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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsChris Matthews delivers the damn smartest reply I have seen to the "Socialist" accusation
from his closing remarks on Tuesday's Hardball:
MATTHEWS: Well, Democratic are kibitzing a lot right now about socialism
versus capitalism. For me, it`s brought back the conversations I had with
East Germans three decades ago. And those days in November of 1989, when
the Berlin wall was coming down, I wanted to hear their story of why their
system in East Germany had failed.
Well, the people I spoke with were not enemies of the East German system.
They were just the opposite, the system`s true believers – factory
managers and school principals. They were loyal to the ideals of an
equitable society and also, they made clear to me, its victims.
And while they accepted the modest incomes provided by the East German
state, they faced a daily humiliation by a government that sent them, the
people who made the system work, to the back of the line, while the
hustlers, opportunists and exploiters of the system grabbed all the good
life. Well, the good East Germans watched tourists go to the hotels and
restaurants run by the government that refused the currency each Germans
were paid with. They had to wait 18 months for the delivery of the lousy
cars the country made.
And the lesson to me was clear – a system fails when if doesn`t provide
economic justice to the very people who make it work. We in this country
have succeeded magnificently in terms of economic efficiency. Our system
of mixed capitalism, free markets alongside an evolving social safety net
of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment compensation, together
with antitrust, environmental, and other business regulations have made
this country what it is today.
But we better be on alert to the need to adjust the balance between the
power of the marketplace and the need to soften and offset its power. We
need to insure that those hurt or passed over by capitalist enterprises get
treated fairly. This isn`t complicated. It`s not a choice between
capitalism and socialism, it`s finding the right combination, and that`s
what the debates of this year and next will largely be about.
http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/hardball/2019-03-12
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We don't want crony capitalism. We want capitalism prime.
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dweller
(23,613 posts)damn sensible words for a change...
🤔
✌🏼️
yaesu
(8,020 posts)or the correction from the proles and the down and out will be the story he will have to cover, and he needs the cover...
✌🏼️
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I've done post after post, explaining that the Democratic Party is not a socialist party. It supports capitalism, so we can have the American Dream, but it also supports social programs for certain things.
That is what Matthews believes, always has, always will. He's a Democrat. He's not far left, he's not centrist. He's a standard Democrat.
What some people don't like about him is that he's not far left, or overly partisan on his show (although he is partisan). He likes to have both sides on his show. Some people are used to the one-sides partisan shows, and maybe prefer them.
He's worked for a couple of famous Democrats...I forget who. Jimmy Carter, maybe, was one?
He's very smart and holds in that big head of his all sorts of facts about politicians, going back for decades.
Texin
(2,590 posts)I was always frustrated with that but, honestly, Clinton was hard to stomach sometimes even for this staunch Yellow Dog. Matthews is one of the old school Big Tent kind of Dems. He worked inside Washington for decades and knows most of the pols too well not to be just a little jaundiced by them.
DemocracyMouse
(2,275 posts)I've been saying this for over a year on DU: It's not about Socialism vs Capitalism. It's about a CIVIC infrastructure generating a CIVIC capitalism.
(Now we are tasked with making that civic infrastructure much more sustainable, more regenerative.)
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I guess they don't like that it supports capitalism in any way? Not sure. But people seem confused about what the Democratic Party is. There is a 2016 Platform online explaining what the Dem Party is all about. This will be revised for 2020, I'm sure.
You need to speak to party leaders about changes in the name of the Party or changes in stances on issues. I'm okay with the way it is, myself.
Which issue do you want the Democratic Party to change its stance on? Do you also want it to change its name?
DemocracyMouse
(2,275 posts)I'm not talking about the Democratic party. I'm talking about how we as a nation frame the issues which the party needs to address.
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)DemocracyMouse
(2,275 posts)When people grumble that Dems have no unifying vision tell them this:
Republicans want to DESTROY the operating system that sustains the free market (schools, justice, social security, net neutrality) and transfer the money to the wealthy.
