Republicans Bring Socialism to America

Robert Scheer is the editor of Truthdig, where this article originally appeared.

Let the record show that it was George W. Bush, the rich Texas Republican, who brought socialism to America, so don't blame it on that African-American Chicago Democrat community organizer who made it into the White House. The government takeover of the banking and automobile industries not only happened on President Bush's watch, it was also the deregulatory mania of this president's family, beginning with his father, which took this country into such starkly unfamiliar territory.

What a betrayal of free-market capitalism. And who would have thought that it would be the candidates backed by conservative pundits Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh who made it possible? You actually could trace the destruction of corporate capitalism to the much-ballyhooed "Reagan Revolution" of the movie actor who got his main training for the presidency as a huckster for General Electric, where he honed the message of "getting government off our backs." The revolution of unfettered corporate capitalism led to an era of unfettered corporate greed, which sowed the seeds of its own destruction.

True, the Democrats deserve much blame. The Wall Street runaway wouldn't have happened if President Bill Clinton hadn't cheered it on. The Great Triangulator provided seamless continuity between the administrations of the two Bushes in systematically dismantling the proven regulatory system, introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that saved capitalism from itself during the Great Depression. The danger with the incoming Democratic president is that Barack Obama has turned to some of the Clinton alums, most prominently former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, to get us out of the mess that the Clinton administration worked mightily to create.

At least in the auto bailout there is some talk from the Democrats that the failed corporate leaders must be fired as a condition of salvaging their corporate entities--and stock options. Both political parties are tougher in the auto bailout than they were in the Wall Street rescue, but what do you expect when leadership on this issue is coming from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson? Like Robert Rubin, Clinton's first treasury secretary and now Obama confident, Paulson came to government service immediately after heading up Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street powerhouse at the epicenter of the banking collapse. For the key practitioners of America's brave new game of corporate socialism, failure has its own lush reward.

It's enough to drive one back to the invisible hand of Adam Smith. Personally, I would rather we took our chances these days with letting the corporations sink or swim on their own without government interference. If tough love was good enough for troubled families cut off the public dole by Clinton's welfare reform, which summarily ended the federal poverty program, why have a poverty program for troubled corporations?

Forget saving the auto companies; let them become Japanese- or South Korean-owned, but sweeten the deal with U.S. government guarantees of extended unemployment insurance, health care, retirement plan protection and job retraining for laid-off autoworkers. Be generous on the worker end, and figure out ways to reclaim the big bucks from the banking and auto moguls who ripped off the American dream. The only reason the moguls are not going to jail for their shenanigans is that they got their supplicants in Congress from both parties to rewrite the laws to legalize activities that should have been judged as crimes.

If we are to have an expansion of government on this scale, we should start with extending health coverage to all Americans rather than with government bureaucrats micromanaging auto companies. Government-insured health care works. All the doctors I see want me to be on Medicare, and not one of them is eager to deal with the medical insurance provided to me as a retiree after 30 years of employment by the Los Angeles Times--insurance now threatened by my once-proud capitalist employer seeking bankruptcy protection. A protection, incidentally, that a bipartisan congressional majority made much more difficult for individuals to use when we get in personal financial trouble.

With the exception of my years as an undergraduate, when I sorted mail late into the night at the post office near Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal, I have never been on the public payroll. Thanks to the Reagan Revolution, and its endgame of socialism for the rich, we all may end up on the public dole, scrambling for droppings from a too heavily laden nationalized table. Socialism for the rich is not the way to go.

Robert Scheer is author of a new book, "The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America."

Comments

[BenK1976]

HEALTH CARE
HEALTH CARE
let's start there and see where we are. The costs of running health care out of every business back office is an absurdity, and outrageous inefficiency, remove it from the market because in the end health care is an inverted market.

More to the point....why should GM be an expert on health care? They should focus on making stuff...that's the name of the company.

HEALTH CARE

[Victoria-Delaney]

What do you mean by "turning" us into a Socialistic government??? We are no longer a democracy as the voters' vote does not count anymore. Decisions in congress are made by the vote of the "Dollar" from the lobbyists. Maybe we would be better off with socialism if that would mean getting rid of the parasites in Congress.

