Bill O’Reilly: Is Barack Obama a Socialist? (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 23, 2010
Is Pres. Barack Obama a socialist?
FOX’s Bill O’Reilly says “no.” Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says “yes.”
Newt Gingrich Bowls Over Bill O’Reilly: Obama Is a Socialist | February 22, 2010
Gateway Pundit opines on the video:
This was definitely not the answer Bill O’Reilly was expecting…
For what it’s worth, I vote “yes.”
Bill O’Reilly didn’t do much of a bang-up job in providing a definition of socialism. Quite sloppy and fact-omitting, to say the least, Bill. Quick summary of socialism, from WikiAnswers:
* All members of the economy share benefits, regardless of their economic value to the system.
* A healthy socialistic system results in non-economic productivity.
* In environments with plentiful resources, socialism provides all members with their survival needs, through the redistribution of wealth.
* Members that cannot participate economically – due to disabilities, age, or periods of poor health – can still impart wisdom, support and continuity of experience to the system.
* Leaders not producing, should have absolute say over those who are producing.Pure socialism can only work in small communities ideally with a strong sense of identity and perhaps family ties, as socialist societies grow they foster even more corruption among officials than capitalist ones. Also in the absense of force, the more able in society will limit their labour as they don’t benefit from their efforts directly.
Another definition, provided by DemocraticPeace Blog, Hitler Was A Socialist, (And Not A Right Wing Conservative):
What is socialism? It is a politico-economic philosophy that believes government must direct all major economic decisions by command, and thus all the means of production for the greater good, however defined. There are three major divisions of socialism, all antagonistic to each other. One is democratic socialism, that places the emphasis on democratic means, but then government is a tool for improving welfare and equality. A second division is Marxist-Leninism, which based on a “scientific theory” of dialectical materialism, sees the necessity of a dictatorship (“of the proletariat”) to create a classless society and universal equality. Then, there is the third division, or state socialism. This is a non-Marxist or anti-Marxist dictatorship that aims at near absolute economic control for the purpose of economic development and national power, all construed to benefit the people.
Mussolini’s fascism was a state socialism that was explicitly anti-Marx and aggressively nationalistic. Hitler’s National Socialism was state socialism at its worse. It not only shared the socialism of fascism, but was explicitly racist. In this it differs from the state socialism of Burma today, and that of some African and Arab dictatorships.
One astute comment on Bill O’Reilly from Gateway Pundit reader wanumba:
O’Reilly is playing a semantics game. He’s pushing the idea that calling names is childish – which it is, but if someone is a “socialist” by the definiton of the term, then it isn’t name-calling, it’s correct nomenclature. He’s not separating “name-calling” from “naming.”
The Left has torqued the language and terms of debate so much that their cheap and inaccurate name-calling – “NAZIs” “fascists” and so forth is so insincere when the real thing comes along, the reaction is a dismissive “that’s stupid.”
It has almost destroyed debate in the USA and the world, and we’re close to the point of having people be literally unable to communicate with each other because they are using two different dictionaries for the same language.
All plays into the hands of the Progressive – rather Regressive Left.
And this comment from reader Jim Ryan:
Socialism allows personal effects to be private property: your furniture, your house, your bric-a-brac. It holds that the state should own everything else, especially businesses.
It takes a bloviator with a graduate degree from Harvard’s school of government not to know this.
And this, from reader VaGal:
Has Bill not noticed the people that Obama has had around him his whole life? Is he not paying attention to the people that he is appointing? Did he not know that Obama was in the New (Socialist) Party in Chicago? [Which was reported right here on GP.] Of course, Bill kept insisting that Bill Ayers was just a “guy in the neighborhood” because Obama looked him in the eye and told him so. I don’t think “fair and balanced” means what he thinks it means. I know the Oath Keepers are also less than impressed with Bill after his stupid comments regarding the confiscation of guns in NO after Katrina. He better watch out or Geraldo will start getting better ratings than he.
One more, from reader Opus #6:
O’Reilly keeps saying that socialists want to take your house. He’s wrong. Communists want to take your house and all your property. Socialists want to tax you to death so everybody lives in drab sameness, no matter who has what talents.
I’m getting really tired of O’Reilly. First he says he is for gun confiscation during hurricanes. Now this. WTH!
Additional reading:
One Man’s Blog: Castro’s Cuba Leaves Nothing to Be Admired
Little Miss Attila: Treacher on Cuba
Flopping Aces: Obama: Socialism Denier! [Reader Post]
The Powers That Be: 300 Businesses: Health Care Bill is Costing Us a Fortune! — Waxman: No it Isn’t, it’s Saving You Money!
Michelle Malkin: U.N. declares Castro a “World Hero of Solidarity” and Race-baiter Democrat Rep. Diane Watson praises Cuban health system, Castro & Guevara who “kicked out the wealthy” and Castro Watch: Walking Commie corpse appears on TV and Culture of Corruption Watch: Hill edition and CBC: Congressional boot-lickers for Castro and Commie Stooges of the Day Award and Grading the MSM’s Cuban revolution coverage
Reason.TV: Killer Chic, Hollywood’s Sick Love Affair with Che Guevara
Patterico’s Pontifications: Making Mark Sanford Look Good
RBO: Republican Study Committee: “Where is the Press?”
Gateway Pundit: Joe Biden: “You Call It Redistribution of Wealth… I Call It Being Fair”
and Cuban Marxist Dictator Fidel Castro Praises Obama & Dems on Nationalizing Health Care and Matt Damon Disappointed in Obama; He’s Not Radical Enough
Arlenearmy’s Blog: Who are the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus?