Democrats want to REPAIR the operating system and even make it more civic (single payer healthcare, net neutrality, free community college, investment in solar energy) so that it GENERATES a more robust and green economy for all.
WE HAVE TO TREAT ALL "SOCIAL" PROGRAMS AS ENGINES OF GROWTH, NOT HANDOUTS!!!! (Because that's what they are, but Dems often fail to state it).
Traildogbob
(8,680 posts)He never misses an opportunity to talk about working for Speaker Tip O'Neill. He had much more than just a Catholic boy crush on The Tip.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)good politician, and really likable man. (I was but a child, of course. 
)
Matthews has been teased a lot about his comment when they were hosting a speech being given by Obama (his acceptance speech? I forget)...Matthews said that Obama gave him a tingle in his leg. It was so funny. Such an odd thing to say. Suffice to say, he really liked Obama.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)It was nauseating...
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I remember watching it at the time, and I've heard ribbings against Tweety for it several times since. At least once was to show how partisan MSNBC was about Obama.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)I definitely heard him say it about Dubya. Tweety was going on about how "Women love a man of action..." There were a lot of comedians at the time guffawing about it. I did miss him saying it about Obama, but I'm sure he did.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)not a "tingle." He was misquoted by others ("tingle" instead of "thrill" ). This clip was after an Obama speech in 1980.
And Media Research Center gives Matthews the Quote of the Year, for his "thrill up my leg" statement. LOL.
MSNBC's Chris "Thrill Up My Leg" Matthews Wins Quote of the Year
oldsoftie
(12,492 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I've seen it several times. Sometimes jokingly, and sometimes to show how partisan MSNBC people were about Obama...you know the drill.
Midnight Writer
(21,717 posts)A liberal for (of) his time. He was a Peace Corps volunteer, a staffer for Tip O'Neil, and a reporter with a liberal bent. A mainstream liberal.
Yet he was bewitched by the Ronald Reagan fantasy, charmed by W. Bush. He sees politics as a noble calling, the best chance to change the world. He tends to give the benefit of the doubt to pols, and considers himself a pragmatic leftist.
So sometimes I am face planting over his comments, but I know where they come from. I am from his generation, and back then saying blacks and whites should peacefully share the same bathrooms and lunch counters was "liberal".
And as a student of history, he surely knows that every Empire we know of, from Rome to modern Syria, has toppled because the commoners rise up against the aristocrats.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)
malaise
(268,713 posts)I'd call him a Social Democrat but he's also very progressive on racial issues
uponit7771
(90,304 posts)
DeminPennswoods
(15,265 posts)Matthews is a believer in government and its power to do good. FTR, he also was a speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, iirc.
Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)The poor then do what they must. It ends badly
KPN
(15,637 posts)EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)obnoxiousdrunk
(2,909 posts)
Power 2 the People
(2,437 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)He's a Democrat, tried & true. The Democratic Party supports capitalism AND social programs targeted at certain things.
People still tease him for how giddy he was over Obama. He couldn't hide his enthusiasm for him.
mn9driver
(4,419 posts)And socialist, centrally planned economies always collapse as corruption eats them from the inside.
Matthews is correct. There are many good examples of the successful mixing of the ideas from these two systems. We could learn a lot from them. But our current system won’t even allow the debate to occur.
crazytown
(7,277 posts)Mathews is talking about balance. That’s useful. Today the system is highly unbalanced , overwhelming weighted towards the wealthy, powerful and well connected. “Balanced Capitaliam” may have legs.
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)
calimary
(81,125 posts)Balanced capitalism.
It’s all in the right messaging.
Let’s keep working this!
Miguel M
(234 posts)Sounds like a plan.
Celerity
(43,121 posts)I love that term.
DeminPennswoods
(15,265 posts)as Cesar Milan says about training dogs works just as well for describing the relationship government shaould have to capitalism.