The United States of America has forgotton that we are "One Nation Under God" Not "My Life by Myself Under God"

Corporations, Congress, and unfortunately a good number of Americans have turned this country into an entitlement country. It will be interesting to see what happens when the States and Federal government can no longer afford to support all the entitlements to corporations, organizations and individuals.

Maybe a depression would be the best thing that could happen to this country. It would make everyone sooo miserable they would have to either make a change or curl up and die.

I know what my choice is. Do whatever works for the good of this country and its wonderful enhabitants.

[WilliamProc]

There is a whole lot of blame to go around1 But at the end of the day, who is really to blame for the societal woes?
US!

When was the last time, you wrote your congressman or senator to complain about a policy or law that you knew would be to your, or your neighbor's benefit? Who among us stood up at anytime over the past 20 years and told any politician"You may want to listen to the lobbyist, but I voted for you, and if you're not looking out for my interests, I'll vote you out." Who among us took a stand against any number of the awful laws and policies that now have the nation treading in a sea of debt, poverty, and unemployment? We gave up on controlling government waste and indulgence long ago, and here we are; mouths agape, blaming everyone for sinking the ship, when the people are the ones who let politicians and special interests drill holes in the hull. We are the ones who willingly allowed this to happen, because we didn't want to be burdened with the responsibility.

Before we continue the charade of blaming THEM, we need to accept our role in the mess.

[Joseph-Ohio]

I can think of so many ways that I think would be smarter - and better insulation from the business risks of these large private corporations.

What's wrong with "Nationalizing" the off-shore subsidiaries of GM, Ford and Chrysler instead of the on-shore "mother" corporations ?

Force the off-shore subsidiaries (by meaningful government regulation) to pay to upgrade the on-shore "mother" corporations.

How many billions are the top 25% executives and shareholders worth ?

Force (by meaningful government regulation if necessary) those top executives (who created this mess to begin with) to 1st dig into their pockets to cover their corporation's losses.

How can they even ask the taxpayer to assume their risk in business ?

[dfranz]

When are the voters who vote Republican going realize that the Republican Party is all about big business and staying in power and could care less about the average "Joe". Much like their attitudes about the military, we are expendible. Sorry fella, if have money problems you must have made a bad decision and you are on your own unless of course you were a Bush "Pioneer" who donated $100,000.00 to the Bush Campaign. The Republican Party is essentially a Fascist organization dedicated to self preservation. As long as there are people who are ignorant enough to vote against their own best interests they will continue to survive.

[Michale32086]

And yet, it was the Democrats who pushed the Wall Street bailout with absolutely NO assistance for the homeowner...

Why is that???

Michale.....

[SamEllison]

Because it was Paulson's plan. You know that.

[Joseph-Ohio]

I can think of so many ways that I think would be smarter - and better insulation from the business risks of these large private corporations.

What's wrong with "Nationalizing" the off-shore subsidiaries of GM, Ford and Chrysler instead of the on-shore "mother" corporations ?

Force the off-shore subsidiaries (by meaningful government regulation) to pay to upgrade the on-shore "mother" corporations.

How many billions are the top 25% executives and shareholders worth ?

Force (by meaningful government regulation if necessary) those top executives (who created this mess to begin with) to 1st dig into their pockets to cover their corporation's losses.

How can they even ask the taxpayer to assume their risk in business ?

[digdeeper]

absolutely fella' and now to add insult to injury they are getting nice fat bailouts for their maladministration. The repugs have an obsession it is called me at any price and of course always in the name of God

[magen]

Rules and regulations.

They have them on the playground, on the road driving, in sports, in institutions, in social interactions, in just about everything mankind does.

Why should the "free market" not have them??

I don't trust people that much.

[mjc]

Actually Okie Mom and Michale, national socialism was around under different names before Hitler. The supposed distinction between national socialism and socialism or even communism is totally the work of propaganda wonks in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Real socialism isn't supposed to come about until the totalitarian government has managed to eliminate the competition and controls the press (tv wasn't around then), the economy and of course the political infrastructure. Looks like our present government is just getting started by "nationalizing" corporations.

[Rule Of Law]

If you wiki fascism the credit for this unholy marriage of corporate and government goes to Mussolini, most commonly. He believed that every citizen was a servant of the State, which was run by him for the benefit of the Corporations, which was in turn intended to provide security, social supports, a sustainable economy and trains that ran on time.