Fire Andrea Mitchell!: So that’s why dictators love the US media!
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Stupid Hollywood: Left-Wing Celebrities Love Fidel Castro, Castro Loves American Celebs… and Spies on Them, Bugs Their Hotel Rooms, Tails Them for Intelligence and Democrat Liberal Rep. Laura Richardson, Castro Groupie, Under Investigation for Foreclosure Scandal and Cuba, the Musical: CBC’s Fawning over Castro Is Naive, Nauseating and Embarrassment – Dems Have Lovely Chat with Fidel Castro… Blame America for Cuba’s Poverty Because of Embargo and The Sham of Socialism: Save America While There’s Still Time
Humberto Fontova, Babalú Blog, an island on the net without a bearded dictator: “We love you Fidel–Oh yes we do” sings the CBC
The Astute Bloggers: RAUL CASTRO: SOCIALISM IN CUBA TO STAY!
HillBuzz: Our alleged intellectual superiors, in their native dress
Blog for Cuba: The U.S. should not negotiate with crazy dictators
Henry Louis Gomez, Babalú Blog, an island on the net without a bearded dictator: Jane, you ignorant slut…
VotingFemale: ACORN’s alias con game for money and power
AOL Political Machine: Lawmakers Take Time Out of Their Busy Schedules to Suck Up to Fidel Castro
Founding Bloggers: Which Caucus Visited Cuba? The Black One Or The Progressive One?
Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald: Lawmakers’ Cuba concerns are misplaced
Blue Crab Boulevard: You Know It’s Pretty Bad…
26th Parallel: Note to Congressional Black Caucus: Visit Political Prisoners in Cuba
Val Prieto, Babalú Blog, an island on the net without a bearded dictator: Michelle Malkin on the CBC
Burt Prelutsky, Big Hollywood: Examining Leftist Thinking
American Thinker: Human Rights Watch on Cuba
Free Republic: Socialism Coming Back To Haunt U.S.
John Nolte, Big Hollywood: Spike Lee Slams America, Lays Off Hugo Chavez
Cuban-American Pundits: National Review on The Man Who Invented Fidel
About the author
O’Reilly, Obama, O’Reilly, Obama.
Hmmmmmmmm.
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Saw this years ago.
You own 2 cows.
Socialism says we will tax your cows.
Marxism says we will take your cows.
Communism says we will take the farm.
Capitalism says sell one cow, and buy a bull, and start a herd.
Thumbs up… concisely explained.
There will be those who say capitalism isn’t fair because of some “rich people benefit, poor people are shafted” mumbo-jumbo. Kinda like the juvenile delinquents we all knew in high school who didn’t think it was fair that some kids got good grades in their classes because they worked hard, did well on tests, turned their homework in on time, and didn’t ditch classes. UNFAIR!
Agreed, You just defined my mother in law.
But not my wife thank God.
MIL loves Obama, thinks he’s finally taking down those big companies.
I really don’t want to get into it and neither does my wife.
My wife warns me not to “go there”, anytime we visit.
Ok.
My mom’s the same way. I see the flicker of anxiety flash through my family’s eyes any time politics are brought up at a family gathering. They all look at me with that, “Please, please, please don’t make Mom cry” look. So I usually say little to nothing. “Usually.”
Yeah, I still make her cry.
But crikey, she CHOOSES to know nothing about politics and loves Obama not because of his color or his ideology or his background — it’s ONLY because he was the Democrats’ presidential candidate. And she likes his smile. And he isn’t divorced. That’s it, zippetty-doo-dah.
She know nothing about his agenda, what he’s done this past year, what he did as a senator, has never heard of cap and trade, vaguely “knows” that Obama wants to “give” us free health care, yada yada yada. She’s happy as a lark to be ignorant. A “D” after his name was all she cares about. And she’s not the only voter in America who is exactly the same way – and yes, I know many people who vote for those with the “R” after their name also exist.
You want to bet how long it takes for O’Reilly to loose his number 1 rating if he keeps up with this nonsense, I’ve quit watching him, he prides himself with being independent he’s all over the place sucking up to the Obama cause. Obama not a socialist? Give me a break. LOL
I only watch Bill when Goldberg is on or other good guests like Newt.
Otherwise, like you, he’s a waste of air time. And it wouldn’t hurt my feelings a bit if he falls out of first place. Maybe then he’d have to re-evaluate his sucking up to the left.
Truth is, we don’t have cable at home. So I can usually only watch FOX News on YouTube later that night or next morning (or even a few days later) or at other conservative sites that embedded a particular video file. I like O’Reilly once in a while, but lately, he’s been torquing me off…
O’Reilly you stupid dumb ass!
Let’s talk about eminent domain and New London, Conn.
“We’re going to take your homes and beg Pzifer to come in and build something big here.”
lGuess what? Pzifer never came and that land is now an empty meadow and those people lost their homes.
You don’t call that SOCIALISM???? YOU’RE TOO STUPID TO HAVE ANY AIR TIME AT ALL!
Crap… in my excited tirade, I misspelled Pifzer. LOL
Oh well.
LMAO and yet again i misspelled it!!!
I’m such a rube!
But such an adorable rube… we love you, Roxy.
I was sorely tempted to correct your typos, but your self-deprecating comments were too cute to remove.
Sorry, sweetie… I owe you.
ahahahahaha! We all love you, too. I just get too excited when I get on a roll!
He’s a socialist.