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QUIZ: Who said it — Democratic leaders or Communist Party USA?

1:36 AM 06/08/2010
interns

Comrades flocked to New York City two weeks ago for the 29th national convention of the Communist Party USA. While reviewing materials from the event, we had a sudden sense of déjà vu: the feeling that we had heard these talking points before. Maybe you have as well — they’re espoused, in near identical form, by the president and his fellow Democrats. Take the quiz below, and try to determine which quotes were uttered by Democratic leadership, and which are excerpts from the communists’ recent convention.

The point isn’t that Obama’s a communist (though it’s amusing to watch Sam Webb, chairman of the CPUSA, deny such a charge while arguing with Glenn Beck about the redistribution of marshmallow peeps). It’s useful, though, to compare the substance of Democratic and communist rhetoric, which differs mainly in degree. You may conclude — especially if you lean left — that the Communist Party USA is more moderate and mainstream than you thought. Or something.

———————————–
TAKE THE QUIZ — Which quotes come from Democrats, and which from CPUSA?
(scroll down for answers)

1. “This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.”

2. “Rebuilding the social infrastructure will generate 11 million jobs. At least 3 million could be at work within 6 months — if the funds were available from Congress.”

3. “Moving toward a productive green economy must be based on federal financing and a national industrial policy.“

4. “Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy — where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending.”

5. “For nearly half a century the nation’s working people embraced and took comfort in the American dream — a dream whose promissory note read that if you work hard and do the right things, a good and secure life is attainable. I wouldn’t say that dream is dead, but more and more people have less and less hope that it is within reach. Forces beyond their control have snatched it from them.”

6. “While some have prospered beyond imagination in this global economy, middle-class Americans — as well as those working hard to become middle class — are seeing the American dream slip further and further away.”

7. “Recent victories in Congress such as passage of Health Care Reform legislation with not a single Republican yes vote exposes the Republicans as the ‘Party of NO.’”

8. “Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role that you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in the American story.”

9. “The Tea Party was birthed by media extremists and racist elements to break up the unity of 2008. They were able to change the debate and peel off some Democratic votes, but they were not able to stop the legislation.”

10. “I think the American people have to make a judgment about the obstructionism of the Republican senators.”

11. “Only majority movements can skin the rightwing cat, the neoliberal dog, and the globalizing rat.”

———————————–
ANSWERS

1. Obama said this during a speech in Berlin on July 24, 2008. Presumably, Europe’s democratic socialists responded with a hearty, “Jawohl!”

2. Excerpted from the Communist Party USA’s “21st Century Jobs Program,” which aims to create 22 million jobs through direct government spending of $1 trillion per year on public services, including a five-year plan for rebuilding infrastructure. Communists advocating a five-year plan — what could possibly go wrong?

3. Excerpted from the Communist Party USA’s “21st Century Jobs Program,” although with Obama’s focus on government subsidy for green jobs and weatherization, we don’t blame you if you got this one wrong.

4. Obama said this on Jan. 8, 2009 while advocating for what would eventually become the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus, or the Democrats’ belated Valentine’s Day gift to themselves.

5. Excerpted from remarks made by CPUSA Chairman Sam Webb at the recent national convention. Mr. Webb would have us know that while the American dream is fading, the Soviet dream remains as strong as ever.

6. Candidate Obama said this in November, 2008. Who could have known then that the biggest group prospering “beyond imagination” in 2010 would be government workers, who accounted for 95 percent of the job growth in May.

7. Excerpted from the resolution “All hands on deck for the 2010 midterm elections,” adopted at the recent CPUSA convention. It’s unclear how many hands the party has to call, but it does have over 3,000 Facebook fans.

8. Candidate Obama said this in a 2008 commencement address to Wesleyan University. No doubt the college’s economics faculty appreciated hearing the self-interest of Adam Smith’s invisible hand described as a “poverty of ambition.”

9. Joelle Fishman, chair of the CPUSA’s Political Action Commission, made this remark during a speech titled “2010 elections — unity can win” at the recent national convention. The biggest question we have for Ms. Fishman is whether stumping for Democrats makes her a CINO — Communist In Name Only.

10. Pelosi said this in an interview with Rachel Maddow. It’s easy to yell “obstructionism” when you’re in power, but it requires more cajones to accuse concerned citizens of carrying swastikas. Pelosi did that too.

11. Democratic leaders (cough Joe Biden cough) have said some pretty absurd things, but nothing quite this bizarre. This quote is excerpted from remarks made by CPUSA Chairman Sam Webb at the recent national convention.

