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Posted on 02/19/2020 4:20:30 AM PST by Kaslin
Bernie Sanders leads the race for the Democratic nomination.
He may become America's first self-described "democratic socialist" president.
What does that mean?
Today, when Sanders talks about socialism, he says: "I'm not looking at Cuba. I'm looking at countries like Denmark and Sweden."
But Denmark and Sweden are not socialist. Denmark's prime minister even came to America to refute Sanders' claims, pointing out that "Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy."
Both Denmark and Sweden do give citizens government-run health care and have bigger welfare programs than America has. However, recently, they've moved away from socialism. Because their socialist policies killed economic growth, they cut regulations and ended government control of many industries.
Sanders probably doesn't know that. He, like many young people, just loves the idea of socialism.
For my new video this week, Stossel TV producer Maxim Lott went through hours of Sanders' old speeches. What he found reveals a lot about what Sanders believes.
When Sanders was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he went out of his way to defend Fidel Castro. "He educated the kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society!" Fortunately, Sanders added, "Not to say Fidel Castro or Cuba are perfect."
No, they are not perfect. Castro's government tortured and murdered thousands. By confiscating private property, they destroyed the island's economy. Life got bad enough that thousands died trying to escape.
Even now in Cuba, most people try to live on less than $2 a day.
Sanders focuses on other things, like: "They did a lot to eliminate illiteracy!"
Sanders has long had a soft spot for socialist countries. He chose to honeymoon in Communist Russia, where he said people "seem reasonably happy and content." He was "extremely impressed by their public transportation system... cleanest, most effective mass transit system I've ever seen in my life!"
He praised Soviet youth programs: "Cultural programs go far beyond what we do in this country."
He did at least qualify his support, calling the Soviet government "authoritarian."
But Sanders made no such criticism after Nicaragua's socialist revolution. He praised the Sandinistas' land "reform" because they were "giving, for the first time in their lives, real land to farmers so that they can have something that they grow. Nobody denies that they are making significant progress."
Former landowners sure denied it. They'd had their land stolen. Sanders suggested that was OK because landowners are rich.
"Rich people, who used to have a good life there, are not terribly happy," he said. "As a socialist, the word socialism does not frighten me... (P)oor people respect that."
What about the hunger and poverty that socialism creates? Bernie had an odd take on that.
"American journalists talk about how bad a country is because people are lining up for food. That's a good thing! In other countries people don't line up for food; the rich get the food and the poor starve."
After he said he was "impressed" by Sandinista leaders, Sanders added, "Obviously I will be attacked by every editorial writer in the free press for being a dumb dupe."
I join them.
Bernie Sanders is indeed a "dumb dupe" about economics. Or as the Soviet Communists used to put it, "a useful idiot."
Under Ortega's rule, Nicaragua quickly fell further into poverty, and the socialists were voted out in 1990. Ortega later returned as a violent dictator. For most people in Nicaragua, Cuba and other centrally planned economies, life is hell.
Once Sanders was elected to Congress, he mostly stopped praising violent socialist revolutions.
At that time, Communist governments in Europe were collapsing. It was convenient for embarrassed former supporters of those governments to rebrand themselves.
In Congress, Sanders would call himself an independent and, in the estimation of his fellow Vermonter, former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, he "votes with the Democrats 98% of the time."
But Sanders has never taken back the enthusiastic praise he gave to socialist regimes.
“I’m not looking at Cuba. I’m looking at countries like Denmark and Sweden.”
Our population looks more like that of Cuba or Venezuela.
There’s an element throughout history that venerates these reckless, discontented firebrands.
Even though the historic record establishes the years and miles of blood, waste, destruction, violence and human suffering these ‘Robespierre’, malcontents of the world leave in their wake.
Agreed.
But he picked a bad time to start a socialist revolution.
Could have beaten a jeb bush. Or some other flake.
Trump will hit back and hard.
Bernie couldn’t run the California utility company PG&E and not make it worse.
People have the right to project they’re stupidity onto others.
Many College professors get paid to do it.
The first thing Lenin and his gang of thugs did upon taking power was to arrest all those who spoke against the previous government. The theory was they spoke out once, they could do it again.
The gulags were full of politicians academics, writers and poets where they could mentally indulge their Socialist fantasies.
Yeah, Denmark!
They’ve no more AM radio (not in their cars anymore, less and less FM, going hard to satellite radio, for control), those doing well pay over 50% in fed income tax, they pay 100% tax on a car purchase.
They drink excessively often often do “barf and start again”), most get work and personal supplemental health insurance because their ‘free’ gov healthcare sucks, their men go to soccer games without family because the go to “get their anger out” and they have high alcoholism, depression and beastiality rates.
And our MSM calls Denmark “the happiest country on earth”. That’s a lie.
“Bernie Sanders is indeed a “dumb dupe” about economics.“
I don’t know...his wife gets a healthy cut of all his campaign’s ad spending.
He’s nothing but a POS COMMIE!
Arresting and re educating the people who vote conservative is what Bernies camp has already advocated and have planned if they win
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Bernie is a symptom, not a cause.
He exists because for the first time since the early 20th. century this country now has a large, robust and growing constituency that wants socialism.
It’s a battle we’re going to be fighting for many years into the future.
We went there for a week once, thank god the hotel had a nice, "free" breakfast because buying even the most basic food would break the bank. I think McDonalds (for 4) set us back $65 so you can imagine what the rest of the meals cost. We rode the ferris wheel in the city center and IIRC correctly it was about $50 for one ride (for 4).
Aside from the center of the city, it was very North Korea like. Super clean and super quiet, probably because no one can afford to leave the house.
The most votes that Burnme can get is probably 35 percent. He won’t get any conservative votes and he’s got resistance in the Rat party. Plus the independent voters will most likely go to Trump. Burnme’s base are a bunch of lowlifes who want to steal their neighbors stuff.
Without a doubt... unless Sanders if focusing on his home state of Vermont.
“cleanest, most effective mass transit system I’ve ever seen in my life!” ......................... Has he ever been to Japan? LOL, I guess you really don’t have to go far from NYC to find one? I thought the one in Montreal was clean, but that was many years ago. I rode the same Brooklyn - Manhattan Transit trains as Bernie, with the stench of urine and the graffiti on their outer shell. Moscow isn’t NYC, the Russians had their form of law and order to keep their subway clean. If you stepped out of line, you paid for it with some unhappy jail time. If the system was built during Stalin’s time, it was built as the Party’s show case, for the Party, by workers, like the ones who built the White Sea - Baltic Canal. Burlington VT has no subway, he should have stayed in NYC and ran for mayor to clean up the BMT. It’s still hasn’t changed much.
“Cradle to Grave”
No,
I don’t think so.
Its the old "Potemkin Village" again.
“...cleanest, most effective mass transit system I’ve ever seen in my life!”
Russia’s. Um...what do their cops do to those that misbehave, Bernie? Hmm?
Tell our Millennials how socialist and communist countries administer their laws and punish lawbreakers, Bernie. Please do.
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