LuvNewcastle
(16,835 posts)I’m the 80s, the libertarians took over. They believe that the ‘free market’ should control everything. The reason we’re at the place where we are now is because they have done all they can to destroy the safety net in order to be true to free market orthodoxy. Anything other than naked capitalism is socialism to them. We need to have a conversation in this country about the definition of socialism. Having social safety nets isn’t going to bring a communist dictatorship. Democrats need to be very clear that they believe in a mixed economy. It’s the Republicans who are the radicals.
dansolo
(5,376 posts)Without a safety net, it is easier for them to take advantage of people. If a Libertarian was really true to their principles, then they would believe that labor should be able to also use the free market for what they offer, i.e. unionize. But that is never the case. Their so-called principles only apply to what will advantage them.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)I so miss our democracy.
calimary
(81,125 posts)Keep working the messaging.
“It’s not socialism. It’s what the people want.”
Good.
Good stuff!
True Blue American
(17,981 posts)We are getting tornado warnings!
global1
(25,225 posts)'Social Capitalism' is Capitalism with 'empathy'. We don't begrudge a Capitalist from making money - but in the process of the Capitalist making money they do it in a way that is 'fair'.
Provide a living wage to people so they can afford to buy the things that the capitalist is offering. The money provided as a living wage comes back to the capitalist in the form of a sale or purchase.
calimary
(81,125 posts)Social Capitalism.
This is good stuff.
The MESSAGING. We need to master the messaging. Especially going into the next election cycle.
Socapism.
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Rachel Maddow is not capable of a summary like that. Not even close. Every time Matthews is ridiculed around here and Maddow lauded as some type of genius I just have to chuckle. Backtracking without foresight doesn't impress me at all.
I don't want Matthews to desperately twist everything in our favor every night. That is not the real world. That is the duty of one-dimensional lesser caliber. Matthews does get a bit lazy these days in terms of blowing with the wind but when he gets around to big picture summation he reaches levels nobody else on that network is capable of.
PatrickforO
(14,559 posts)I just got tired of him asking people questions and then interrupting them over and over, not letting them talk. Chris kind of answers his own questions, you know?
That said, he has been around the DC more than a few times, and he's seen the noble and the ignoble.
I think Chris, probably like you and me, came from a time when there were noble thoughts and noble actions in Congress, before the corporate corruption got too bad, maybe. Oh, there have always been shambling mediocrities in Congress (and the WH, for that matter), but there were a critical mass of people on both sides of the aisle who actually did try and serve the interests of the people, at least most of the time.
Now, the GOP has become the corrupt party of Trump, beholden to oligarchs. They don't even pretend to be serving our interests.
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)have to give him props for being in the Peace Corps and I think he carries those lessons and values with him
Brainstormy
(2,380 posts)and disagree with much in the preceding posts. I don't think he's terribly bright, can't stand his constant interruptions of other people and I don't believe he wrote that piece without much help because his normal sign-offs are lightweight. Not a fan.
Doitnow
(1,103 posts)exact thing. It just drives me crazy when he goes on and on and on, finally asks a question and just as his guest starts to speak, he interrupts. Sometimes I wonder why he even asks people to come on to his program. I usually turn him off.
There used to be a tv host a very long time ago that spoke painfully loud into the microphone--always seemed to be yelling needlessly---reminds me of Mathews. Irritating.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Rachel Maddow certainly isn't capable of that or the "I forgot he was black" that is also something Rachel would probably not come up with.
certainot
(9,090 posts)along with socialists, marxists, and so on
national discussions based on fact and truth are impossible as long as the left's orgs and the dem party ignore talk radio
ubiquitous rw talk radio stations decide what and who is and isn't acceptable in 40 states with 80 senators. we're fucked, and that's been clear for 30 years, by a few hundred jerks on 1200 think tank (maybe russian) scripted radio stations
proportionally, not many people got that mathews take....