———————————–
HOW DID YOU DO?

9-11 correct — Bona-fide Bolshevik: Congrats comrade, your understanding of leftist dogma is nuanced and complete! Now get to the Politburo — you’re needed.

4-8 correct — Yuppie: You’re on the right path, but more effort is required. Put on your best Che shirt, and prepare to fight the man by protesting the global system.

0-3 correct — Capitalist Swine: You have been deceived by the propaganda of the bourgeoisie. Reform yourself, put down that copy of “Atlas Shrugged” and practice your doublethink.

Tags: Barack Obama, Communism, Democratic Party, Joe Biden, Marxism, Nancy Pelosi, Politics, Socialism
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  • oeno

    One may assume that DC is just bored. This sort of thing was done to try to make out Bush as a fascist a few years ago, and it was just as stupid.

  • rick013

    I missed three on the test, but I swear I have heard all the same retoric(BS) from the dims.

  • gatortarian

    From the CPUSA website:

    “The Communist Party stands for the interests of the American working class and the American people. It stands for our interests in both the present and the future. Solidarity with workers of other countries is also part of our work. We work in coalition with the labor movement, the peace movement, the student movement, organizations fighting for equality and social justice, the environmental movement, immigrants rights groups and the health care for all campaign.

    But to win a better life for working families, we believe that we must go further. We believe that the American people can replace capitalism with a system that puts people before profit – socialism.”

    Can someone tell me how this is any different than what the Democrats want?

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Lee-Reynolds/10057472 Lee Reynolds

    The Democratic party was conquered by the far left way back in 1968. Ever since then it has been the Communist-Lite party, at least on the national level. Local politics are always local, so you can’t say that alderman so-and-so from some town in Missouri is a communist just because he or she is a local Democrat. But as far as national level politics go, true Democrats have not made a showing since I don’t know when.

    If only more of them were like Mickey Kaus

  • gatortarian

    Tne CPUSA just seems redundant at this point.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Dix/100000114816931 Chris Dix

    Hating can be fun. Especially if you’re an idiot.

    “The point isn’t that Obama’s a communist” of course it is. You hate Obama and are calling him and most Democrats communists because you’re a hateful bigoted person. That is the only point. If you can convince enough people of that, then they’ll line up in droves to vote against him.

    // 10. “I think the American people have to make a judgment about the obstructionism of the Republican senators.”//

    Read that. That is a perfectly straight forward and fair partisan arrow. It’s partisan because it uses the word “obstructionism” (with negative connotations) to depict Republican voting patterns. But when you have two parties, the loser is supposed to prevent the winner from taking everything, and the winner is supposed to try and achieve as much as they can. That’s how a two party system works. The Democrats obstructed Republicans when the roles were reversed, in future years, the Democrats will obstruct again. What exactly does that have to do with Communism? Do you know what a communist is? It seems to me that your definition of Communist is “Doesn’t like Republicans.” If that’s how you define Communism, then you’re a hateful idiot.

    //9. “The Tea Party was birthed by media extremists and racist elements to break up the unity of 2008. They were able to change the debate and peel off some Democratic votes, but they were not able to stop the legislation.”//

    Again, what does this have to do with Communism? Using this quote suggests that anyone who doesn’t like the Tea Party is a communist. That’s not just stupid, it’s dangerously stupid. You’re proving that your definition of “Communist” is “anyone who disagrees with me.”

    //8. “Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role that you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in the American story.”//

    Ever hear: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country?” That was said by both a Democrat, and a guy that invaded a Communist country and took America right to the brink of Nuclear war with another. Kennedy was no Communist. McCain once said “Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone.” Was the Republican Presidential candidate of 2008 a commie?

    //4. “Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy — where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending.”//

    What’s being described here is Keynesian Economics 101, government intervention to lessen economic cycles. Was Keynes a Commie? Hell no! He was the foremost capitalist Economist of his day. But much as America filters Democracy with a Constitutional Republic, Keynes wanted to filter the Free Market with intelligent government intervention. (Quick aside, regardless of whether or not you agree with Keynes’ theories, what can’t be denied is they were theories regarding a capitalist free market, Keynesian economics requires a free and open capitalist market). But I’ll let him defend himself:

