It was the worst thing one Democrat could call another, particularly a woman, and especially a woman of color. Old white man Bernie Sanders went below the belt this week when he dropped the “C” word on Native American Elizabeth Warren. The Vermont socialist called younger squaw a “capitalist.”
There was a time, believe it or not, when this would not be controversial. But that day is done. The Democratic Party has moved so far to the left they make the Chinese government seem open to new ideas. You’d never know it if you learned about politics from the legacy media.
Democrats love to say things like, “Ronald Reagan wouldn’t be conservative enough for the modern Republican Party.” They say this in an attempt to make the point that the Republican Party has “moved so far to the right,” but they don’t really give any examples. President Reagan supported tax cuts, the modern Republican Party supports tax cuts. President Reagan was pro-life, the GOP is pro-life. President Reagan worked to strengthen the military, so do Republicans today.
Maybe there are a few things on the fringe where the current incarnation of the party is more conservative today than it was in the 1980s, but not much springs to mind. The ideals of individual liberty and personal responsibility don’t change over time, though the matching of deeds with the words and the effort to implement them has.
Still, the idea that the Republican Party has shifted so far to the right as to be unrecognizable and unwelcoming to its hero, were he alive today, is simply a lie. As is the case in all things, it is the Democratic Party that is guilty of what it accuses others of.
To the left, the Republican Party looks like it has shifted to the right because the relative distance between the two parties has grown so dramatically, not because the Republicans have moved, but because they’ve gone over the edge.
Democrats still sing the praises of John F. Kennedy, evoking all the good sentiments the decades-long public relations campaign have created about the murdered president. But JFK not only couldn’t win the Democratic nomination in 2020, he wouldn’t be allowed to speak at the Democratic National Convention.
Putting aside his obvious personal flaws that, in the era of #MeToo, would have him run out of politics, President Kennedy was relentlessly pro-American and anti-communist. He cut taxes to spur the economy. He was *gasp* a capitalist.
Pointing out the socialistic tendencies of Democrats used to be met with angry denials. Just a few years ago the label was an albatross they’d deny to their dying breath, now it’s a badge of honor.
Under President Bill Clinton, not all that long ago, the Democratic Leadership Council held sway over the party. The DLC was a fiscally conservative group of moderate Democrats who’d break with the liberal wing of the party and work with Republicans. It went out of business in 2011. With it went any semblance of moderation on the left.
You name it, the Democratic Party is promising it, and for “free.” Succeed and the party will label you the problem. Risk everything and create a business, Democrats have a plan to punish you.
The difference between places like Cuba and Venezuela and the platform of the new Democratic Party is Democrats haven’t yet had the ability to implement the policies.
No one is poor because someone else is rich. But to hear the Democratic field tell it, the rich are hoarding wealth at the expense of everyone else. Think what you will of someone like Bill Gates, but his wealth was created by him, from nothing. Microsoft created Windows and people bought it. That made the company worth a fortune. If it hadn’t been created, the billions the company is worth wouldn’t be in people’s pockets, it simply wouldn’t exist.
Democrats know this, or should; they simply don’t care. And they’re counting on the jealousy they’ve cultivated in society to prevent their voters from ever coming to that realization. Given the embrace of the “socialist” label by so many, particularly young Democratic voters, it’s working well.
When calling someone a capitalist is an insult, it’s a symptom of a bigger problem. This ain’t your parents' Democratic Party, comrade.
Derek is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses.