Open Thread: Revisiting Obama's 'Socialist' Roots
By NB Staff | February 02, 2011 | 10:47
In the latest series of the Hoover Institution's fantastic webshow "Uncommon Knowledge", Peter Robinson interviews author and National Review contributor Stanley Kurtz about his new book "Radical in Chief". The book explores Barack Obama's history as a leftist community organizer. Kurtz contends that Obama is, in fact, a socialist, though he admits that the term "socialist" has changed in meaning over the past few decades (hence the quotation marks in the headline).
Check out the first segment of the interview below the jump, and give us your thoughts.
This is only part one of five, so make sure you head over to NRO for the rest of the interview.
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Comments
WOW, someone researched Obama's past.
Submitted by needle on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:09am.
Is that legal? Still?
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Let's stop beating around the bush when it comes to Obama
Submitted by Dave. on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:24am.
The man is a COMMUNIST.
Pure and simple.
I do not understand why so many are so afraid of the "C" word - particularly when it comes to describing Obama.
-Dave
As an engineer....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:32am.
I tend to focus on details, so let me say that, more precisely, he is a Marxist. He is not content to have the gov't redistribute wealth and control the economy. He needs to rewrite history to support his convoluted view of "fairness and equality" for all - except the ruling class, of course.
Obama
Submitted by Gothampc on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:40pm.
I can't quite figure Obama out. Why was he for bailing out Wall Street? Does he admit that wealthy Wall street execs can be useful to him?
It's interesting that Wall Street was always spun as a bastion of white Republicans. But having worked with Wall Street execs, I know that they support whatever party will benefit them in the immediate political climate.
The Financial community was
Submitted by celator on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 1:47pm.
The Financial community was his biggest campaign contributor (as a group). He owes them whatever promises were made to them at the time. Goldman Sachs tops that list. Oddly enough his biggest campaign contributor was--get this--the University of California. Who knew?
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638
It is time to slam back
Submitted by ricklail on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:26am.
I am not a big fan of Chik-fil-a but my wife and grandkids love it. My 2-1/2 year old gandson calls it Chik-a- lay. I will take them and eat there when they ask. In all honesty I am not crazy about chicken sandwiches. The waffle fries are good.
I am going to start eating there more oftren just because the left has decided to make them a target becuase of the owner's Christian beliefs. That is the best way I know how to shut them up.
chick-fil-a
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:38am.
You should try the chicken nuggets(they come in an 8-count or 12-count).
I'm not a big fan of the sandwiches either, but you are right about the fries. And the nuggets are really tasty. Like I said in a different post regarding this, their honey mustard sauce and their barbecue sauce with the chicken make my taste buds jump for joy.
And those nuggets beat the hell out of McNuggets or Wendy's Chicken nuggets, the breading on the Chic-fil-A nuggets are real light. Sometimes I like to get those and mix them with fettucini alfredo as opposed to the plain chicken alfredo.
Dang, now I'm getting hungry.
-Jon
Speaking of chicken
Submitted by celator on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 1:57pm.
Speaking of chicken franchises, Church's Chicken was, from 2004-2009, a company owned by Arcapita, an Islamic venture capital firm. They posthaste got rid of the pork products, and any other meat not Halal, I reckon. Pretty funny story. Who knew?
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Church%27s_Chicken
The details of.....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:27am.
...what some of us knew in our hearts....especially those of us who live in or have lived in and around Chicago for any period of time. "The City That Works" produces a particular type of politician.
Our having a socialist President starts with our socialist MSM
Submitted by needle on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:33am.
"There was really no serious effort to vet Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign."
Should be: There was a really serious effort to not vet Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign.
When it came out that Obama categorically wasted all of $150 million through the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (adumbrating the huge wasteful spending of the Stimulus Bill, etc.), the only executive experience in Zippy’s entire resume, the Liberal media left the issue completely untouched.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Seriously - what is the whole Cap and Trade law
Submitted by Fenwick on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:02pm.
... if not a way for the Federal Government to completely and permanently control the "means of production?" Isn't energy itself the most basic element of virtually every type of economic activity? IMO, every single person who wrote, promoted and/or voted for the Waxman-Markey Bill can be technically classified as a socialist.
Great stuff. Kurtz really
Submitted by jdhawk on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:19pm.
Great stuff. Kurtz really lays it all out. The question before us is what to do about it.
We must redouble our efforts to ensure that duhbama is not reelected in 2012. While that may not seem like a difficult task, it may be more difficult than it seems. How duhbama will do it is through bolstering our economy even if those efforts are through artificial means like QE 1, QE 2, and QE 3 if needed.
Meanwhile, the effect of these quantitative easings are commodity pricies going to historic highs. That, in turn, as we are seeing in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, et al, is a radicalization brought about by food and energy prices skyrocketing.
We here in the US spend about 10% of our income on food. There are many countries in the world where the average person spends 50% of their income on food for two meals a day. When food cost doubles and then triples, they are now spending 50% of their income on food, but it only buys one meal a day.
