One simple question for my readers.
Written by chuck on November 2, 2008 – 6:27 pm -If you wanted the USA to become a socialist country, how would you start the ball rolling? Please answer the question.
Thanks in advance… Chuck
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By Butch Vee on Nov 3, 2008 5:15 am | Reply
If you wanted the USA to become a socialist country, how would you start the ball rolling?
I would vote for the democrats!
By Bogus on Nov 3, 2008 5:21 am | Reply
The correct way to engineer a hard-line socialist or authoritarian coup in the United States, or any egalitarian democracy, is as follows. First, get your cronies fairly high up in the political system, as regards to both elected officials and behind-the-scenes party bosses and lobbyists. Simultaneously, you use whatever means of information/propaganda are at your disposal to increase popular reliance on the government. Obviously handouts are a good way to do this, but be sure to appeal to the lowest common denominator because it’s all about strength of numbers–if you’re trying to arrange a Weimar-style coup you simply need the largest voting bloc in the next election. You’ll also need a fairly large chunk of the mass media to see things your way, but that shouldn’t be too hard as they’ll do anything for an exclusive. It’s also very important that you work with them to villify your opponents and cast some of your own failings onto them–this will be very important later on. For instance, if government entities are inefficient or deadlocked, accuse your opponents of obstructionism and assure people that if only you had more power there would be utopia.
Then you, with your new positions of power, use your regulatory power to turn a problem of your choice into a major economic crisis by conveniently forgetting to do your job at an opportune time. You’ll use your media influence to pass the blame onto others, as you don’t want people knowing your intentions just yet. Since the people are more reliant on government now, they naturally look to you to solve it. Which you happily do by taking control of the country’s economic infrastructure, and in doing so adding the middle class to the various underclasses you now indirectly control. After all, people with some money but not lots will vote how you tell them to if their economic stability depends on it. Theoretically you now have electoral supremacy, but for what we have in mind we need to weaken the infrastructure to avoid the very messy uprising that would otherwise break out when those who work for a living realize they’re being hoodwinked into tyranny.
Step three, therefore, is to soften up the political and military-industrial systems. Any student of history can tell you that a coup will never succeed in a strong state–Rome, Germany, Russia, etc. were all just a few steps from anarchy which is the situation we need to create. This is actually a very simple two-step process: use your mass-media influence to push in a very weak President and ensure Congress stays hopelessly bogged down in partisan bickering. Enemies and rivals of the US can be counted on to take advantage of the situation; in our case, Russia, China and Islamic extremism are the obvious players. There will be riots, global economic meltdown, maybe even a few million dead from terrorism which is exactly what you want. You’ll get blamed most likely, but by this time it’s too late for anyone to stop you.
By now you have the country where you want it. Assuming that during all of this you used propaganda to blame most of it on your opponents, much of the public outrage has been directed at them instead of you so anyone with the means to oppose you is most likely dead or living somewhere else. The rest will follow your lead as long as they get their bread and circuses. You can do what you want now. President for life? No problemo, you have everyone’s money and things are in general disarray anyway so a constitutional amendment would be easy–if you even bother with silly things like that. Martial law? Sure, the people will welcome curfews and a tank on every street corner if it protects them from the bad guys. Socialism? Who needs socialism, let the people experience the joys of bread lines while you and your party men live the life of luxury. You’re no longer a wannabe leftist dictator, you’re the real thing so be sure to build great buildings and statues in your honor, subjugate everyone near you, and feed the people just enough bullshit to keep them thinking everything is for their benefit.
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. There is of course the minor issue of the Second Amendment and chance of armed civil war, but that’s easily solved by a bit of legislation and antigun fearmongering while youre building your power base in the early stages.
I’m sure there are other ways to do it too, but if I were a Stalinist this is how I would go about it.
By ned on Nov 3, 2008 7:20 am | Reply
Bogus,
Sounds kind of like Obama’s campaign to me…..