PatrickforO
(14,559 posts)We have social media now, so we can fight back, get the truth out more.
certainot
(9,090 posts)is still the biggest political mistake in history
russian trolling success depends largely on being able to piggyback talk radio repetition
the 'left' needs to stop trying to avoid rw talk radio and just destroy it
PatrickforO
(14,559 posts)Do you mean listen to it, list out their talking points and refute them as we go?
I'm cool with that, for sure.
certainot
(9,090 posts)accelerate the inevitable. it's inevitable that rw radio will be digitized searched and studied. it will have to enter the free speech spectrum, and when the ad industry finds out their clients can easily be listed along with the content - the hate and ignorance - with little listening required - they will have to start asking their clients if they really want to support trump and global warming denial or risk getting yelled at by their clients when they get boycotted or called out. that will scare off most advertisers and destroy the 20-1 monopoly.
the market demand for the hate and ignorance will do it - the ad industry just needs to start getting the message.
the process is described at republiconradio.org
and just today i heard 2 local ignorant assholes on the giant state limbaugh station kkob during the commute hours, after the limbaugh show, attack and try to make fun of the school kids protesting global warming! - and that's on a station that would go belly up if UNM started looking for alternative radio stations to broadcast their sports on. they even advertise their 'diversity' and law and science on that station during the limbaugh show to recruit students!
and there are at least 88 such unis supporting 260 of the loudest limbaugh stations!
that and AI will doom the rw talk radio monopoly but.....
SWBTATTReg
(22,077 posts)where radio reception is rather limited?
certainot
(9,090 posts)has been the mantra from 1500 radio stations for 30 years - aimed at liberals. they put racist liars on every corner and stump in the country and liberals stuck their ear buds in and walked by.
they dominate the buzz in 40+ states with 80+ senators. at $1000/hr x 15 hrs/day x 1200 radio stations it's been worth about $5BIL/year - for 30 years. and that can be and is being coordinated at the local level. except cities it completely undercuts and distorts any national discussion, as coordoinated by their think tanks, etc
why would you think ignoring that would be good for any issue liberals care about?
we let a few hundred ignorant racist blowhards attack protestors and activists and politicians who stick their necks out and because liberals have no clue they blame symptoms of 30 years of unchallenged repetition, like money, voter suppression, media deregulation, etc. bullshit
we let team limbaugh take free potshots at our reps when they stick their necks out, then the media says they're too far left, that the tea party is a natural american reaction to the radical left, and dems are pushed right 10 points, and then the fucking idiots don't vote for them because they're spineless, etc
ignoring talk radio has been the biggest political mistake in history
we even let 88 universities support 260 limbaugh stations!
talk radio is the only major advantage the right has and with AI it also presents the best opportunity to put trump in jail and destroy the modern limbaugh GOP
SWBTATTReg
(22,077 posts)that my family is at is very rural and these are the broadcasts they are bombarded with. I don't listen to the radio period. Nor, for that matter TV. I already know the points you're making with the nonsense spewing out from these stations. I am not ignoring these stations, after all, do you listen to rump when he makes a speech? I doubt it. This is the same I feel about these stations and thus, don't waste my time. The time I spend is on PBS for example, where both sides are given a fair and equal standing when they talk. Sorry I asked you anything.
certainot
(9,090 posts)because it's very repetitious and pretty much all follows the same lines and formula.
it wouldn't take much listening to get the flavor but now the dem party needs to be digitizing it.
i'm familiar with pbs and it's good for the most part but the bothsiderism still rears up, or the dems are too socialist, need to moderate to appeal to republicans, etc stuff is there and a lot of that is from the general overwhelming buzz from the radio creating and selling bullshit.
the problem is most political analysis on the 'left' is done as if studying fish without water. they might see it on fox, the cartoon cliff notes for talk radio. then there's amazement at the ignorance and lies and they think it comes out of thin air or something - but they don't factor in talk radio.
