"I'm not much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower" - funny line, but not true by any stretch

[wyldwolf]

For the record, it's true that the top marginal income tax rate under Eisenhower was 90 percent, and the effective tax rate for the top 0.01 percent of earners in the last year of Eisenhower's term was an astronomical-by-today's standards 71.4 percent. On other measures by which socialism is defined in U.S. politics, though, Ike was probably not on Sanders' level; he opposed single-payer health care and, while more moderate than the modern Republican party on a number of issues, was apparently known for appointing millionaires to his Cabinet. (Eisenhower also had to work with a Democratic Congress during most his term and said that all things being equal he would have personally preferred lower tax rates.)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/11/14/bernie_sanders_on_dwight_eisenhower_taxes_and_socialism.html

Like the meme often passed around on 'progressive' message boards that Nixon was more liberal than Clinton/Obama/etc., it simply isn't true.

[arcane1]

1. Progressives get humor more than non-progressives.

I got the joke.

[leveymg]

2. You half made the point you're arguing against and the rest is gibberish.

Fail as rhetoric. Fail at countering fact with meme. Try again.

[jeff47]

3. The Interstate highway system says "Hi"

And would like to remind you it's called the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System.

Just as one example that the author doesn't seem to know about.

[jfern]

4. On the top marginal income tax rate he was

And he did warn of the military industrial complex getting too much power.

[DemocraticWing]

5. It's fair to say Ike was more conservative than we let on.

He didn't seem to care about going for the full measures needed on Civil Rights, and was known to hang out with the wealthy and generally not know about the extent of poverty in America.

I think Eisenhower was a good President overall, but he wasn't a liberal.

[ibegurpard]

6. Awww...

Someone has a sad the third-way candidate can't even match up to a Republican of yore?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

7. Keep running right, dude

Paul Eddie Munster Ryan and Bitch McConnell really won't have to lift a finger. The erosion of the left will be done by us when we concede ground on day one of any negotiation.

By the way, Nixon did propose universal health care. Awful, awful man, but facts are facts.