You could almost hear "How dare he!" being uttered by the left-wing establishment when Politico reported April 9 that a Republican congressman identified a specific number of "socialists" in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a speech he gave at his home district, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., the ranking Republican, Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) counterpart, on the House Banking Committee, said there were 17 socialists among him and his colleagues in the House.
Some in the media were also disturbed by Bachus' remarks and expressed dismay on MSNBC April 10. Emily Heil, a frequent guest on MSNBC and "Heard on the Hill" columnist for Roll Call, expressed her shock that Bachus would use "socialist" for a description of some members of Congress. MSNBC's Peter Alexander asked Heil what sort of backlash Bachus might face.
...more (w/video)...
The reaction to my former congressman Spencer Bachus naming socialist in the House of Representatives from lefties seems way over the top...
Socialism in America...http://www.sovereignty.net/center/socialists.htm
Socialism in America
Socialism in America is alive, well, and growing. Aided by such influential Congressmen as John Conyers, Ranking Member of the House Judicial Committee, David Bonior, the pit-bull-dog who successfully whipped Newt, Maxine Waters, the President’s outspoken defender in the impeachment debates, and nearly 60 other Representatives, socialism is advancing in America behind the “Progressive” label. Here are a few excerpts taken directly from the web page of the Democratic Socialists of America. (Italicized emphasis provided)
“The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States, and the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International. DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly socialist presence in American communities and politics.
“At the root of our socialism is a profound commitment to democracy, as means and end. We are activists committed not only to extending political democracy but to demanding democratic empowerment in the economy, in gender relations, and in culture. Democracy is not simply one of our political values but our means of restructuring society. Our vision is of a society in which people have a real voice in the choices and relationships that affect the entirety of our lives. We call this vision democratic socialism - a vision of a more free, democratic and humane society.
We are socialists because we reject an international economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, race and gender discrimination, environmental destruction, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo.
We are socialists because we share a vision of a humane international social order based both on democratic planning and market mechanisms to achieve equitable distribution of resources, meaningful work, a healthy environment, sustainable growth, gender and racial equality, and non-oppressive relationships.”
Here is what “Liberty” looks like to a socialist:
“A democratic commitment to a vibrant pluralist life assumes the need for a democratic, responsive, and representative government to regulate the market, protect the environment, and ensure a basic level of equality and equity for each citizen. In the 21st century, such regulation will increasingly occur through international, multilateral action. But while a democratic state can protect individuals from domination by inordinately powerful, undemocratic transnational corporations, people develop the social bonds that render life meaningful only through cooperative, voluntary relationships. Promoting such bonds is the responsibility of socialists and the government alike.
“The social welfare programs of government have been for the most part positive, if partial, responses to the genuine social needs of the great majority of Americans. The dismantling of such programs by conservative and corporate elites in the absence of any alternatives will be disastrous. Abandoning schools, health care, and housing, for example, to the control of an unregulated free market magnifies the existing harsh realities of inequality and injustice.”
The action agenda posted on the socialists’ web site very closely parallels Agenda 21, and the recommendations of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. The web site boasts the creation of the “Progressive Caucus” in Congress, as well as the coalition that is working to promote the socialist agenda in Congress.
Congressional Members of the
Progressive Caucus
Rep Earl Hilliard (AL-07)
Rep Eni Faleomavaega (AS-AL)
Rep Ed Pastor (AZ-02)
Rep Lynn C Woolsey (CA-06)
Rep George Miller (CA-07)
Rep Nancy Pelosi (CA-08)
Rep Fortney “Pete” Stark (CA-13)
Rep Henry A. Waxman (CA-29)
Rep Xavier Becerra (CA-30)
Rep Julian C. Dixon (CA-32)
Rep Esteban Edward Torres (CA-34)
Rep Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Rep George E. Brown (CA-42)
Rep Bob Filner (CA-50)
Rep Diane DeGette (CO-01)
Rep Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL)
Rep Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Rep Carrie P. Meek (FL-17)
Rep Alcee L. Hastings (FL-23)
Rep Cynthia A. McKinney (GA-04)
Rep John Lewis (GA-05)
Rep Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)
Rep Patsy Mink (HI-02)
Rep Jesse Jackson (IL-02)
Rep Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Rep Danny Davis (IL-07)
Rep Lane Evans (IL-17)
Rep Julia Carson (IN-10)
Rep John Olver (MA-01)
Rep Jim McGovern (MA-03)
Rep Barney Frank (MA-04)
Rep John Tierney (MA-06)
Rep David Bonior (MI-10)
Rep Lynn N. Rivers (MI-13)
Rep John Conyers (MI-14)
Rep Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02)
Rep Melvin L. Watt (NC-12)
Rep Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Rep Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)
Rep Major Owens (NY-11)
Rep Nydia M. Velazquez (NY-12)
Rep Charles Rangel (NY-15)
Rep Maurice Hinchey (NY-26)
Rep John LaFalce (NY-29)
Rep Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Rep Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Rep Louis Stokes (OH-11)
Rep Sherrod Brown (OH-13)
Rep Elizabeth Furse (OR-01)
Rep Peter A. DeFazio (OR-04)
Rep Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Rep William Coyne (PA-14)
Rep Carlos A. Romero-Barcelo (PR-AL)
Rep Robert C. Scott (VA-03)
Rep Bernard Sanders (VT-AL)
Rep James A. McDermott (WA-07)
Progressive Coalition supporting socialist agenda
Americans for Democratic Action
Campaign for America’s Future
Campaign for New Priorities
Center for the Advancement of Public Policy
Center of Concern
Coalition on Human Needs
Demilitarization for Democracy
Development GAP
50 Years is Enough Network
Friends of the Earth
Fund for New Priorities in America
Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
International Labor Rights Fund
National Jobs for All Coalition
National Organization for Women
National Priorities Project
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Peace Action
Preamble Center for Public Policy
Public Citizen, email: Public Citizen
Stakeholders Alliance
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America
United for a Fair Economy
Washington Chapter Alliance for Democracy
Working Assets
Women, Law and Development
National Council of La Raza
The Campaign for Health Security
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Center for Defense Information
Council for a Livable World
Citizens for Tax Justice
U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Americans for a Sustainable Economy
National Education Association
USA Network for Habitat II
Catholic Charities
National Council of Negro Women
Center for Law and Social Policy
Witness for Peace
Children’s Defense Fund
Child Welfare League
National Black Child Development Institute
Urban League
Economic Policy Institute
Brookings Institute
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Defenders of Wildlife
Veterans for Peace
National Rainbow Coalition
AFL-CIO
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
UNITE
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
National Association of Public Hospitals
National Council of Senior Citizens
Long-Term Care Campaign
Consumer’s Union
Center for Responsive Politics
Latin American Working Group
Public Campaign
This particular coalition consists of social organizations that work hand-in-hand with other coalitions such as BIONET, CITNET, ECONET, PEACENET, the Climate Action Network (CAN), and others. All are connected through IGC-APC (Institute for Global Communications, and the Association of Progressive Communications). Virtually all of these organizations, including the Democratic Socialists of America, have web sites hosted by IGC-APC.
The policy gains that have been made in recent years on both the international and domestic fronts are largely the result of the communications capability of these organizations. Freedom.org was conceived more than five years ago to provide similar communications capability to organizations that are not socialists. The Property Rights Congress will be pioneering that new capability. Non-socialist organizations are far behind, and have much catching-up to do.
