Craziest Republican of the Day: Rick Perry

By Michael J.W. Stickings

The governor of Texas thinks that:

[T]his is an administration hell-bent toward taking American towards a socialist country. And we all don't need to be afraid to say that because that's what it is.

He was referring to Obama's administration, of course, not his own, and I can't even begin to tell you how sick and tired I am of conservatives calling Obama and his policies socialist. Clearly, they don't have a clue what socialism is, nor do they seem to understand that all western democracies, including the more neo-liberal ones, are to some extent socialist insofar as they redistribute some wealth from the haves to the have-nots and have governments that provide services like health care and education.

Yes, even the U.S. -- I assume that Perry would like to shut down Medicare and Medicaid? Or is he smart enough to understand that voters might not like that, even in Texas?

Otherwise, how is providing another health insurance option to consumers, even a government-run one, in an attempt to expand the market, socialist? How is having Wall Street insiders bail out Wall Street, with the goal of keeping the big banks and investment firms afloat so as to be able to invest and lend for the supposed good of the economy, as well as of consumers, socialist?

I'm sorry, has Obama proposed raising tax rates to Scandinavian levels? Has he proposed the permanent nationalization of industries, like, say, the auto industry? No, not so much. Just ask progressives what they think of Obama's market-oriented policies. Not that progressives are all socialists, but those of us who are liberal/progressive know that, if anything, Obama has thus far governed too far to the right. A socialist he is not.

So while the socialism tag it's just a baseless, hollow smear that conservatives hope will resonate with fearful Americans, what's clear is that any society that falls short of an Ayn Rand-oriented paradise is socialist. Yes, they're that ignorant, and that extremist.