    //“How can I accept the Communist doctrine, which sets up as its bible, above and beyond criticism, an obsolete textbook which I know not only to be scientifically erroneous but without interest or application to the modern world? How can I adopt a creed which, preferring the mud to the fish, exalts the boorish proletariat above the bourgeoisie and the intelligentsia, who with all their faults, are the quality of life and surely carry the seeds of all human achievement? Even if we need a religion, how can we find it in the turbid rubbish of the red bookshop? It is hard for an educated, decent, intelligent son of Western Europe to find his ideals here, unless he has first suffered some strange and horrid process of conversion which has changed all his values.” //

    Lastly, as a whole, all those quotes, with the exception of number 2 are rhetorical, not policy. Rhetorics don’t matter. Rhetorics can be twisted to fit any doctrine. Take that Tea Party quote and replace them with Code Pink. Take the Party of No quote and swap the party names around. Number 6 could be said by anyone of any political leaning trying to get the middle class vote. Number 2 is the only policy-quote that discusses an actual path forward. And unless you think hiring Americans to build roads is a communist plot, there’s nothing communistic about number 2 either.

    Taking those quotes and attempting to use them to prove that the Democrats are Communists is just stupid. More, it’s hateful, and the DailyCaller should be ashamed of putting out something so foolish.

    • gbenton

      Commie!

      • gbenton

        I’ll have a go at Keynes… government intervening in a free market… isn’t a free market… it’s um, government trying to meddle with the market… which works about as well as anything the government does… not well.

        I’m not going to call Keynes a socialist, but the idea of Government picking winners and smoothing out the economic cycle created by capitalism is working REAL well today isn’t it… Obama, Captain Stimulus DBAG… and yeah, Bush started it with TARP.

        Also, your making the distinction between rhetoric and policy is weak. Rhetoric becomes policy when the politicians want it to and can muster the votes… or rhetoric covers the politicians true aims (as in the case of Obamacare vs. Obama’s previously stated affinity for Single Payer – which is politically untenable once he’s president).

        That McCain and Kennedy quotes can be compared to each other surprises no one… McCain is a progressive republican and Kennedy was a fairly conservative Democrat by today’s standards. The difference is small.

        In any case, the obvious aim of today’s Democratic party is socialistic, which most conservatives view as a slippery slope to Socialism and ultimately, Communism. We could argue labels, like ‘progressive’, ‘liberal’, ‘socialist’, etc., but that would mostly amuse you I think.

        Let’s just say free market constitutional conservatives who believe in individual liberty vs. anyone who thinks the government knows better and can centrally plan and manage and regulate well being by equalizing outcomes.

        Or, lil govt vs. big govt.

        Whatever.

        The idea isn’t to take the Democrats denial of ‘communism’ at face value and hope that down the road everything works out… but to recognize the similarities to past far left loon leaders and nip the problem in the bud NOW.

        I think what really bothers you is that the quotes DO make the Dem’s look pretty far left – it’s that whole ‘quacks like a duck’ thing.

        All of this is beside the point that the Democrats and progressive Republicans who dance with them have gotten us in the mess we are in today after 100 years of Progressive policies that have brought us to the edge of fiscal insolvency.

        Whether it’s incompatibility with our Constitution or the inevitable similarity of life, chaos theory and free markets, far left big government nanny state plans always fail over time.

        Neither party is innocent… the question is where do we go from here, because we have bipartisan agreement that we face a huge mess.

        Further down the progressive path just seems suicidal when you look at the report card to date. I could list all the failures and budgetary train wreck, but you already know that stuff I’m sure.

        Oh, and Obama is a lousy champion for Progressives (just see their heckling packs of late) and he’s a stinking pile of crap for anyone to the right of far left. So much for your ‘unity in 2008′ circle jerk. He’s an ass and he’s going down the drain of political history with his next of kin, Carter.

        That unity was based on clever marketing, not on planned policy or governing style… which has been all stick and no carrot.

        The other problem Obama faces is that he’s increasingly like Kerry and Gore… unlikeable egghead… oh, and like Carter, too.

        America doesn’t like eggheads. They like leaders.

        Both parties have sucked historically… I’m just hoping at this time in history the uprising represented by the Tea Party can reform the Republican party back to the roots of what made this country great.

        If the Democrats stay in power, it’s gonna get a LOT worse before it gets better, just sayin.

        • nursemarilyn

          You said it! Let him read it and weep.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Dix/100000114816931 Chris Dix

          gbenton:

          1. Advocating government intervention (as the quote did) is not Communism. The Slippery Slope argument is a logical fallacy based on assumption and conjecture.

