McCain enabling socialism?

President Bush said in 2004:

I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That’s what happened in the — after the 2000 election, I earned some capital. I’ve earned capital in this election — and I’m going to spend it for what I told the people I’d spend it on, which is — you’ve heard the agenda: Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror.

Given how John McCain is describing Obama’s platform, if Barack Obama wins, does that mean Americans have endorsed a shift to a socialist government? Would it be OK for Obama to spend that political capital with a filibuster-proof Congress and immediately enact Swedish-style social programs?

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »

5 replies on “McCain enabling socialism?”

  1. If Obama wins, and if he has support in both houses of Congress, then he should try to pass exactly what he’s been campaigning on. That said, anybody who really believes that 95% of Americans are going to get a tax cut is a fool. (And that’s not because only 60% of us actually pay federal income taxes.)

    Obama’s primary economic policy appears to be, “I’m gonna take a whole lotta money from people who have more than they need, and I’m gonna give it a lot of people who I think need it.” I fully expect that to happen, and it will be a lot more than the top 5% of wage earners who get socked… and groups like ACORN and Moveon.org will get big, fat checks from Uncle Sam.

  2. I. Publius,

    Why and how would ACORN and MoveOn.org “get big, fat checks from Uncle Sam”? Do you believe Obama gave such kickbacks when he was a state senator or when he became a US senator? If so, do you have evidence?

    While I’m skeptical of your claims, they’re claims I’m unfamiliar with, so I’m interested in hearing what you’re basing them on.

    Anyway,

    I don’t think you can really hold John McCain to the words of president Bush in this case. Bush’s case was weak, and I sincerely doubt you’ll find anyone defending him now.

    However, of course McCain enabled socialism! He took precious time off from his campaign to help pass a bill enabling the partial nationalization of banks and now he’s in favor of massive government intervention to pay off the banks’ bad debts.

  3. As one of my Republican buddies cried into his beer: “Bush has managed to make a mess of everything, the economy, the wars, and now the world banking system – how bad could Obama be?”

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