You could almost hear "How dare he!" being uttered by the left-wing establishment when Politico reported April 9 that a Republican congressman identified a specific number of "socialists" in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a speech he gave at his home district, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., the ranking Republican, Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) counterpart, on the House Banking Committee, said there were 17 socialists among him and his colleagues in the House.
Some in the media were also disturbed by Bachus' remarks and expressed dismay on 
MSNBC April 10. Emily Heil, a frequent guest on MSNBC and "Heard on the Hill" columnist for Roll Call, expressed her shock that Bachus would use "socialist" for a description of some members of Congress. MSNBC's Peter Alexander asked Heil what sort of backlash Bachus might face.
"Sure, well I think people are going to be pressing him on this and I think it was really a surprising thing to say - to say something that sort of inflammatory with that level of specificity, with providing an actual number," Heil said.
"It implies that he is keeping a list," she continued. "And, I mean it is kind of strange. Um. One can only assume that perhaps he pulled that number out of the air and didn't really mean it. Um. I think that this is going to require some follow-up and people are going to be talking about this."
According to Heil, this is par for the course for the GOP, but that Bachus' use was different since he assigned a number to it. She then compared his remarks to McCarthyism.
"Now the word socialist has been used by Republicans to attack Democrats for awhile now," Heil said. "We specifically saw that more in the presidential campaign. But definitely congressional Republicans are using that too. But, they sort of use it in association or in a sort of vaguer way. This is the first time we've heard this sort of McCarthy-istic, you know, list of 17. It's a little bizarre."
But, as Ed Driscoll pointed out on his Pajamas Media blog on April 10, Bachus' claim pales in comparison to Newsweek's assertion we're all socialist now.
"17? That's nothing. According to Newsweek, there are exactly 435," Driscoll wrote.
The Newsweek cover story referenced by Driscoll was a brief editorial by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and former Washington bureau chief Evan Thomas. It attacked Fox News host Sean Hannity and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., for being in denial about "Socialist America."
Nonetheless, Heil and Alexander suggested Republicans are now using "socialism" maliciously.
"I mean socialism has a very specific meaning," Heil said. "But I don't think that's what people are going for when they use it. They're using, they're going for the connotation of this word and that's sort of a little more vague. So, in the context of a political attack, it's supposed to connote other things like un-American-ness or, you know secretiveness, or something that's frightening - something that's not of us."
Alexander accused the Alabama congressman of "Playing on a xenophobia of sorts," to wrap up the segment.
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Comments Policy
Socialists
April 10, 2009 - 13:21 ET by JDWIf the shoe fits...
JDW
DAILY WAVE
The government works for me, not the other way around
Socialists in congress
April 10, 2009 - 13:44 ET by grumpyoldbSocialists???? Nope... None that I can see.. Although I see a mix of several hundred Marxists, Communists, and Cowards that don't have the spine to stand up and do the right thing.... No Socialists though....
Let's hope Bacchus names, names.
April 10, 2009 - 15:32 ET by Joe BlogsPoor Emmy is going to have trouble finding shoes and a bag to match that, that,...what is that, her face? Looks like the obstetrician should have tried an episiotomy instead of Channelocks.
You can always tell a difficult vaginal birth by the mismatched eyes.
Only 17?
April 10, 2009 - 13:22 ET by Saint ZeroI was thinking there were more democrats in congress than that.
"it's supposed to connote
April 10, 2009 - 13:26 ET by Chris Norman"it's supposed to connote other things like un-American-ness or, you know secretiveness, or something that's frightening - something that's not of us."
I always thought it was a legitimate, if completely unworkable, economic theory, but if you say so...
I suppose calling them what they are is the equivalent of holding up a crucifix to a vampire.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Newflash Heil...Socialism
April 10, 2009 - 13:29 ET by bigtimerNewflash Heil...Socialism is BAD sweetheart...whether you want to face it or not...this is not the road people in this country people want to go down...a lot of us anyway.
Michelle Bachmann was roundly accused of being terrible for stating the basically the same truths that Bachus has here....we need to call him, thank him and show our support...
If we don't let congress-critters know how we feel, they may get run over by the left...especially with the msm and leftist critters that work for the print like Roll Call...I've seen Heil plenty before...I can't stand her.
