A recent Gallup poll is simply incredible. Thirty-six percent of Americans have a positive image of socialism, including 53 percent of Democrats. Just 17 percent of Republicans think socialism is good.
Now, socialism is the exact opposite of capitalism, which is our system in America. A socialist believes the government has a right to control and/or seize private property and regulate the distribution of goods and services.
That means the government has all the power. You have none. Can you say Fidel Castro? And 53 percent of Democrats think that's a positive thing? It's hard to believe.
Gallup boss Frank Newport says his company did not define socialism when it asked the question. Therefore Gallup believes that some of the respondents simply don't know what socialism is, and that is certainly possible.
In Western Europe, there are countries that have a hybrid kind of socialism: very high taxation, redistribution of wealth, but they don't seize private property outright. In Cuba, Venezuela and China, the government can seize anything and shoot you if you don't like it.
So let's be kind and say many Americans simply don't know what true socialism is.
Even so, the poll is disturbing because there is a trend right now by the Obama administration to expand the federal government and to redistribute wealth. Those are socialist tenets. No question about it.
Some Obama critics contend that he is a socialist, but we can find no evidence of that. Mr. Obama likes his property, and I don't believe he wants to seize my house.
However, there are people like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont who do, and those people are stalwarts in the Democratic Party.
It is long past time for Americans to wake up. The far left in this country wants to diminish personal power and impose social justice on the nation. They want to erode our personal freedoms in order to right what they consider wrongs brought about by capitalism.
"Talking Points" believes that will not happen, and the more exposure this quasi-socialism deal gets, the more Americans will reject it.
America was founded on hard work, personal responsibility and honest achievement. The feds are there to protect us from outside danger and to make sure the system does not embrace corruption.
Socialism has no place in the USA. Period.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
Wednesday night on CNN, Vice President Biden was asked about Sarah Palin:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Sarah Palin...
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I like her.
KING: ...wanted your job.
BIDEN: Yes, but you know, everybody...
KING: You like her?
BIDEN: I do. I like her. She's an engaging person. She's a great personality. I don't agree with what she says. My sense is that Sarah — Governor Palin appeals to a group of people who are genuinely frustrated, feel disenfranchised, are very conservative — not all of them.
KING: Tea Party people.
BIDEN: Tea Party people. But beyond that, she has appeal behind that as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
All right. For taking the high road, Mr. Biden is a patriot.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots"!
On the pinhead front, an unbelievable situation. Listen to this criticism of President Obama by Sarah Palin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN: They know we're at war, and to win that war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, some guy named Charles Ogletree, a Harvard professor, says Governor Palin's statement may be racist. The professor statement may be racist because it implies the president is uppity. Can you believe this? Professor Ogletree is a pinhead, and I apologize if I'm a racist for calling him professor. Scary.
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