It may have been the first implementation of the "Trickle Down Theory" established in the 80's by the Reagan white house! What we are seeing today is a kind of "soft" version, where we still have the illusion of elections and the mistaken notion that things might change though the exercise of our voting power, when in reality, short of a dictator, everything is being run from Wall Street and DC, and we are just cogs in the machine.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...please stop using the term socialism for the CRONYISM and PLUTOCRACY of the bush crime family. Socialism helps all citizens for the benifit of the state. Bush Cronyism helps a handful of crooks who are engaged in a run on our treasury.

[jsgaetano]

I beleive the term for conservative-style government is called "kleptocracy".

[pinkindian]

this unbalanced power of corporation versus people scares me. And we have all this bailout money to help corporations. Maybe you owe us health. yup! maybe education. yup! that's were the money should go. what a system.

[Rule Of Law]

Jefferson's two greatest fears--A standing army, and a corporate class more powerful than the government.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
-- Thomas Jefferson

[OkieMon]

actually it's called national socialism and h*itler invented it and "n*azi"sm is the german translation...the necons are just following in the footsteps of their uncle a*dolf.....

[Michale32086]

How do you reconcile your statement with the FACT that Democrats have been the driving force behind all the bailouts??

Michale.....

[pinkindian]

Blame both sides!

[OkieMon]

actually national socialism in america really started with reagan and i'm pretty sure he was a neocon....

[OkieMon]

important point....the dems need to know with whom they are sleeping with these days....

[Rule Of Law]

Robert, your critique here of our financial crisis and its creation are spot on, and if you get enough traffic from either the Bill Clinton or Obama "can do no wrong" crowd, you will be castigated mightily.

Al Franken called Bill Clinton the best Republican President we ever had. Between the Bushs, he looks like a voice of sanity. But his record does not bear up to Progressive scrutiny: NAFTA, Welfare Reform, the repeal of Glass-Steagall, and the passage of The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.

The act (CFMA) has been cited as contributing to Enron's bankruptcy in 2001 and the liquidity crisis of September 2008 that led to the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers and emergency Federal Reserve Bank loans to American International Group.

The bill was never debated by the House or Senate.

The bill by-passed the substantive policy committees in both the House and the Senate so that there were neither hearings nor opportunities for recorded committee votes.

In substance, it appears that the leadership of the Republican-controlled Senate and House incorporated the deregulation of credit default swaps into an omnibus budget bill (without hearings or recorded votes)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/26/60minutes/main4546199.shtml

Paulson and Rubin join a long line of Goldman alums who have helped Wall Street cement its hold on the political apparatus of our Nation. For Obama to include them in his cabinet or as advisors is folly at best, complicity at worst.

[MilwaukeeDan]

Mr. Scheer and ROL, spot on in your observations, as usual.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

* Standing on desk and whistling *

[larry278]

This is a tired old saw but the USA always has had socialism for the rich. The trans-con railways were built with the help of federal land grants, loans & other federal aid. Republicans were in power when railways benefited from socialism for the rich. Socialism for the rich came to America before the Republican Party existed but the GOP is America's biggest booster of socialism for the rich.
Health care for all is socialist; it is essential. Perhaps the GOP will support it now.

[breakfast]

Socialism for the rich.

Actually, it's Fascism, American style.

[Rule Of Law]

A Bush family tradition. Prescott Bush engineered an aborted coup against FDR to institute a Fascist State here.

[Michale32086]

"And, of course, you can PROVE that, right?? Oh that's right.. I forgot. You were absent they day they taught LAW at Law School"
-Tom Cruise, A FEW GOOD MEN

But, even IF true, was this before or after FDR incarcerated thousands of American citizens with absolutely no charges, solely based on their ancestry??

Michale.....

[Michale32086]

You are correct.

Democrats do share much of the blame.. Not ALL of the blame, to be sure. But much of it..

Michale.....

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Since we're parsing, less than half. ;-)

[Michale32086]

That's a matter of opinion..

Consequently, yours is just as valid as anyone else's.. :D

Michale......

[leftLibertarian]

I agree, Pelosi strong armed members of Congress to vote for the bailout for billionaires.