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Mayor Pete: “They Will Call Us Socialists!”
Whether you agree with Pete Buttigieg at a policy level or not, he said something critically important last night. The debate went the way I expected, but that was a surprise. It betrayed a point of self-awareness that the Democratic Party is usually not at.
Mayor Pete said, don’t worry what republicans say. They will call us, whoever wins the primary, socialist. And bravo for Mayor Pete! He said on the stage what I have said for years. Republicans do not care what Democrats run on. They could be to the right of Republicans for all I care. Democrats are Socialists, RUN FOR THE HILLS!
This has been a Republican tactic for decades. Social Security was socialism. So was Medicare or the Rural Electrification Administration. For that matter, the Affordable Care Act was pure socialism, or for that matter the Federal Insurance on your savings account. Democrats are Socialists, Commies even. And Republicans are taking advantage of a severe lack of political education of the American voting public.
As Republicans have moved right, they pulled Democrats along. Why after 1980 with the New Orleans Declaration, Democrats became very friendly to Wall Street. This has led to the corporate capture of Washington and State Governments. Yet, they are still Socialists.