Using the word 'socialism' is far more polite than the words that could be used for plenty of the members in congress...too bad the truth hurts their little sensibilities...
They cannot handle the truth....better yet, they don't want the truth getting out there.
Bachus and all like him had better not back down...we need more like him!
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Socialist or Communist?
April 10, 2009 - 13:33 ET by GeneralAlThe poor liberals On MSNBC are lucky that I'm not in Congress! I'd be calling them by their rightful names, Communists! I could care less what the nimrods think of me. I would probably be sensored for what I would say to them! I would look Barney F.. in the eyes and call him a liar. I would tell Morticia Pelosi to go to Heaven and make a U turn, John Conyers to put down his Communist Manifesto, and Henry Waxman to return to planet Earth. The problem with these MSNBC Amoebas is they "Can't handle the truth!" Danny Davis from Chicago is a Socialist as is Bobby Rush and Luis Guttierez. Thats three from the midwest. What about Maxine Waters or Lina Chavez? What about the other members of the Black Caucus who just returned from Cuba? If it talks like a commie, walks like a commie, and acts like a commie, its a commie!
Yeah, it's just scare tactics ...
April 10, 2009 - 13:36 ET by KC MulvilleFrom ABC'S This Week with George Stephanopoulos: February 15, 2009
Heil is the shill who's shouting "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." She's counter-accusing Republicans of McCarthyism, assuming that he pulled the number out of thin air. Yet we are surrounded by people who want the government to get more involved in private business.
You know what the difference is? They'll claim that it isn't socialism because we don't own the companies outright.
KC... Excellent point
April 10, 2009 - 13:47 ET by bigtimerKC...
Excellent point about good ol' Maxine.
We can't forget the oil companies either with her mouth...and Nationalization.
They are still biding their time.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Distinction
April 10, 2009 - 13:53 ET by KC MulvilleThanks, bt.
The next stage in the argument is that people will say that Sweden and nationalization are different from socialism. To which we will reply: In what significant way?
I mean, we all can see where the blog-adventure will go.
I want the last two minutes of my life back please
April 10, 2009 - 13:39 ET by katainkentMore journalistic epic fail.
The content of this broadcast only shows the conflicted ideas of it being 'ok' to be socialist. They haven't groomed the word yet to mean what they want it to mean.
Eventually it will happen.
Oh, I get it
April 10, 2009 - 13:39 ET by GalvanicHeil: "I mean socialism has a very specific meaning," Heil said. "But I don't think that's what people are going for when they use it. They're using, they're going for the connotation of this word and that's sort of a little more vague. So, in the context of a political attack, it's supposed to connote other things like un-American-ness or, you know secretiveness, or something that's frightening - something that's not of us."
So, if I understand Heil's dismay, she's not denying that there are 17 socialists in the House by the accepted definition of the term. She's only concerned that the word socialist will be 'taken out of context' to mean something 'un-American and frightening'.
I guess she has confirmed Bachus' charge. And yes, Ms. Heil, socialism -- taken IN context -- is un-American and frightening.
~This is from a book I have
April 10, 2009 - 13:43 ET by choselife3xThat was printed in the early 50's.
Parable of the Isms
Socialism: If you have two cows, you give one to your neighbor.
Communism: If you have two cows, you give them to the government and then the government gives you some milk.
Fascism: If you have two cows, you keep the cows and give the milk to the government; then the government sells you some milk.
New Dealism: If you have two cows, you shoot one and milk the other; then you pour the milk down the drain.
Nazism: If you have two cows, the government shoots you and keeps the cows.
Capitalism: If you have two cows, you sell one and buy a bull.
So Simple Even A Congressman Can Understand It.
April 10, 2009 - 13:40 ET by lareeYou might be a socialist if...fill in punch line.
http://youhavetobeth...
I think Bachus misspoke-he meant 17 communists...
April 10, 2009 - 13:46 ET by R D Helm...and 350 socialists are in the House. :-)
-Dave
This coup has gone on long enough. The time to put it down is NOW.
synopsis on reemergence of Marxist mania
April 10, 2009 - 14:00 ET by j17ghsOne of the most concise and insightful essays on the reemergence of the 1930s' Marxist mania. It's like a Reader's Digest synopsis of a very involved and complex subject.
