He has always been a little man.
Posted on 10/30/2026 12:01:42 PM PDT by Rummyfan
The endless cries of creeping fascism from the Left have become exhausting, particularly when progressives keep reminding us that their problem isn't authoritarianism itself, but who gets to wield the authority.
The most recent example? Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor under Bill Clinton - a man who routinely warns about fascism - advocating for the government to seize control of private companies.
Reich wants a Democrat-controlled government to cut off Elon Musk's government contracts and prepare to nationalize SpaceX and Starlink if they regain power. In the spirit of Marx himself, Reich wants the state to take ownership of Musk's lucrative companies.
The thinly-veiled democratic socialist also proposes a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires. The solution to all our societal ills is to apparently empower wealthy Washington politicians to go shopping in someone else's wallet.
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He has always been a little man.
Unfortunately the Trump administration has bought shares in more than 40 companies. Socialism under another name.
Every president has “helped” private companies, in some form. Grants, loans, preferred treatment/bias, etc.
Would you rather have a Solyndra forgiveness or a stock the went low, for what was more beneficial to the government, when a company crashed? What was the government going to profit if Solyndra did really well, with all the other solar use subsidies thrown at it to help the market?
fascists seek to subordinate all individual and economic interests to the total power of a dictator.
They can be left wing like communist or right wing like Mussolini.
Most of the left claim that communism isn’t fascist because of its supposed “goals”, but that supposed goal is not how to judge a government, it is how its implemented. And communism always has a dictator at the top who subordinates all individual and economic interests to his power (such as Putin)
I think I got the above from a Websters Dictionary published in something like 1920. Here are later definitions:
1959 Websters New School & Office Dictionary
"Fascism; A centralized system of government which exercises absolute control over industry, and advocates strong national policies, regulates all news and suppresses opposition."
The definition was updated in the 1960s, probably to make it a more useful debate tool against "The Right".
1968 Websters New World College Dictionary
"Fascism; A system of government characterized by rigid one party dictatorship, forcible suppression of opposition, private economic enterprise under centralized government control, belligerent nationalism, racism, and militarism,especially from the right."
This is why Democrats have always helped corporations get really big by gobbling up others - It makes it easier to socialize the country.
I have one of those giant 10K page dictionaries from 1940. I will have to see how they explain Fascism. I know that some of the new words for the year was Blitzkrieg, among others..
Had the Ds chosen to work with him they probably would have gotten a lot more of their agenda passed. We should be happy they challenged him and pissed him off. (Sadly, you can say the same for the status quo Republicans!)
Robert Reichchchchchchchchch needs to go away. What an idiot.
Fascism is Socialism with better uniforms.
So Musk figures those things out, puts up his own money to make them happen, and then Reich and his buddies in the government just take them away? And they think they'll just keep on running without Musk?
His daddy’s picture on the wall.....
LOL...Marx on the wall, a SpaceX rocket and mini StarLink terminal, and a folder with “Federal Ownership” on it. And his book “Coming Up Short”.
Hilarious!
I DOUBT HE IS MUCH OF A MAN AT ALL
Indeed.
GOP is supposed to be the party opposed to bailouts. Trump has officially bought stock in more companies than any other president. If those companies get into trouble, Trump will have to bail them out or get criticized for crummy investments.
In principle I agree!
However here’s a question that has to be answered.
What happens when every basic technology component we need for national security is sourced from overseas? (Note I include going all the way down in chip components and REEs!)
Reich is a 4’10” smurf that somehow managed to avoid the blue skin. He was probably the least-qualified Secretary of Labor in the history of this Republic. John Kenneth Galbraith (6’7”), head of the Council of Economic advisors under Kennedy, said he “never looked up to another economist”. I wonder if he had Reich in mind...
Notice his book in the background: “Coming up Short” and the picture of Marx. The guy’s a twit.
These companies are so complicated that bungling bureaucrats at Commerce can’t keep up. Commerce Department ain’t Wall Street! Better for president to pressure other countries (China) directly for our national security needs —with tariffs or other sanctions. Free market eventually will solve the scarce resource problem — for example, companies are finding rare earths everywhere. Not rare anymore!
Agree about the existence of bungling bureaucrats in Commerce.
However they are not the whole problem. There’s been a fundamental change in how we do the free market. If its cheaper to design and make a chip, electronic component, etc. in a foreign land it will be made there. We have gone from a producing a “thing” economy to a “knowledge” production economy. We produce the “knowledge” on how to build the “thing” and its built elsewhere. Don’t kid yourself but the “knowledge” is “exported” too. For example go to China to cut a manufacturing deal. They will say - “thank you but we want the “soup-to-nuts understanding of the technology” or no deal! The cheaper manufacturing costs are too compelling so the deal is made. Soon the US company is competing against its own product but made cheaper. I watched this happen in Telcom. None of this is good for national security!
I agree government intervention in some fashion to counter this is not very Milton Friedman!
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