it goes to absurd levels - even though sam nunberg, who's been on msnbc over and over, told gabriel sherman for NY magazine 4/3/16 that he listened to "1000's of hours of talk radio" for trump in 2014, no one ever asks him about it and the questions that might suggest it was to help coordinate with the russians. it's absurd. i hope mueller has, or the dem investigators.
rw radio is very localized within whatever comes out of limbaugh's ass, and he's already got most of the blowhards in the country calling warren pocahontas, bernie crazy bernie, etc. he'll lead the effort to steer the dems away from populist candidates who they think can win.
in iowa for instance, the rw stations are helping iowans decide who is and isn't acceptable in the dem field. and i wouldn't be surprised if there might be russian callers to those local shows along with the think tank callers.
when the field narrows down or they spot someone very threatening they'll go full swiftboat and their dem voters won't have a clue until it's too late
my point is no one in the dem party orgs or progressive orgs seems to take rw radio seriously, maybe because they live in big cities with plenty of alternative so they expect free speech and market demand to work, but it's been kicking our ass for 30 years.
certainot
(9,090 posts)searching for "news.iheart.com/featured/rush-limbaugh/content" + cortez (AOC), or global warming, or omar, or mueller....
that's what the gop and con media use to stay on the same page. it's the best way to get to know what the cons are doing - and all that can be shown to their advertisers.
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)Look at the way AOC is moving the public discussion to the left. Show no fear. Lead with our values.
certainot
(9,090 posts)the left won't be able to say it's getting her back
google "news.iheart.com/featured/rush-limbaugh/content" +cortez and see the limbaugh transcripts of him attacking her
here’s limbaugh on 1/22/19, while calling AOC a dunce, upstart little crumb-cruncher, commie, babe, marxist, etc., created a silly premise — that Democratic leaders would get media to “take her out” — just so he could repeat “take her out” over and over…..
— transcribed at Sonix.ai:
so the day is going to come where she's gonna make somebody (Dems) mad or she's going to be too successful and will legitimately challenge somebody that has more power than she has. And they're not going to be interested in working with her and welcoming her in because they're not going to trust her so they're gonna take her out. This happens. I mean Soviet leaders were routinely targeted for assassination. They tried to kill Gorbachev during perestroika and glasnost.
he’s attacking her regularly, he can go a lot farther than they can on fox, and democrats never hear it.
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)being on RW radio.
True Blue American
(17,981 posts)To the drivel on the radio any more?
I use the net, visit sites, learn the latest news, play CD’s in my car. Even the TV is mostly back ground noise. Breaking news comes on the IPAD.
certainot
(9,090 posts)doing chores - other than rw talk radio
that buzz is what trump and the russians depend on to enable and intimidate the GOP and that's what keeps gop senators in line
those are many of the loudest stations in the country and its not about demand - they have a well protected monopoly paid for by advertisers who just need to get the message once and for all. many of the advertisers may not like rw radio but they don't listen to it, believe its just market forces for radio entertainers who say stupid stuff to attract customers for them, and the ad agencies give them discounts and good deals on bundles so they get them on loud stations, but they don't control what stations
True Blue American
(17,981 posts)So why would anyone listen to their rants?
Even Cable news is nothing but 5 people sitting round a Plexiglass table giving their opinions and rants 24 hours a day. Listen to 15 minutes you know what you will her all day.
I do not even listen to the weather. Have an APP for that. Also have several for News , movies, etc.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,488 posts)Most of them are in rural areas, and mostly in red states (including the ones that stole our presidency). Farmers, construction crews, truckers, etc. To/from work, during work and probably some at home.
We must not discount the powerful effect of RW talk radio. It's Faux News' mother.......
.......
True Blue American
(17,981 posts)Just wonder what kind of fools listen to the angry rants.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,488 posts)Some around her in KY and some in my travels around the country, perhaps more out West than any. A lot of builders and construction people and many farmers listen part of the day.