By Bonnie A. on Nov 3, 2008 11:06 am | Reply
Very well said. I appreciate your taking the time to thoroughly explain it.
By Bob on Nov 3, 2008 11:32 am | Reply
Start buying more banks and motgage companies.
By TNVol on Nov 3, 2008 11:39 am | Reply
We started the ball rolling in the 1930′s. You do it quietly and you make the transition smooth and to the public’s liking; and you don’t call it Socialism. The truth is, most Americans like a little Socialism, the problem comes when the level of that Socialism exceeds their comfort level. You have to look no further than the recent financial mess. Most everyone looked to government for a solution, even though it was government that, depending on your view, either allowed it to happen or caused it. To keep from suffering the pain we should rightfully expect for the excesses of the financial institutions in recent years, many of both parties welcomed the greatest expansion of Socialism since things such as the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930′s.
By Ed on Nov 3, 2008 8:06 pm | Reply
Thanks Bogus! To bad we couldn’t get your message out sooner and to more people in the US. I just hope the American public pulls through and thinks before pulling that lever.
By chuck on Nov 3, 2008 10:00 pm | Reply
Bogus … You left out one thing. Which I feel is VERY important. As a friend said on another Blog:
“I would say, start with the educational system. Once you’ve got a generation of little minds full of mush indoctrinated sufficiently, then you can run your Socialist candidate (Obama) and have the government-educated masses follow him like he’s the messiah.” GB
By ned on Nov 4, 2008 7:50 am | Reply
Chuck,
It has already started. I have a teenage step son and daughter 17 and 16 respectively. They are all for Obama because:
1. He is Black
2. He will bring change
3. He can’t take away guns, they will just get them illegally.
4. McCain is too old.
5. Obama is the only way to vote.
They don’t care about any other issues, He seems to be the right one in their eyes.
The issue of experience is not a factor, “he knows what he is doing”.
Scary thought that you cannot see beyond the T.V. set and the YouTube screen.
By Pico on Nov 4, 2008 8:04 am | Reply
Obama isn’t a Socialist or a Terrorist. Grow up and vote for the candidate that will better this country. OBAMA 08! I will laugh all day long when the GOP and that old fart lose the election. GO OBAMA!
By chuck on Nov 4, 2008 9:52 am | Reply
Ned.. thanks for your comments.
Pico.. I hate to say it, but you will be laughing all day long on Wednesday. Please do me one favor, look up the word socialist and then tell me Obama is not a socialist. Thanks for your comments.
By Mike on Nov 4, 2008 10:56 am | Reply
Chuck, I think Pico is a perfect example of the reason this country is going to crap. America has been dumbing down for years. Intelligent, educated and experienced people vote for McCain/Palin. Unintelligent, uneducated and inexperienced people vote for Obama/Biden. Guess which group is bigger now?
By ned on Nov 4, 2008 11:19 am | Reply
I am just curious about the age factor here. I have noticed that most of the Obama supporters are the younger than I generation. I am only 44, have served my country and have seen alot in other countries that seem to be occuring here more and more.
Anymore it is getting to be “lets make history this election year by having a black president.” instead of lets make history by changing the way the economy is or something to that effect. I am not against a black president as long as they can do the job. NObama is not the right person..
By Bogus on Nov 4, 2008 5:39 pm | Reply
Well it’s probably because they lack perspective. They didn’t get to experience Vietnam or the really hardcore part of the Cold War, and they’re several generations removed from the Depression so they can’t really appreciate just how bad things can get if the situation gets out of hand. Basically the younger generations’ worldview can be summarized as:
-America must be selfish because we’re successful and many countries aren’t. Corollary: rich people must be selfish because they’re successful and others aren’t.
-Wars only happen when Western democracies start them.
-Anything can be solved through sufficient “action”, which usually involves strongly worded UN resolutions and protests far removed from the issue in question.
