"You keep using that word...I do not think it means what you think it means..."

[renie408]

Republicans have learned some new words this election cycle, sadly they have not learned their actual MEANINGS. They keep throwing around 'socialism', 'Marxism', 'communism' totally inappropriately. And that damned LIBRUL media hasn't exactly been correcting them. I wonder if these words will ever go back to meaning what they actually mean after having been twisted by the GOP??

Socialism-1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

Marxism- the system of economic and political thought developed by Karl Marx, along with Friedrich Engels, esp. the doctrine that the state throughout history has been a device for the exploitation of the masses by a dominant class, that class struggle has been the main agency of historical change, and that the capitalist system, containing from the first the seeds of its own decay, will inevitably, after the period of the dictatorship of the proletariat, be superseded by a socialist order and a classless society.

Communism- a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

There are elements of all of the above currently in our government and in John McCain's plans for the US. But damned if your average JOE understands that.

[Buzz Clik]

1. Inconceivable!

[gateley]

2. Do you think we're STUPID?? nt

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. apparently the concepts are no longer taught in school

Heck, when I was in high school 40 years ago, we were required to read The Communist Manifesto and to compare the concept of Communism to what was actually going on in the USSR. We also had to read The Blue Book of the John Birch Society. Very interesting comparing/contrasting them. Personally, I think socialism is the way to go with a government--look at the countries that are tops in health care and quality of life, and you see they are socialist. We have many socialist elements in our own government. I guess the reason they don't teach about the various economic and ideological systems any more is so that they can scare the ignorant public.

[fasttense]

4. It Seams to me that the Republicans hold the definition of

Marxism closest to their heart. After all is it not G.W. Bush that espouses this same doctrine? That "This would be a heck of a lot easier if it was a dictatorship, JUST AS LONG AS I WAS THE DICTATOR". And to top it off McCain sees the world the same way, he and GWB are cut from the same cloth as is evidenced from McCain's own voting record he so proudly brags about. "I voted with the President over 90% of the time more than most of my own party members" and that they hold the same basic views on the country as a whole. Both men seam to think that the government only exists for them and their buddies to get rich. This is why McCain picked Sarah Palin with no experience. Of course I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt that I am in error on these points.

[eshfemme]

5. We need to make the MIXED MARKET a meme again

I remember learning all of this BS in school and remember that our economy was specifically described as a MIXED market. I didn't start hearing all this free market BS until I really started getting into politics and hearing the Republicans keep spouting that.

We need to refer to our economy as a MIXED market and not a FREE market. Because despite the freedoms we might have as Americans, there are still limits on them-- our right to free speech should not impinge on another person's right to life (so no hate speech). On a humorous note, George Carlin's 7 words are an apt description as to why our nation is built on the principles of moderation rather than total freedom or total anarchy. Those two extremes are the control variables while America is an ongoing experiment.

[lunatica]

6. They're keeping up their tradition of 'creating' reality

It's no different than every other twisted phraseology they use. It's Bushisms in the mouthes of Palin and McCain. 'Clear skies initiative', 'No child left behind', 'Patriot Act','enemy combatants', 'illegal alien, yada, yada.

Socialism, Communism, Marxism become what they want them to when their audience is clueless. They can make any word into a slur and have for years. Example: The word Liberal is spat out with venom and makes their audiences think of a dictatorship. Since when is a dictator or his rule liberal? Never, except in the minds of the Palin audience. Their minds are like piles of rotting compost which is the perfect fertilizer for the seeds Palin is busy planting.

[Window]

9. What lunatica said.

[jonnyblitz]

7. if you think the use of these terms is new to them this election

cycle you haven't been paying attention. they have been calling DEMS all of the above since the beginning of time.

[Aloha Spirit]

8. What we all need is a reference point. Colbert needs to find a real Communist terrorist

Muslim radical to interview. Just so we know what that would really look like.

[JohnMcCant2008]

10. Repubs don't need actual meanings. They create a language which most of their sheep, um, I mean

followers, are too ignorant or lazy or sheepish to even try and understand. They feel important by the mere fact that they can even pronounce words like socialism or Marxism - to hell with actual definitions.