          2. The McCain quote was to prove there is no difference between Democrat, Republican or Communist Rhetoric. Rhetoric can where any hat. When election day comes every politician believes in hard working families and kissing babies, so taking the rhetoric of two different parties and suggesting that since the rhetoric is the same the policies are the same is stupid and idiotic.

          3. The majority of your reply is a rambling piece about random tea party ideas that I won’t waste time replying to. Example: “America doesn’t like eggheads. They like leaders.” What does that have to do with Dailycaller calling Democrats communists or me calling the Dailycaller a hateful idiot? It’s all off topic.

          nursemarilyn:
          Weep? The guy didn’t contradict a single point. The guy just rambled on about how he doesn’t like Obama or Government intervention. My original post was that none of the quotes were about communism. Hardly anything in his reply was about communism either.

          erick1740
          I didn’t say Keynesian worked. I said he wasn’t a communist. Again, you can’t define communist to mean “someone I disagree with” or “person with wrong theories.” That’s the point of my original comment and you reveal the same problem as the guy who wrote up this post for the dailycaller. Supporting Keynes might make you wrong, but it doesn’t make you a communist.

          To the 1 person who didn’t give me a thumbs down, thanks.
          To everyone else: I am a registered member of the Libertarian Party. I run a libertarian blog over at http://politicalbooks.us where I’ve got summaries and reviews of such awesome conservative books as Arthur Laffers End of Prosperity and Ron Pauls End the Fed. My current book is on the Fair Tax. I am not a Democrat, never have been, never will be. But Dailycaller should still be called out of this poorly thought out hate piece.

          • gbenton

            As I said in my post, I am not here to debate the definition of communism, but to identify with the spirit of the article… that Democrats adhere to principles consistent with Communism.

            You are simply defending the Democrat faux outrage at being associated with far left ideology – especially within THIS administration.

            My critique was of central planning, collectivist social engineering and meddling in the free market and trampling on our liberties – all consistent with Keynes, Communism, Socialism, Progressivism, etc.

            The Tea Party and those who demand that our Government confine itself to Constitutional bounds, demand limited Government. We don’t value academic arguments about whether the Democrats are TECHNICALLY Communists – we take offense to any move in a leftward, big government direction because it tramples on our freedoms and unalienable rights.

            Mincing words and quibbling over definitions is for apologists, eggheads, and ivory tower sheep.

            You denounce my slippery slope comment, but fail to substantiate… once we accept that Government can trample on our rights, take from one group to give another, and pick favorites or nationalize industry, it is but common sense to understand that as time goes by the process of eroding our Constitutional limits on our government will accelerate.

            I don’t care if that leads to Communism, Fascism, Socialism, Progressivism, or some new hybrid as yet undefined… I just know that what the Democrats preach is unAmerican, a violation of Founding principles, and historically proven to be a path to great evil.

            Only you seem amused arguing how far down that path we are, or whether it is legitimate to draw the similarities here.

            I don’t care about parties or labels, I care about principles – and anything that is not consistent with proven principles is to be stopped in its tracks.

            We’ve been sold down the river by politicians of both parties for 100 years… so picking McCain, Kennedy, Obama, Bush 41 or 43 fails to disprove my point or strengthen yours.

            I want reform, a return to the Constitution, fiscal restraint, free markets, and to strictly limit Govt to a minimal role… you can call that whatever you want. I call it American.

          • http://politicalbooks.us Chris

            “My critique was of central planning, collectivist social engineering and meddling in the free market and trampling on our liberties – all consistent with Keynes, Communism, Socialism, Progressivism, etc.”

            Over the past multiple decades Republicans have supported central planning. Ronald Reagan appointed Alan Greenspan to the Fed, America’s central bank, where he, admittedly, controlled the market through government intervention.

            Republicans push social engineering through the use of federal laws to control intimiate personal relations and actions.

            Bush Meddled with the Free Market when he bailed out the banks.

            Ron Paul, a true constitutional conservative says the Patriot Act trampled on our liberties. So you should add Conservatives and Republicans to your list.

            “a return to the Constitution, fiscal restraint, free markets, and to strictly limit Govt to a minimal role… you can call that whatever you want. I call it American.”

            Which is all well and good. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson lead opposing sides of this argument many years ago, and Americans have continued the argument ever since. Thomas Jefferson wanted limited government. Alexander Hamilton wanted a strong central government. For you to say that Alexander Hamilton was a Communist or less-than-american, or that anyone who agrees with him is a communist is wrong. I call that un-American.