Obviously that’s not how the system works, so maybe we’re due for a refresher course. Obama’s people may indeed be laughing tomorrow, but I’ll get the last laugh when the house of cards comes down in a few years and they’re left wondering why good intentions didn’t solve all ills.
By ned on Nov 5, 2008 7:13 am | Reply
You know it is kind of scary and a coincidence that the Mayan calender and the predicted end of the world is in 4 years. The Anti-Christ is now in office as a few people I know have said. I only hope that my feelings about how Obama is are wrong and he changes things around to the good. I think we are in for a world of SH-T personally.
I only hope that we will not be the USSA as said by others or the ISA (Islamic States of America).
By Pico on Nov 5, 2008 7:53 am | Reply
Ned! The Anti-Christ? Being an Atheist, I can’t even wrap my head around that kind of pyscho talk. We now have a great President to unite us! The answer my friend is blowin in the wind. The answer is blowin in the wind.
By ned on Nov 5, 2008 8:59 am | Reply
Pico,
I am in no way a true devoted christian, nor am I an Atheist. I have my own beliefs and will stand by them. I do not put down religions or lack of religion, and will shake hands with anyone. If you truly look up Armageddon and look up Anti-Christ, you will see a similarity with what is going on. Also, if you look at the Mayan calender and the Native American Indians “calender” you will find that both of them end in the latter part of 2012. There are also other items that suggest the same. The Mayan calender has correctly predicted many, many past events to the day. I am not saying that it is a for sure thing, I am just stating my opinion on this subject as you are as well. I am glad that you feel the way you do towards Obama and hope that you are correct.
By hawgjawz on Nov 5, 2008 10:29 am | Reply
promising every one what they want to hear is not great.that is people pleasing and lieing,pandering and prostituting yourself to fiil your ego and delusions.people did not listen to what the big o said.he is very devisive,manipulative…i still have found at my age that the best way to judge someone is to see who they run with and were formulative in their character building process..best of luck to him.i fear the worst for the majority of us in the long run.when you fall in a hole ,you have to work like hell ,JUST,to get back on level ground again,it would of been better to take a better path that in known.
By chuck on Nov 5, 2008 12:18 pm | Reply
http://www.ourlighterside.com/photos-for-forums/USSA.jpg
By DaddysGirl on Nov 5, 2008 6:56 pm | Reply
I’m Chuck’s daughter. Obviously, a Replublican. I’m 27 yrs old and I have a 9 yr old son. He and his friend got off the bus today upset because in class they talked about the election. His friend, K, told me that a lot of kids were putting down Obama. Saying he was a horrible president and was going to kill our country (at least there is a few smart 3rd graders left in Weaver, AL). She told me, very matter-of-factly, that Obama was the change we needed. That he could make a difference in our country. My sweet little innocent son piped in “yeah, he really can make a difference.” By this time, I have a disgusted look on my face and I’m rolling my eyes. He continues, “I think, maybe (he sees my face), he might (I’ve got that angry “momma look” on my face now and he knows it) make a good president…? He ends with a question. This will make a great dinner table conversation tonight.
It’s been said that Hitler was a great speaker. When he spoke, people followed. They believed. Sound familiar? Everyone is ready for a change, right? I am. But is the change we’re getting going to be a good one? I sure as hell hope so. But I’m not going to hold my breath.
Unlike some, mostly older generations, I don’t mind a black president, if he/she can do the job. But guess what…we still don’t have a black president. He’s mixed. I notice a lot of people forget that. I have a problem with the fact that he’s nothing more than a Muslim Terrorist! This country better open their eyes and watch their backs. If we think things are bad now, we ain’t seen nothing yet!
Now, don’t worry. I’m gonna have a long talk with my son tonight. I’ll straighten him out. However and unfortunatly, it’s too late to straighten out the rest of the country. If we can just make it thru the next 4 yrs America might wake up and vote a real historical change…Palin 2012!!!
