Comments on: Wither The Republican Party?

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:50:42 +0000

Fred,

I think your original article is great — insightful historical compare/contrast, moderate tone, intelligent from start to finish. I’m bummed to see you engage with corvousier, who’s comments display the exact opposite qualities — wrong conclusions, immoderate/accusatory tone. Personally, I would have simply left his post without comment — let the readers judge for themselves which author offers the more realistic and valuable point of view.
\Jim
Los Altos

By: corvousier

corvousier — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:18:44 +0000

I probably have more understanding than you of what socialism is because, I LIVED for 28 years. I bet you pseude-intellectuals think you know better than enybody else because you have read some books.
Let me know when you are capable to measure “greed”. I really want to know how “evil” a person can be based in your “greedmeter”. Under socialism, the lack of “greed” brings poverty to everybody. The big problem with socialism is that once you get there, who is goin to “check and supervise” the goverment? If you think politicians will give back that power, think again.
Are you sure what you said about the USSR? I can give you several poits to show you they were a socialist nation. Starting with the means of production in the hands of the goverment. Wealth distribution based in need, etc, etc, etc. You think Stalin, Breznev, Honecker, Causescu, Tito, et al weren’t dictators? They also kill national SOCIALISTS (you know ,NAZIS), etc.
I hope you know nazis were a socialist party as well as italian fascist and spanish falangists were all some flavor of socialism mixed with nationalism.
I also can give you some lessons about our neighbor 90 miles south of key west. I can give you a tour down there. But with one condition, you have to stay away from tourist hotels and live and eat like any cuban. I’ll give you less than a month before you become capitalist at hart

By: Fred Stopsky

Fred Stopsky — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:47:45 +0000

Winston Churchill supported national health insurance for his nation.
You apparently don’t have any understanding of socialism or its historical development. Theodore Roosevelt hated socialism but he understood modern capitalism could not be based on greed and unchecked and unsupervised capitalism.
How about reading a book about socialism. No European socialist nation ever became a dictatorship. Europe today benefits from socialist ideas about providing a base of economic support for people. I am waiting for your ignorant remark that the USSR was a socialist nation. When the Red army entered eastern Europe in 1944, the first people they killed were leaders of local socialist parties.

By: corvousier

corvousier — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:37:55 +0000

Well, a hundred years ago, nobody knew what a socialist society looks like. A hundred years late everybody knows what a failure they are.
Since you like to cite Churchill in your mission statement, let Churchill answer some of your liberal ideas:
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
or another one:
“Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon.”
or yet another one(this one one of my favorites):
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.”