Clinton: Nobody's seen a Communist in years

[limpyhobbler]

Former President Bill Clinton pushed back against the charge that President Obama and his fellow Democrats are card-carrying members of the Communist Party — telling supporters Monday that "nobody's seen a communist in over a decade" and chastizing a freshman Republican for name-calling.

Invoking the specter of Communist-hunter Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Clinton blasted Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), who in April said that he could identify 80 members of the U.S. House who were Communists — pointing to a caucus of House liberals when pressed for evidence.

"This is not the 1950s! At least Joe McCarthy could skate on the premise that there were still one or two living communists walking around. Nobody’s seen a communist in over a decade!" Clinton said in New York City, with Obama at one of three fundraisers.

Obama, Clinton said, has accomplished a great deal in the face of such GOP opposition — running the country "under unimaginably difficult circumstances.”
...

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/06/clinton-nobodys-seen-a-communist-in-years-125252.html

[xfundy]

1. Ah, but there are communists!

Their slaves make just about everything available for sale in the USA. Especially sheetrock/wallboard.

By our giving them our manufacturing jobs, the communists have won.

Not meant to disparage Clinton, at all. Likely best president in my lifetime.

[limpyhobbler]

2. He has the charisma thing.

You think he would remember them since he worked so hard to get permanent favored trade status with China and fought to get them admitted to the WTO.

Or maybe he just doesn't count them as communists. They might be more like state-capitalists or something.

One thing for sure, he is good at politics.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Perhaps he was referring to US Communists

who seem to have faded away after their perennial presidential candidate, Gus Hall, died in 2000.

[RZM]

6. That's 'Comrade Gus Hall' to you

A friend once showed me a Romanian document detailing Ceaucescu's trip to the US in the 1970s. He made sure to put in some face time with Comrade Hall while he was here.

[Scootaloo]

5. China's not communist

China is actually one of the strongest examples of free-market capitalism there is currently. Slave labor, coal lung, and dessication all included!

[RZM]

7. It's definitely not a communist country

Hardly anybody bothers arguing that it is anymore. They jettisoned the economics, but retained the authoritarianism.

[Johonny]

20. Not so much free market capitalism

as the state does a lot to pump money into the economy. In theory China should have tight economic regulated economy, in practice since one party rule tends to be easily corrupted it doesn't.

[wial]

12. For all my frustration with Obama

I still think he's miles beyond Clinton -- although when I got to shake Bill's hand in '92, I did get the feeling his heart glowed as bright and warm as ET's. On the other hand, I saw Obama's grin from the back of a limo as he saw all us ordinary people walking under overpasses after a rally in Milwaukee, and *that* was like the sun coming out.

In any case, I look forward to the day when we realize Stalin was a right wing thug leading right wing thugs, because military dictatorship is by definition right wing, and true communists were just the idealist hippies of their day. Pete Seger, Woody Guthrie, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin ... not such a bad bunch, right?

What we need now though is neither a communist nor a DLC neo-liberal like Clinton or Obama -- just a good old fashioned Keynesian with a trick up his/her sleeve for getting Congress to spend some money and get the ball rolling again.

Maybe for 2016 we should all get together and force Paul Krugman to be president, whether he goes bitey badger on us or not.

Or any one of us could do it, picking up on Krugman's tongue in cheek suggestion, by cleverly and convincingly faking signs of an impending alien invasion. That would get spending going and fast, or it should, if the republicans don't block that too!

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. I kinda like it.

Its true, the Republicans are after communists in the state-side scene. And they don't exist. Dems like Obama are free market supporters, they just don't stand for total collapse of the government, total anarchy in the name of adjustable rate mortgages. Those who do stand against Obama support a radical new form of government, totally controlled by demonic corporate masters without corporate interference. Calling them "communist" is quite a stretch of the word.

[ErikJ]

8. They always use the Commy word in debates.

So I always say, "The COLD WAR IS OVER OLD-TIMER!!" That usually shuts em up for awhile.

[Jamaal510]

9. Republicans know very well PBO isn't a communist.

They know that there are no communists in the Democratic Party. Republicans like Alien West just play the Commy Card to get in the heads of their moronic base.

[DonCoquixote]

10. ya know Bill

I know youa re used to healing with the same hand you slap with.. I will even admit no one does it better than you, but can you please please avoid throwing interceptions like the bloody "don't attack Bain" BS?

[Comrade_McKenzie]

11. How unfortunate. ;-) nt

[limpyhobbler]

13. They must have found a great hiding spot somewhere.

[Starry Messenger]

14. We're up 1000 new members this year.

He's probably met members, he just didn't know it. No one wears special capes or anything.

[limpyhobbler]

15. Some people do.

(I googled commie capes)

[Starry Messenger]

16. I must be getting old--I'm wishing he'd ironed it. :)

I think Clinton's comments speak to the fact that many of the things that CPUSA advanced several decades ago are now pretty mainstream, like Social Security. I just think it's funny that Politico didn't mention that they'd interviewed a Communist for a quote when they were covering the Allen West flap originally. But I guess it would have distracted from the main point.

This country has a lot of contradictions when it comes to left-wing politics.

[BOG PERSON]

17. obviously bill clinton doesn't spend much time in a certain place called THE INTERNET

[limpyhobbler]

18. LOL I guess not, nt

[Proud Liberal Dem]

19. I thought that "Socialist" was the new "Communist"

At least, that's why I thought that Republicans and right-wingers fling that word at President Obama all the time.