While even the above may be unintentional on the part of duhbama, the spending of the various stimulus packages to bolster the states and unions was not. It did nothing to rein in the states spending beyond their means and produced jobs tha cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars a piece and have little or no longevity.
Meanwhile, the world catches on fire due to people fed up with being unable to feed their families under regimes that favor the US, but are in themselves murdering thug dictatorships. The result is a tide of islamic radicialism that will twart the good intentions and efforts of the Bush administration to bring democracy to the middle east. Instead we are seeing conflagration after conflagration.
Obama's reelection will be assured if the Republicans put
Submitted by Rush Fan on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 1:21pm.
forth another lemon as a candidate. Lemon is defined as someone who falls into the category of a RINO or a No Label Rodney King (can't we all get along) or Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Ron Paul, Michael Bloomberg, etc.
Sarah Palin is definitely not a lemon, but she can't win, so I hope she doesn't run (or at least is not nominated). Although my favorite potential candidate, Governor Chris Christie, will not run in 2012, the Republicans must find a nominee similar to Christie in form and substance; that is, a tough SOB who believes that the definition of compromise is when the left is forced to come over to our side. Oherwise it will be Barack Obama in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
→ In Other Words
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 1:20pm.
Rubio or Christie.
I'll knock on doors for either one. This Texan's dang partial to the big guy though.
Palin can't win ... and
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Thu, 02/03/2011 - 1:19am.
Palin can't win ... and neither could Reagan. We need to put forth the best candidate, not the one believed to win. We need to run the race an run to win, not come in second place. Hopefully we will choose the best and the one who can win. I am tired of holding my nose and being told that some yahoo is the most electable and losing.
in any case win or lose God will make sure we get what we deserve.
Dear Stanley
Submitted by Gothampc on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:48pm.
You're full of crap. There are two things that made me know that Obama was not fit to be POTUS.
During the debate with Rick Warren:
"When does life begin?"
"That's above my pay grade."
This illustrated that we have a candidate who was too immature to realize that there is nothing above the pay grade of the President of the United States.
We now see this lazy attitude in Obama where all he does is get on an airplane and go around and bow to dictators.
AND
The Joe the Plumber incident. If nothing else should have sent up a red flag, when a political candidate is talking about spreading the wealth around, that candidate needs to be marginalized and treated like an enemy of the USA.
→ Gotham
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:54pm.
I agree.
For me it was Obama's vociferous resistance to the Illinois version of the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act".
Barack Obama couldn't even decide, based on the testimony of Jill Stanek, if a suffering baby on a shelf qualified as a human being.
I'm with Rick Santorum on that one. How can Obama, a black man, deny the humanity of another human being?
Sometimes it is better to bring a knife to a gunfight
Submitted by SickofLibs on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:55pm.
3 dead, 8 injured, 29 run away.
Go Gurkhas.
BHO has repeated over and over-
Submitted by JIMMY1660 on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 12:57pm.
"judge me by those i surround myself with"
Marxists/Maoists/Leninists/Socialists-
in all his cabinet posts/czar posts
what are we to think?
or i forgot-bill ayers
They just won't go away
Submitted by ricklail on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 1:11pm.
Gov. Dumpling has appointed Bob "Who are you?" Etheridge as the new stimulus Czar for NC.
Bye Bye NYT!
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 2:42pm.
Rupert Murdoch is dancing on your grave at a cost of 14 cents a day.
Opens first iPad Newspaper.
If it weren't for Barack Obama's great success in Egypt today, NewsCorp would get top billing. I guess Real Americans still hope Obama succeeds.
Charlotte BBQ?
Submitted by ricklail on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 4:45pm.
Mooochele says that Charlotte has great BBQ. Really? Where? I lived in that area for 45 years. If I wanted BBQ I went to Bridges in Shelby or RO's in Gastonia. I never went to Charlotte for BBQ. Did not go there for fish either. You can get something they call BBQ in Lexington which is about 60 mile or so up I-85 from Charlotte. They have the nerve to call the stuff around here BBQ. They mention Wilber's in Goldsboro. Eat there ONE time. That was it for me. Back west we BBQed the shoulders and hams over hickory coals. Down here they throw the whole hog and cook it with gas. Then they bast is with vinegar sauce. Vinegar is for greens and salads not hogs. Everybody knows that parts of the hog are for sausage and pork chops. Anyway, Moochele has no idea what she is talking about Charlotte BBQ because there is no such thing.
What do ya expect from a
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Thu, 02/03/2011 - 1:25am.
What do ya expect from a yankee who is not proud of her country.
Just the facts, please.......
Submitted by Herbster on Thu, 02/03/2011 - 12:44am.
Politics: Marxist. Religion: Statist. Place of birth: NOT the U.S.A. Mentors: Leftist professors, George Soros. Friends/Associates: Marxists. Goal in life: To bring down the United States and re-create it on the Marxist model.
Summary statement: "You are known by the company you keep." 'Nuff said.