PS, Love you, Daddy! And yes I voted McCain. You raised me well!! :-)
By Nola on Nov 5, 2008 8:37 pm | Reply
I heard a president of a NAACP somewhere in Texas who was talking to an interviewer. She said now they can live where they want and get
their rights. That is Socialism to me. Take it from the middle class hard workers and give it to the ones that sit back and have babies one after the other and draw that Welfare check. We are paying for this stuff people
By ned on Nov 6, 2008 7:23 am | Reply
How are they going to swear in Obama?
Don’t they use the Bible to swear them in?
I guess they will use the Koram, which is not what this country is about.
I work hard for my money, I have always worked hard since I was 16 I have had a job.
I have collected unemployment 1 time for a week and that was because I volunteered for a week layoff and figured I deserved it once.
I see all these people with Gov’t assistance eating better than me, and driving nice new cars. When I first got out of the military, I applied for assistance. I was denied because my car was worth too much. I did not know that a newer car can feed you.
Upon leaving though, I see a non caucasion person pull up in a brand new car so that they could pick up their check. They did have a check in hand when they left.
It is ashame that some of us work all of our lives and will have nothing when we retire. But see people that don’t want to work,
have food and an income the rest of their lives. That I feel is the way that it is going to end up with BO in office. That sounds like it just stinks.
By Pico on Nov 6, 2008 8:17 am | Reply
Ned, if you watched the speak he gave after his victory. He spoke of God just as McCain and Bush would. He is a Christian and will swear in on the bible. I believe all presidents should have to swear in on the constitution(or something like that) not the Bible. Seperation of Church and State.
By zoomie72 on Nov 6, 2008 8:29 am | Reply
What an election!! I am receiving congratulatory notes from my friends in Paris, explaining that BO is a breath of fresh air missing from the USA for the past two years… My wife and I are going there in a couple weeks, and we will have to help set him a bit striaight on this issue.
I share most of the concerns reflected in this blog here, and I am committed to supporting the President as best I can. But support also means reasonable and steady objection to stupidity [thank you, Ron White].
However, I am afraid that we have dumbed the country down to the point that we ARE being subjugated through “mob rule”. I think it was Montesquieu who, while observing the American experiment with democracy, observed that this system will only succeed until the masses realize that they can vote themselves benefits. Make no mistake about it- BO has “taught” his followers that they can vote themselves money back by taxing “the rich”. Now that this lesson has been imparted, expect more to follow suit, with special interest after special interest voting themselves “favors” and other entitlements.
In my mind, things to look out for: tinkering with the electoral college so that “the will of the people can be heard”, “reverse discrimination” instances rising under the aegis of “affirmative action” to “correct” the injustice of slavery from seven generations ago [if you can't make it out from under slavery after seven generations, it is probably a personal issue and not systemic], continued redistribution of wealth by taxing the rich, stricter gun control measures and disarming the American public, and mandating universal health care so that NO ONE can get adequate care anywhere except through government-sponsored programs whi will determine who is worthy of healthcare and who is not. If you hear of any of these measures, to paraphrase Elmer Fudd, “Be vewwy vewwy careful”.
To me, a key predictor WILL BE on Inauguration Day, when we see how BO treats the flag [which he has consistently refused to salute simply by placing his hand over his heart], the Bible [will he in fact use the Koran, now that he feels invincible?], and the oath of office [it would not surprise me that he might "adjust" the wording to be more "inclusive". His "inclusive" theme and the pandering use of "unification" to describe his policy is nothing more than a euphemism for putting us all into a collective [a la Soviet Union] and denying us free thought, free speech and free action.
Personally, I would like to see “Atlas Shrugged” made to be mandatory reading in our high schools – if you want to see a projection of the state of our nation if we continue down this altruistic socialistic path, read [or re-read] it. Also, Ayn Rand’s collection of essays “For the New Intellectual”, most of them written in the ’60′s, accurately document the demise of health care through socialization of medicine and other areas such as education. Viva capitalism, but I only hope we can endure and survive the coming wave of the “nanny state”.