I don't have stats on the extent and distribution of it, but the Rethugs have kept this dirty little secret hidden for many years and it's helped to maintain a sizable chunk of their red state base. It's one of their highly-protected little "sectors".
One very disturbing aspect of this programming is that some of it is also distributed into our military media networks such as American Forces Network (AFN). They claim to provide bipartisan programming, although the stuff from the right is extreme (typical right-wing dogma, lies and deceptions).
The DUer named Certainot keeps track of this issue in the U.S. and posts often on the subject......
gtar100
(4,192 posts)Liberal AM radio stations are practically extinct. But any republican can get 24x7 hate talk anywhere they go. And right-wing radio is booming as they pump out vile hatred toward anything liberal, democratic, progressive, social, environmental, or anything deemed to be left wing. It's pathetic and we ignore it at our own peril (as certainot has said...far better than I).
They convince themselves they are the majority in this country through talk radio. And the online resources we use - social media, podcasts, news services - they do too. When we had a liberal radio station in Denver, I listened to it. Now my AM radio is off all the time. Who can stand to listen to the crap they say other than angry, hate-filled racists needing their daily fix. And there are a lot of them even though they really are not the majority.
And dutifully they support the NRA and purchase excessive amounts of ammo as if on queue with each scare that is broadcast on *our* radio waves. I shutter at the thought of those zombies holding weapons knowing they are salivating for a reason to use them on their perceived enemies...us. It won't end the way they think it will but they can do untold amounts of damage in the process.
calimary
(81,125 posts)Keep thinking!
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)calimary
(81,125 posts)And we can use a bunch of ‘em.
PatrickforO
(14,559 posts)noise machine wants is to put us on the defensive.
However, our platform is a very sound. Repeal the giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations and implement more reforms in the tax code so that the rich are taxed at higher rates. Work toward Medicare for all, and failing that, universal healthcare with a public option. A Green New Deal, promising vigorous action to reduce the carbon footprint. Infrastructure projects, maintenance and upgrades. Debt free college.
Here's the thing. We had this guy in my state, Udall, who was a pretty good guy but lost reelection to a wing-nut named Cory Gardner. Why? Because his campaign message was so weak and lame, listening to his drivel was like pushing your face through mush. No one actually knew what the guy stood for. Gardner, on the other hand, stood for low taxes, reduced regulation and a business-friendly climate. That was his message.
So what happened? Gardner won with 983K votes to Udall's 944K. So, 41,000 votes in what is a pretty blue state. Why? Because Udall's message was so weak he didn't seem to stand for anything.
We need to take page from the Republicans and NOT APOLOGIZE OR WALK ON EGGS with our messaging. We ARE for healthcare for everyone. We ARE for reversing or at least mitigating climate change. We ARE for debt-free college.
That's what was great about Bernie in '16. He pounded and pounded on the message. Oh, eventually the opposition brought him down, but not until he'd planted the seeds of these policies, ones that actually would make Americans' lives much better and more worth living. He moved the message. He GENUINELY shifted the Overton Window.
So, let's get out there and POUND on the message. Don't apologize, don't say we're sorry, don't waffle when confronted with the words, socialist, Stalinist, Communist - instead reply with a laugh, then say, "They call anything they don't like 'socialism,' and what we ACTUALLY stand for is..."
