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My name is Garrett and I am studying the big political question today, is Obama a Socialist. I chose this topic because I feel that many people are uneducated in what makes someone Socialist or not. I am Republican and I might not agree with Obama, but I think a lot of people are jumping on the "Obama is Socialist" bandwagon without thinking much about it. So thats why I chose my topic.

The best parts of my blog, I think, is my five short sources. I chose from an array of sources to broaden my knowledge. I would be hypocritical if I didn't want to look at both sides, so I tried my best to do so. I also used my small sources to teach the reader of the purpose of government, the different types, and what we are answering to now.

I began this project thinking that Obama was socialist. This project showed me how to detect a Socialist and what to look for in government. In my opinion, Obama is not a Socialist, just not the greatest president. He has helped and hurt just like other presidents, which is why i have now wanted Federalism beliefs to be implemented. This project has showed me more about Federalism and its the government I want to see more of.

All I can say I want to do differently is that I want to speak with an actual elected official. I didn't get to this time because of procrastination on my part. Talking to an elected official would help me so much, or someone such as Glenn Beck or Mark Levin. It would be exciting andf cooler to talk about.

Republicans and Democrats need to work together.

Rob Bishop, in his article "The Case for Federalism", fights for the implement of Federalism by both parties. He states what Federalism is, he says, "its government closer to the people." (Bishop) So its not less government, just more power is given to the people. This allows local government to shrink and grow according to the wants of its people. He goes on to say that this process of transition is a long one and has to be well thought out. He firmly believes that "it (Federalism) is the only constitutionally based, effective, and theoretically consistent means to bring about the systemic change of government that people want." (Bishop) Bishop believes we need to work towards this belief and away from Conservatism and Liberalism.

I agree with Bishop. Mainly because I also think that Federalism was the type of government the founding fathers were aiming for when they wrote the Constitution. Federalism allows "We the people" to play a role in government. I think that, lately, we have been picking the lesser of two evils, when in reality we need to change things up. It is said that if you do the same thing over and over expecting to see different results, then you are crazy. So to see the results we want, we must stand for what we believe and make sure our voice is heard. When the lesser of the two evils fails , we just switch to the other. This, to me, is not going to make the nation stronger. This is why i think we need to implement Federalism.

Bishop, Rob. "The Case for Federalism." NRO. NRO, 6 May 2010. Web. 13 May 2010.
federalism/rep-rob-bishop?page=2>.

Views from a Socialist Himself

When John Blake, from CNN, asked Billy Wharton (the co-chair of the Socialist Party USA) if Obama was a socialist, he replied saying that “Obama isn't a socialist. He's not even a liberal” (Blake). In this article, Billy says that’s Obama is trying to protect the richest five percent of America. To Wharton, socialism means that “to the workers and consumers affected by economic institutions should own or control them” (Blake). Blake also says that, according to Van Gosse, America already has socialistic institutions such as: Pell Grants, public education, unemployment benefits, and social security. Conrad Quagliaroli has an argument for all of this. His argument is that Obama made a promise to “spread the wealth” and his associations with radicals make him a socialist.

I agree with Quagliaroli when he says that socialism breeds mediocrity and capitalism breeds excellence. This is one of socialism main fault. To have representatives of socialist parties deny some one of being socialist is a big deal. They carry a very strong argument, saying that most of what Obama is being blamed for came from before him and that he is, in actuality, trying to protect the wealthy five percent. They (the socialist in the article) say that socialist want to instill democratic features to reduce inequality. To me, the fact that he has passed a bill ensuring everyone health care seems to be an attempt to diminish inequality. Both sides are hard to argue though.

Blake, John. "Ask the card-carrying socialists: Is Obama one of them?."CNN Politics. CNN, 15 Apr 2010. Web. 13 May 2010. .

What political party am I?

The survey asked a total of ten questions. They ranged in topics from "should there be higher tariffs?" to "what do you think of the Patriot Act?" (renegaderay) The quiz was noticeably split up. it wasn't hard to decipher between the answer to see which one was which party. It also wanted to know your opinion on affirmative action and on gay marriages.

Taking this quiz, I was well aware of how unprofessional it was. I am not saying any of this is the greatest way to see what political party you are, but it is a very quick guesstimate. It said i was Republican which I partially agree on. I also know that there are more topics that should be considered that are not on the quiz.

