Hello Everybody,   
      
   Somebody please explain this to me.   
      
   I am soooo confused.   
      
   Why is it that Republicans keep calling our president a "socialist"?   
      
   It seems to me he is quite the opposite.   
      
   I mean, socialist ideas in America have long been very popular.   
   Ideas such as civil rights, antipoverty programs, social security,   
   medicare, etc.   
      
   However, this president seems to be more concerned with keeping   
   Gitmo open, continuing the war on terror, capping or severely   
   limiting cost of living adjustments, capping medicare, etc.   
      
   In fact, it seems to me our president is in favor of giving   
   government assistence to business and industry, such as bailing   
   out Wall Street and the auto companies.  That makes him more   
   of a "pro-business" president than a "socialist" president.  At   
   least in my book.   
      
   Republicans like to claim that the president is trying to   
   socialize healthcare.  Republicans point to what they call   
   "Obamacare" as being a prime example.  However, the facts   
   seem to indicate otherwise -   
      
   "When Barack Obama was asked to reform the healthcare system, he   
   rejected all of the models based on social democratic proposals,   
   as well as their American `single-payer' equivalent, and instead   
   went for insurance reforms that were initially proposed by the   
   (conservative) Heritage Foundation.  There you see him rejecting   
   social democratic ideas and going for a conservative model.  In   
   fact, Obama is one of the most un-socialistic presidents this   
   country's had in the last 150 years."   
   - John Nichols (author of "The `S' Word")   
      
   Socialism can have many different forms, the social democracy   
   model being just one of those forms.  It is this sense that most   
   Republicans try to associate the president with being in favor   
   of.  The social democratic model is used in several different   
   European countries, mainly Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden,   
   and Finland.  This model emphasizes expanded public rights to   
   social services, as well as a more distributive tax base, but   
   leaves ownership of production in the hands of capitalists.   
      
   However, the president has been on a course loosening restrictions   
   and regulations for business and industry, including in healthcare.   
   Not only that, but the president has taken his message to the   
   people, getting them on board.  That makes him not a "socialist",   
   but rather a "pro-business populist".   
      
   What he has left us with in regards to healthcare is a system   
   that has high costs, but low quality.  IOW, medicaid for all.   
      
   --Lee   
      
      
    * SLMR 2.1a * If only I were master of my stomach once more!    
      
   --- Maximus 3.01   
    * Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.mooo.com (3:800/432)