"How the Obama revolution came to America"
http://www.aim.org/aim-report/how-obama-revolution-came-to-america/
Not heard of DSA?
April 10, 2009 - 14:54 ET by slickwillie2001This is not a sudden revelation folks. There is an organization called the Democratic Socialists of America (ca. 1982), an affiliate of Socialist Internationale, and many members of Congress are members. Bernie Sanders maintains a list of Congress's members of DSA on his website, and it is also here: http://www.tysknews.com
Again, this is nothing new. Ever few years this comes up and doesn't much go anywhere. Our average citizen is too poorly educated, moreso every year, to grasp what this means.
Wasn't Bernie Sanders a socialist??
April 10, 2009 - 14:59 ET by jdripperWhen Bernie Sanders was first elected to Congress he won election as a socialist. He then switched to Independent. While he was listed as a socialist he sat with dimocrat caucus. Why would an avowed socialist sit with the dims? Could it be that they think alike?
Jack
"If at age 20 you are a conservative then you have no heart. If at age 30 you are a liberal then you have no brains." Sir Winston Churchill
Barack Obama Endorsed Bernie Sanders -> Socialist
April 10, 2009 - 15:04 ET by Retired Geek"...To avoid being mistaken for a sellout,I chose my friends carefully.
The more politically active black students.The foreign students.The Chicanos.
The Marxist Professors and the structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.
We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets.At night,in the dorms,we discussed neocolonialism,Franz Fanon,Eurocentrism,and patriarchy.
When we ground out our cigarettes in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake,we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling constraints.We weren't indifferent or careless or insecure.We were alienated..."
Barack Obama
'DREAMS FROM MY FATHER:A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE.'
Page 100, 101
Don't forget, Barack Obama endorsed Bernie Sanders (Socialist), for the Senate.
http://www.youtube.c...
5 minutes and 4 seconds long.
I think Barack Obama, majored in Marxist Studies at Coloumbia University and that is why he and Columbia keeps his records sealed.
Rep. Bachus is being far
April 10, 2009 - 15:51 ET by celatorRep. Bachus is being far too kind.
There are certainly more than 17 socialists in Congress. What...100-150, at least. Add those numbers to the Marxists, whack job leftists who don't know what they are, Communist opportunists, the flat out crazies, drunks and womanizers, the thieves, liars and out and out crooks.
As a group, the Congress is the most despicable, untrustworthy gaggle of sorry individuals in the Nation.
Yea, we got us a problem in DC.
No citizen's right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, or property is safe as long as Obama is President of the United States.
The 4 steps
April 10, 2009 - 15:55 ET by sloerideThe Democrats repeat this charade over and over again.
Step 1, Deny: We are not socialists!
Step 2, Excuse: Well, you know, socialism isn't all that bad.
Step 3, Compare: And capitalism is evil.
Step 4, Promote: Socialism is the future!!!
Good for Bachus, but the
April 10, 2009 - 16:09 ET by ckc1227Good for Bachus, but the number is low, and they're worse than socialists, they're borderline communists. Hello, congressional black caucus anyone?
Shoe Fits and
April 10, 2009 - 20:30 ET by DelsaTRUTH HURTS
17 plus
April 10, 2009 - 20:32 ET by Delsathe entire Black Caucus!
It's about time
April 11, 2009 - 13:17 ET by SeftonBachus calling it as he sees it...Rove calling Biden a liar and blowhard...
I say, it's about time these guys put the PC crap where it belongs and start calling a spade a spade. Now they're starting to voice the frustrations of the people.
Socialism - Very specific meaning
April 12, 2009 - 08:58 ET by sdalbright67Heil made it a point to say, more than once, that Socialism has a very specific meaning. Maybe she should read out loud exactly what that meaning is so that the viewers can quickly draw the conclusion that Spencer Bachus is correct.
She is the one who is guilty of using the word as "something that's frightening".
Liberals have no problem
April 12, 2009 - 14:01 ET by rbosqueLiberals have no problem calling anyone that disagrees with them as "nazis". Well here the shoe fits. As far as I'm concerned the whole DNC is nothing but a bunch of socialists bent on destroying our way of life and making us slaves to their power and the state.