I learned that I do lean more to the right, which you probably would have guessed from all my posts. I also learned that its hard to make an fair quiz that would be accurate enough, but take less than ten or twenty minutes. To meet these requirements, it would take hours.

Mark Levin

Liberty and Tyranny

Liberty and Tyranny, by Mark Levin, is a Conservative manifesto. In it, Mark explains what makes a Conservative a Conservative, and why it should be followed precisely as described. Mark believes the Constitution should be followed exactly as it was written by the founding fathers. He says that Conservatives don’t despise government, just tyranny; that’s why he believes the government should go straight off the Constitution. He goes on to explain the views of the Statist and why they are destructive to the country. He also shows when Statist will try and infiltrate the offices and win over the American public. He says they wait until the economy is at it’s lows, and then they offer plans to give money back to the people. When this starts to work, they ask for more power to pass “better” plans to give money back; this is when they are most destructive according to Mark.

I agree with Mark on many levels. One is that I think the founding fathers where not wasting there time making the Constitution, therefore we should follow its guidelines. The founding fathers mapped out a process that will protect free market and private property if followed correctly. “Statist do not protect these, but rather take them” according to Mark (Levin).This is why I believe the U.S. needs to follow Mark Levin’s Conservative.

The other reason is that Mark explains how Statist work and how to notice their ways. He shows examples of how to spot one, even if they claim to be something else. Also he shows what they will do to win over the public. By reading this book I now have the knowledge I find necessary to have to vote for what I believe in. he has taught me how to recognize fakes and weed out the ones who don’t feel the same

Levin, Mark. Liberty And Tyranny. New York: Threshold Editions, 2009. Print.

Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck has a program called The Glenn Beck Program. On this program he states that “seventy percent of Americans get more money in benefits from the government than they pay in.” Glenn says that there should be some deep budget cuts implemented to bring the U.S. out of the recession. He says, also, that when this this happens, friends will be lost. He brings up Obama’s plan to pay unemployed for ninety nine weeks. This is keeping the time of unemployment still ticking. No one is going to work if they can get paid for not working. Glenn is pointing out that handouts from the government will not help and just increase the deficit in which we are in.

"99 weeks on govt. dime." The Glenn Beck Program. Web. 15 Apr 2010. .

I agree with Glenn. Primarily when he says, “whose going to hire you after ninety nine weeks of unemployment.” If business owners were to think the same way, then the unemployment rate would never decrease. To give out more than seventy percent than paid in is to pay out more than you have. If you know anything about percentages, then you know that will increase our deficits. These policies and plans will hurt America and encourage workers to accept checks from the government. According to the Lawrence video I’ve commented on, more than half of America is for Obama. Could this be the same ones getting the handouts?

Lawrence O'Donnell

Keith Olbermann’s show ,Countdown with Keith Olbermann, tends to lean to Obama’s side. In the episode embedded along this post Lawrence O’Donnell (who is filling in for Keith) says that the people at these tea parties are confused. He says that “they are older, they are whiter than America, and they earn more money and are better educated.” He also states that “ thirty-nine percent of the real America correctly blame Bush for most of the deficit.” He also goes on to say that the tea partiers are arguing for the wrong point. He states tea partiers are fighting the passing of the health care income tax on people who make over two hundred thousand a year. Lawrence uses many figures and percentages to back up his statements.

"Tea party is confused." Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Web. 15 Apr 2010. .

What Lawrence is not taking into consideration is the fact that the “fancy” degrees, as he states, that most of the tea partiers hold are what allows them to earn more than average. He sounds as if he is trying belittle their success, which they put in effort and time into achieving. We live in a country that allows someone to have a dream and achieve it however they like. Lawrence is making people with dreams and success sound like a terrible people. What he needs to realize is, these people were born with freedom and rights. If they choose to go to school for four plus years and graduate with a degree so they can make more money, than more power to them. Someone who did not do the same or succeed at it should not put those people down or better yet tax them for it. By taxing those who succeed and putting that money into health care for the other Americans is just a variation of "spreading the wealth". I think Lawrence is the one confused. He used a bunch of percentages, but they never seemed to help him. I think they is a happy medium to the issues at hand, but Lawrence is not it and people should not turn to him for politics.

