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Joe Scarborough gave his best attempt to get former governor John Hickenlooper to say he is a Capitalist. Hickenlooper though awkward in his response initially, finally got it right after Scarborough badgered him several times.
Republicans have already telegraphed how they intend to run against Democrats. They will associate them with the Socialist moniker and then equate socialism with the economic collapse of Venezuela and Cuba. Democrats in the know do not have the time nor does the Right want to note the reality of why those economies collapsed.
When Scarborough asked Hickenlooper if he was capitalist several times he seemed to change the subject or give a nuanced answer that never plays well on Right Wing programs. He meandered but finally when Joe asked if he is a Capitalist and if Capitalism works, he answered cogently.
Hickenlooper pointed out that Capitalism was not working for most Americans. He said a change was needed. He did not say Democratic Socialism, but at least he acknowledged socialism was not working.
It’s not only Right Wing networks playing the Capitalism-pledge game. MSNBC and CNN alike are parading pundits admonishing the Democratic Party for moving left. My contention, of course, is that both Republicans and Democrats have been shifting rightward for decades with Reagan and DLC Clinton. Interestingly, even MSNBC’s Chuck Todd took a backhanded subliminal swipe on the left that portends how they will continue to cover the left in a negative light.
Democrats must heed what we said in the article “A move to the center is a continued fraud on Americans.”
Progressives must disregard all calls to move to the center. The status quo is not sustainable and will continue
to screw the poor and the middle-class.The traditional mainstream media are giving Republicans a lot of airtime and print space. They are using that windfall to inflict an unwarranted fear into many Democrats advising them that a leftward move is detrimental. …
It is imperative that we continue to tell Americans issue by issue how we intend to make life better for them. But most importantly we need to make the truthful case that our current economic model is a clear and present danger to the personal economy and well-being of most. A move to the center is a continued fraud on Americans.
Recently Dr. Eddie Claude Jr. appeared on NBC’s This Week and made the most prescient statements.
I think part of what’s happening is that the traditional spectrum of our politics has changed,” Professor Glaude said. “Often times the categories, Progressive, Conservative, Centrist might not actually map on to what’s happening on the ground. It’s much more complicated, much more fluid.”
“I think the idea of expanding the pie and dividing the pie,” the Professor continued. “… Most Progressives are thinking that the expansion of the pie involves the top one percent, the top one-tenth percent, taking all of the expansion. We have to address fundamentally that the economy is not working for everyday ordinary folk in a way that it should.”
“Markets don’t determine what we value,” Dr. Glaude said.
“The markets reflect what we value. And it is not about rejecting capitalism as such. It’s about building a society that reflects the value of every everyday ordinary people in our society. And I think that argument has to be had.”
Democrats must not cower. Tell Americans how you are going to make their lives better. Soon they will equate any moniker given you by the Republicans to these issues. And in that they will notice the GOP has no answers, they’ve already given away the store to the wealthy, the Oligarchy, the Plutocracy.
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