Despite Supporting Some Socialistic Programs, The United States Will Never Be A Socialist County
By
Leonard Zwelling
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/socialism-is-hereand-its-serious-2b3fc422?mod=opinion_lead_pos8
Peggy Noonan, commenting on the recent election results in which so-called “progressives” have won Democratic primaries, writes in The Wall Street Journal on August 8: “Socialism is not a passing thing but an arriving thing.”
Maybe. So were hula hoops and disco once. I have grave doubts that socialism is anything more than a diversion for Democrats who cannot synthesize a meaningful program to lead the country let alone attract independent voters, like me. Socialism will never get my vote.
Noonan comments on the latest round of socialist victories in Democratic primaries as being indicative of a trend. As someone who considers himself a New Yorker (my formative years from age 7 to 18 were on Long Island, 35 miles and 50 minutes by train from Manhattan), I would never mistake the current politics of New York City for the politics of the rest of the country. These upstart Democratic Socialists may be able to win primaries, but let’s see if they can win a general election in anything but a bright blue state. I predict that Dr. El-Sayed will lose his bid for the Senate seat from Michigan by at least ten points. Maybe twenty.
Noonan lists some of the positions elucidated by the co-chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America stated during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
Abolish the Senate.
Replace the presidency and the Supreme Court as we know them.
Abolish ICE.
Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the U.S. illegally.
Defund the Pentagon.
Supplant prisons with long-term rehab programs.
Government ownership of large corporations.
That agenda would essentially scrap the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and 250 years of history.
If this agenda were implemented, we would no longer be living in the United States. Besides, this is not going to happen.
The U.S. has proven over and over again that it is a right-of-center country. Even as Americans would never give up the socialist programs they acquired since the Great Depression—Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid—most Americans are not ready to eliminate the notion that this is still the land of opportunity and a not the land of free handouts. Americans still expect other Americans to work. Americans, especially young American, still want the chance to own their own companies and make their own fortunes. Americans want to dream. Socialism should be a real American’s worst nightmare. I’ve seen the population of Copenhagen start drinking at 11 AM on a weekday. Why bother working with a VAT of 25% on everything you buy to pay for a socialist state? This may work fine in Scandinavia, but it won’t work here. No wonder the Vikings came here before Columbus did!
There is no question that the economy right now is not good for many Americans. Costs of everything are rising and gas, food, and child care are not exactly luxury items. A great deal of the problem stems from the actions of the current occupant of the White House. His war against Iran has jacked up the price of fuel and fertilizer. Everyone has been hit, none harder than the less privileged who have to use their cars to get to work and try to feed their families.
The latest jobs numbers were dismal. AI is threatening entry-level white-collar jobs making the prospects for employment of graduating college students dimmer. The country is not in a good place right now. We have had dismal leadership since January of 2017 and probably have to endure another few years of it.
The country has been in bad places before, most recently in 2008 after the banking and housing crisis hit Wall Street. Even then, while the country chose a Democrat, it did not choose a socialist. In fact, the country never has chosen a socialist and probably never will.
What this means is that the Democrats, positioned to take over at least one house of Congress with an unpopular president in office, are managing once again to shoot themselves in the head. This stems not from poor Democratic leadership, but from NO Democratic leadership. Who is the leader of the Democratic Party? It isn’t Bernie Saunders.
I sit on the sidelines in the state New Yorkers like to make fun of, Texas, with the ability to vote for a Democrat who is both electable and not a criminal. I am hoping that my fellow Texans come to their senses and put James Talarico in the Senate. But even if he loses, at least he was no socialist. If I were a resident of Michigan, I would not vote for Dr. El-Sayed. I share none of his values and none of his politics. I suspect that is also true of many Democrats in Michigan who will vote for his opponent or stay home.
I am not sure what is wrong with the National Democratic Party, but like the Republicans in 2016, the Democrats need a new face with new energy. And that person cannot be a socialist. There is no place for a socialist in this country except protesting. Democratic Socialists do that very well.
