it is simply too hard to comprehend how quickly our country is being changed. I can now almost understand how Nazi Germany came to be. The good Germans and Jews simply went tharn in disbelief.

Thank God that Conservatives have not been immobilized by the menace to our country which is emanating from Obama and his cronies. Instead, they have answered swiftly with the most damning response of all – true grass roots rebellion. I think it has shaken the far left liberals to see how quickly large groups of citizens are gathering to express their outrage at what Obama is doing to our country. I don’t think anyone could have predicted the way this fury has spread like fire around the country. What people forget is that yes, Obama won, but look at the map of red vs. blue counties. Once you get outside of the urban big cities you find the rest of the country is red. And it is getting redder every day that Obama has been in office.

But a funny thing is starting to happen. Remember those moderates who had gone tharn, frozen in disbelief at what they had done? Well, Obama is playing his hand too cockily. His Chicago strong arm tactics, his determination to silence anyone who is against him and his utter disrespect of our history is starting to backfire on him. Middle of the road Democrats who have been standing in place are beginning to jump – and to the right. Moderate Democrats are now saying “wait a minute” to adding trillions more in debt with his budget. They are beginning to think the government went too far when Obama fired GM’s CEO. That Obama’s international behavior, chumming up to our enemies while insulting our friends is no longer campaign gimmicks but a terrifying reality. They are finding their voice and are beginning to stand up and say “slow down” and even “no” to their President.

And what has been Obama’s reaction when these middle of the road Democrats start to voice their concerns? Democrat Rep. Peter DeFazio was one of those moderates who voted against Obama’s stimulus package. And Obama’s response according to today’s article by Karl Rove was “ ‘Don't think we're not keeping score, brother.’ That's what President Barack Obama said to Rep. Peter DeFazio in a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus last week, according to the Associated Press.” Wow.

Sure you could say it’s his own fault for voting him in but I can’t help but feel sorry for Rep. DeFazio and the other moderate Democrats. They had been so excited that one of their own won the presidency. And not just anyone but they had voted for a very charismatic man who was also the first African American running for the office. How very thrilling the inauguration must have been for they really believed that Obama would bring hope back to Washington. But then suddenly so many things went wrong and Obama’s actions became more and more dangerous to our country.

Until finally these moderates found that they could no longer support their President. How difficult that decision was. It must be incredibly hard to stand up to a President from your own party. But perhaps they thought that maybe by not voting for his bill this new President might realize he is going too far and too fast for a large part of his constituency. Perhaps they thought that their no vote would be a signal to the President to slow down a little bit. Instead their President threatens them! Wow. Talk about a wake up call!

So Conservatives, in addition to your tea parties, show your support for these moderate Democrats. For it is no longer a Republican vs. Democrat thing. No, this is something deeper, something more akin to liberty vs. tyranny. Send Peter DeFazio a note telling him that you appreciate the stand he has taken. Tell the moderate Democrats that Obama has made his biggest mistake yet when he threatened you and that we will stand with you against the President and his minions like MoveOn.org when they come after you. And you know they will for it is already happening.

Now maybe it is in the human spirit but I like to think that one of the uniquely American traits is that we don’t react well to being threatened. Sure we may have gone tharn initially but that is due to our innate goodness and naivety. We simply can’t believe this is happening. But once we shake off that frozen feeling instead of backing down to threats we fight them. Our country is filled with story after story of average men and women who have stood up to tyrants. Hell, America was born because of rebels like that. A lot may have changed in the past 250 years but thank God that is still true. For if it is not, if we no longer have the integrity and guts to stand up for what is good then you might as well start to write our country’s obituary.