We can WIN with our message, and our platform. The majority of Americans support our platform (healthcare, green new deal, infrastructure, taxes, and debt-free college), at over 50%. So, we can't let them control the message. We have to.
certainot
(9,090 posts)come up with pr campaigns to swiftboat, distort, distract, and then run it out team limbaugh's ass. pretty soon it's part of their alternate reality and we've got guys like trump. waiting forr shit to get so bad is not good strategy. this disaster didn't happen because dem messaging wasn't simple or coordinated or loud enough.
we let a few hundred think tank coordinated liars kick our ass. everythign liberals want to do will be a lot easier once the dem party and the prog orgs get the message they can't ignore talk radio any more. it's stupid, the biggest political mistake in history. they've been wasting donations and activism time.
we can do more than one thing at a time and as i said above - AI just made it a lot easier, faster, and cheaper to digitize talk radio.
rw radio is doomed, it's just up to dems to accelerate the inevitable. it's inevitable that rw radio will be digitized searched and studied. it will have to enter the free speech spectrum, and when the ad industry finds out their clients can easily be listed along with the content - the hate and ignorance - with little listening required - they will have to start asking their clients if they really want to support trump and global warming denial or risk getting yelled at by their clients when they get boycotted or called out. that will scare off most advertisers and destroy the 20-1 monopoly.
the market demand for the hate and ignorance will do it - the ad industry just needs to start getting the message.
any real challenge to rw radio - boycotts and protests at the 88+ universities that support 260 limbaugh stations - will alert the ad industry and they will do the rest.
PatrickforO
(14,559 posts)We have to overturn the lie-machine.
certainot
(9,090 posts)they'll see the writing on the billboard. talk radio is way in debt now - they just want the captive and semi-captive audience those giant stations have
true demand for the hate and lies is nowhere near that 20-1 monopoly
a few protests at those universities could get it started - the organizations need to wake up
Duppers
(28,117 posts)Thank you!
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)need to find our best tools against it
rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)as far as I can tell.
I think "Balanced Capitalism" is a way of talking about this that can appeal to a wide range of voters.
This is a combination we need, we already have (!), and that we need to adjust for very obvious reasons.
Never get trapped into either/or thinking.
rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)And yet for decades, Republicans have been wrong about everything.
EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)the right combination, a just balance."
This is what I want to see our candidates saying in debates with Republicans.
rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)We just want a society which works for the most. I’m done with names. It is reality.
What name do you call that? Most people want something? We can call it Scooby-Doo, but it use to be called democracy.
KPN
(15,637 posts)Raine
(30,540 posts)he's been in for too long. 
malaise
(268,713 posts)He is a genuine Social Democrat.
BSdetect
(8,995 posts)Using it for good is not so easy.
yortsed snacilbuper
(7,939 posts)
AJT
(5,240 posts)
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)We need to start taking back the words that the Reptilian Party have stolen and corrupted. Words like "Liberal," "Entitlement, and "Socialism." Extreme socialism, extreme capitalism, or extreme anything really are all just stories told by those at the top of a system of extreme corruption. Balance of justice, balance of philosophy, and balance of power are the only ways to build a decent and strong society.
H2O Man
(73,510 posts)RANDYWILDMAN
(2,664 posts)wish he could do it more often.
Perrenial Voter
(173 posts)Institute, and I heard the same thing repeatedly from the people there. People in E. Europe didn't want to ditch socialism, but they wanted social democracy and not authoritarianism. And many of the dissenters from the communist era were in dissent with the current governments.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)capitalism, so people can rise above their birth and circumstances due to opportunities, but social programs for the vulnerable and the masses, so that we can have a thriving middle class that benefits from a rising economy.
As it is, the oligarchs in our country keep wages low artificially, and then cry "free market! free market!" when it comes to regulating the costs of things or giving access to basics like health care for the masses.
Kudos to Tweety! He has a way with words.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,961 posts)onit2day
(1,201 posts)Let FDR continue to point the way.
poli-junkie
(997 posts)EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)but I do not know how to embed it as a video. ???
poli-junkie
(997 posts)appal_jack
(3,813 posts)To me, all the "isms" express who has (or is supposed to have) power in a given economy or political system. We can discuss whether the people truly have power or not in any given example of "socialism" but in our version of capitalism, it's clear that wealth (or capital) has the power, and has organized our system around that.
I don't want a system based upon the power and influence of wealth.