By zoomie72 on Nov 6, 2008 8:45 am | Reply
Pico:
So tell me where the Constitutional basis is for this separation- you will find it nowhere; it is a concept that has evolved into a “basic tenet of our government” through various interpretations of the admonition that Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of religion, the so-called “Freedom of Religion” amendment. It has been converted to a denial of the right to demonstrate any religiosity.
References to God permeate every single one of our founding documents, from the Declaration of Independence through the Constitution and into the amendments. Some non-believing entity denying the religious [yes, Judeo-Christian, and very specifically Presbyterian] foundations of this nation and its principles does NOT alter the fact that “separation of church and state” as it exists today is a fabrication created by subtly turning a correct provision into a wrong-minded denial of rights [one is no longer allowed to be "officially" God-fearing, no matter who your God might be] through insidious and slight “corrections” or interpretations [and too-broad application]of very specific wording.
And it is separation, not seperation.
By ned on Nov 6, 2008 9:18 am | Reply
ZOOMIE72,
THANK YOU, As you can see it is in bold letters. I have heard aethists say Thank God before, but that does not mean that they believe. When you cannot honor our flag, I have a real problem with that. As stated above, the seperation of church and state is another “interpretations” of something by someone who wants it twisted to their liking.
It is like the Pledge of Allegence in school that I was proud to say growing up, and because someone did not like it, it is no longer said. If you don’t like it, don’t do it.
It is plain and simple. Don’t deny other people their rights because you don’t like it, let them do what they feel is right and go about your selfish way….
By zoomie72 on Nov 6, 2008 9:31 am | Reply
Daddy’s Girl:
Isn’t it amazing what our kids are bringing home from school these days? My eleven-year-old last night told me she had heard that BO was going to take all our guns away and then Iraq would invade us. Interesting proposition. Once I assured her that Iraq did not have the capability to wage a war here in America [other than on a select, terroristic, isolated event basis], we still had to address the notion that BO most likely would do all he could to eliminate the right of Americans to own guns. When I told her that most people believing in gun control cite reduction of crime as their motivation, she asked, almost immediately, “Wouldn’t they just hold you up using a knife?”. Smart kid – except for the Iraq is going to invade us notion.
By zoomie72 on Nov 6, 2008 9:45 am | Reply
Bogus:
Have you noticed how BO is living up to his reputation [1. "I will follow the campaign spending guidelines"... "oops, no I wont"; 2. "I will hold a press conference the morning after the election"... oops, no I won't"] and he is already setting the stage for his 2012 run in his cceptance speech “we may not get there in one year, we may not get there in one term, but we will get there”? He seems to have no concern for anything but his personal aggrandizement. I hope for different, but pragmatically, I have to expect that his true colors ["Self First" as opposed to McCain's "Country First"] will show through over the long haul. I am sure that if “the house of cards” come tumbling down, it will be because “we have eight years of Bush to overcome” and not because he has no plan nor wherewithal to correct the issues.
Watch his cabinet selections closely, and then evfen further, watch how long they remain once they are assigned- my guess is that they will all start out believing in the “chnage” mantra, but leave once they see it is a “Me First” administration.
How can the NUMBER ONE liberal Senator and NUMBER FOUR “Alignment with Party” Senator join forces with a 36-year Senator who is among the leaders in the delivery of pork to his home State truly be believed to be agents of change? It boggles the mind the degree to which America has swallowed the non-answer sound byte campaign BO conducted, as compared to the “straight talk” [as in yes, there are problems, and yes it will be hard, but here is a plan] campaign of his opponents. We could not attack his record- there is no record to attack. McCain voted 90% of the time with Bush- what percentage did BO vote “with” Pelosi- by the extension of BO’s argument, we have just elected Pelosi or Reid as President and not him, if McCain were simply another Bush.