OMG! Accusations of Socialism

Recently I overheard a conversation in which the participants claimed that the conservative accusations of the President/Democrat congressional majority being socialist were "reminiscent of McCarthy" or "scary."

I'll argue that the behavior of the progressive Democrats is scary. While my opinion of the the socialist actions of the majority party aren't probably convincing, it's hard to argue with Emmanuel Lewis.

Main Entry: so·cial·ism
Function: noun
Date: 1837

1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

I hope parts 2 and 3 of the definition are not too rapidly approaching, the emphasized portion of part one is happening in the health care industry (and the obviously related student loan takeover*). Liberal pundits claim that it's not an actual takeover. Once again a vocabulary lesson by Mr Lewis:

Main Entry: take over

Function: verb

Date: 1884

transitive verb

: to assume control or possession of or responsibility for

intransitive verb

1 : to assume control or possession
2 : to become dominant

If one thinks that the government hasn't recently assumed control of how the insurance companies operate he/she is not paying attention/literate.

The comparison of the conservatives' accusations of socialism with McCarthyism is really amusing due to McCarthyism involving accusations without evidence. On the other hand, calling policies or politicians socialist is quite reasonable when they openly further socialist causes.

Speaking of McCarthyism I will only mention two words (and a handful of relevant links): Henry Waxman.

Get In Their Faces: Administration Lashes Out at John Deere, Caterpillar For Accurately Reporting Their Finances
The Administration’s Attack on American Business
The New McCarthyism is Waxmania: Silencing the Capitalists
The Empire Strikes Back

*LOL not really related