I want a system where a representative and Constitutional government defines and regulates the boundaries of markets toward greater equity and common good. In some areas (consumer electronics, food from individual farms to initial buyers, many other goods and services), the markets might be quite free, with only regulation toward health, labor laws, and safety. In other areas (medical devices, banking, the energy and utilities sector, investment advising and portfolio management, etc.) the regulations by necessity will be tighter, since the consequences of mismanagement or failure are that much more disastrous. And in certain other realms, the profit motive is entirely corrosive, and the public needs to manage them as a public resource: parks, prisons, schools, some considerable extent of the healthcare system, etc.
-app
elder phd
(18 posts)he does not understand either capitalism or socialism.
fact is, prime capitalism IS crony capitalism. that is the logical conclusion of the capitalist system over time. any cursory or deep reading of marx shows that, but we've lived the experiment; we can see these results right before our eyes!
trying to regulate capitalism is like trying to lasso a badger. good luck with that.
because capitalism is based on zero ethical or moral principles whatsoever, they have to be brought in as an afterthought, like a hall monitor. we all know how that works out.
socialism is superior for the express reason that it is based on the explicit moral principle that we are all in this together, and best we behave accordingly, in all we do.
the rugged individualist capitalism of the US is not what engenders the creative and inventive impulses of our recent history; those inclinations are natural and human, and abundant sociological studies have shown that folks are not motivated by money so much as solving problems and making things work.
instead, that individualism has led to a gross distortion of the very notions of liberty and freedom, a profound narcissistic selfishness and paranoia, when the truest liberty and freedom can only be realized when the entire environment and its creatures are supported and nurtured.
i mean, what can it possibly mean to "get yours" when ANYone else is hungry or naked or homeless?
watch how capitalists craft their arguments and you'll start to notice their paranoia and fear of losing what is "theirs," and their entitlement to get yet more. the narrowing of vision limits how individuals - ironically - are de-humanized and stripped of all liberties and freedoms. they cannot even see how the possessions they're addicted to in truth possess and imprison them.
i could go on, but you get the picture. bottom line, what i say to folks who claim we just need a regulated capitalism (beyond pointing out how impossible it is to lasso and tame a badger), is ok, what would your world look like with the necessary laws and economy ? the ultimate resulting "fair and just" society would be... (wait for it) ...socialism. and - importantly - democratic socialism, where every individual gets a vote and has a say. and no one - NO ONE - is a commodity.
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)But our bodies are monetized in ways that benefit powerful forces. A calculus of risk of bodily harm to workers is factored into every mass produced product in the US. Our life spans and wellness vs. illness trends are exploited for profit by the insurance industry.
MaryMagdaline
(6,851 posts)Economic liberalism is what we Democrats stand for
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Showing Republican hypocrisy regarding national emergency declarations of Obama and Trump. Direct contrast in clips from Cornyn and Cruz and especially Graham, who really looked like a laughingstock.
Now an examination of Trump in the bully threatening role. David Corn is always terrific. He described how Trump personalizes his plight, telling his supporters everybody on the left is out to get him and you must care about it and take steps to stop it.
More than hysterical that so many wish Matthews would go on vacation or go away, replaced by another cookie cutter type without a fraction or his talent or unpredictability. Last thing we need is another wind-up toy host.
McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)Trump is all about committing grand theft larceny of other people's labor/savings/stuff to enrich himself and his (mostly foreign) donors which makes him twice as bad as an ordinary fascist who will at least try to enrich domestic donors.
KPN
(15,637 posts)be using the past when describing “this country”. Was not is. We may still be the world’s strongest economic engine, but we’ve already left too many millions behind to call us a model of economic efficiency. Better be on the alert? We’ve already been asleep at the wheel — and for quite some time to boot. Chris Matthews is out of touch and has been for who knows how long. Too long. While he may be trying to buoy his image and rejuvenate his appeal, I’m hoping he will soon become a relic of the past.