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In Karl Marx’s Manifesto of the Communist party, he describes what communism is. He feels it is feared by people who misunderstand it. He also points out the difference between socialism and communism. He states that “socialism is a society ruled by the laborers and communism is a classless society” (Marx). He also made a list of steps on how to become socialist or communist. These steps include: increasing property tax significantly, taking private property, giving the credit to the state and development of a national bank, and many more. Karl Marx explains communism as a beautiful, thing but it has its flaws just like everything else.

By reading Karl’s work, I can now relate the president’s actions to what has, in the past, lead to socialism. Lately, Obama has passed a new health care. This health care plan, according to the White House, "health reform will make health care more affordable, make health insurers more accountable, expand health coverage to all Americans, and make the health system sustainable, stabilizing family budgets, the Federal budget, and the economy. (White House)" this displays evidence of the government trying to control the economy. Marx says this is a step towards socialism. As the government gains more and more control over the economy, gain more and more resources in there fight to transform America. Also, Obama has came up with four new tax credits and expanded one. All trying to "help" the economy, but while doing so, he is increasing the amount of control the government has over the economy. The White House said about the new credits, "what is good for working families is good for the economy and what is good for the economy is good for working families" (White House). Karl also said that socialism is the party of the working class and that the laborers are the ones in power. the last statement noted from the white house sounds a little socialist to me, what about you?

Marx , Karl. Manifesto of the Communist Party. 1848. Print.

Office of the Press Secrectary, . "President Obama Underscores Commitment to Restoring Fairness to the Tax Code and Providing Tax Relief to Working Americans." THE WHITE HOUSE. N.p., April 15, 2009. Web. 9 Apr 2010. .

Plato's Republic

In Plato’s Republic, Plato talks about how government is created. He states that the world has two kings of people, just and unjust. Plato claims that “ They say that to do injustice, by nature, good; to suffer injustice, evil” (Plato). To him, government is a compromise and men agree to follow its laws and if men do as they are suppose to then there will be no problems. Man agree on what’s lawful and what’s not, then have someone to ensure that it is carried out. Unjust people, who do unjust things, will face judgment and punished accordingly. Plato goes on to tell the story “ The Ring of Gyges”; which, in short, explains that people when given the opportunity to injustice and get away with it will. Those who have the opportunity and do not act on it will be called “ a most wretched idiot” (Plato), as to provoke injustice in those of justice. Plato goes on to say, ” let judgment be given which of them is the happier of the two.”

This is a great work on government and its origin. One thing it is missing is to what extent do the laws made control what is to be done by a human; with the laws, humans can sleep easy knowing that there possessions will go untouched by others. When an injustice person does break these laws they should be punished. This in turn will keep things in balance. That is what I think that government should do, balance. To protect the just and punish the unjust.

Plato. Plato’s Republic. Book II. 308 B.C.. Print.

American Thinker

America needs to step back and look at the whole picture. According to pen name Bookworm on The American Thinker, Americans have lost sight of what we have in our politics and what is really socialism. Terms used today have become antiquated and need to be updated. "Left and Right" and "Liberal and Conservative" are from eras no one living has been in. We continue to use them, even though the need for more modern words is increasing. Because of this use of antiquated terms, "to most people, it just means Obama is a more liberal Liberal, or a leftier Lefty, and they already knew that. (American Thinker)" The problem is that this is untrue. Socialism is totally different and needs to be recognized. As shown in all examples of history, it does not work. many countries have tried it or are still using it, and those are the same ones who have lost all individual powers to a power hungry juggernaut. No matter the good intentions Obama has said to have, his action are leading towards socialism.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/why_obamas_socialism_matters_1.html

As Bookworm has stated, socialism has proven itself to fail. It gives one person or a small group of people to much power and they can not control it. I agree that the American people need to wake up and realize that the term socialism is not being thrown around loosely. It has a purpose behind it, and that is that Obama and his office have social backgrounds and are heading down that dark tunnel in which America does not need to wander. Do some research and you will see all the times socialistic views have been implemented and have not succeeded, not once. Obama has already told the public to ignore any claims of him being socialist as that is false, but if he were to truly be for capitalism, then his actions would say so and he would not need to worry about the public saying stuff about him. Obama is leading a socialist tenure and we need to recognize it as more than a left of liberal stance and more as a socialist stance.

Bookworm, . "Why Obama's socialism matters."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/why_obamas_socialism_matters_1.html.

American Thinker , 13 Oct 2008 . Web. 26 Mar 2010.