            I’m done arguing this topic. I’ll let you have the last word if you want it. I thank you for the lively debate either way. My main point is this, you can disagree with the Democrats all you want. But argue with their actions and deeds, not their immagined future actions, and understand the accusations you charge. Accusing someone of being a communist because they complain of obstructionism isn’t just stupid, it’s also insulting to the all the people who’ve died fighting real communists.

          • gbenton

            We agree that both parties in the last 100 years have supported interventionist policies…

            I have failed to make clear that I am not saying today’s democrats ARE communists, but instead I am more interested in highlighting that there ideas are along a continuum that can lead there.

            I’d rather hold them accountable for proposing policies and defending programs that continue or move us further down that continuum, and if posting their words along side famous Communists gets people’s attention, that is ok with me.

            I don’t want people to have to fight and die against actual Communists in the US, and I view the atrocities of the past in Germany, Russia, etc., to have occurred because early warning signs of overly powerful central govt wasn’t met with strong resistance soon enough – it’s like cancer, best treated before it spreads.

            I appreciate your wanting to hold the debate accountable and not have it degenerate into overly simplistic use of names such as Communist, so point well taken.

            That said, I’d rather draw the line now than years from now when it can’t be solved at the ballot box and instead looks like Red Dawn.

            I’ll look up your stuff… I’m always up for learning more.

            Let’s hope the Jeffersonian side of the argument prevails now… I think I’ve had enough Hamilton in my lifetime.

    • erick1740

      Little long winded eh. Full of crap.

    • erick1740

      If keynesian econopmics works so well why is Germany and the rest of europe abandoning it completely, after it ran them almost into bankruptcy.

    • scorpioman

      Amen!

    • thesauce

      10. Yeah, I wouldn’t have put this on the list.

      9. This kind of absurd scapegoating and demagoguing sets off alarm bells and reminds us of Orwell’s books. Are commies the only ones who lie about their opponents and demonize their motivations? No. But they are notorious for doing so.

      8. It’s interesting that you bring up the qoute “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I wouldn’t conflate attacks on Obama’s qoute with attacks on JFK’s qoute.

      All’s fair in internet politics, but this device only works if I believe the qoutes to be very similar. The differences are striking to me and only reinforce why #8 belongs on this list.

      “… ask what you can do for your country.” is a request directed at individual motivation. Kennedy is -asking- us as free men to work for our shared benefit. But Obama does say, “… it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role that you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in the American story.” Yeah, it’s similar.

      What disturbs me is this, “Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation.” This implies a paradise on earth that is attained by collectivism. This is -directly- contrary to “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” where “salvation” is a pursuit pertaining specifically to the individual.

      “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

      Under this men are endowed with rights directly, as individuals, by a Power that is greater than any man or any group of men. “… the pursuit Happiness,” whatever you take that to mean, is a right vested in the individual for him to pursue as he sees fit. It is not a thing granted to him by the group, that must -depend- on the group. It is his, and it is unalienable, innate, and granted by a higher power – NOT granted by the group. Your right to Happiness is not dependant on the group.

      Kennedy says, “Ask not what your country can do for you…” Obama’s philosophy; “Ask what your country can do for you.”

      To what you bind your wagon is your choice, paradise is not here on earth and earthly salvation is not predicated on joining the collective.

      McCain is the coolest person to run for President in my lifetime. Not a fan of his centrist politics, though.

      4. Reagan could have said this, though he wouldn’t have used the terms “Only government…” – I don’t think. The phrase is limited specifically to stagnation and perhaps stagflation, “where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending.” I don’t find this -terribly- provocative, but I don’t trust Obama come up with an effective monetary policy either.

      I think rhetoric matters some, but policies matter more. It’s not what you do it’s what you say. But sometimes what you say directly proceeds what you do. Rhetoric gives us insight into this. The Declaration of Independance, the Gettysburg Address, that speech Keanu Reeves gives in Jonny Mnemonic. “I WANT ROOM SERVICE!” Just words? Nay, I want the club sandwich.

      You dismiss gbenton’s slippery slope analogy as a logical fallacy. It is not a logical fallacy, it is a hypothesis where the consequent is a totalitarian government, or a dangerous escalation of government power. Yes, it is based assumptions and the implications are based on a value system, but that can be said of any political belief. Most people have concepts of the way things are and the way they ought to be, and these beliefs can be based on fallicious assumptions, but I think a lot of concerns from people in this community are based in common sense and reason.

      In any case this piece is glib, but I don’t think it’s hateful. Thanks for your perspective, but I don’t the author is a hateful, bigoted, idiot. I thought it was funny. :)

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