Can we call him a socialist now???
Barack Obama headlined a Democrat Socialists of America town hall meeting in Chicago in 1996. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a democratic socialist and social-democratic organization in the United States formed in 1982 by leftist groups and former members of socialist and communist parties of the Old Left.
Buzzfeed reported:
Barack Obama pushed wealth redistribution in his speech at the socialist’s meeting.
Trevor Loudon dug up this Chicago DSA report on the socialist town hall event.
”Barack Obama observed that Martin Luther King’s March on Washington in the 1960s wasn’t simply about civil rights but “demanded jobs as well”.
One of the themes that has emerged in Barack Obama’s campaign is “what does it take to create productive communities”, not just consumptive communities. It is an issue that joins some of the best instincts of the conservatives with the better instincts of the left.”‘
‘Obama felt the state government has three constructive roles to play.’
‘The first is “human capital development”. By this he meant public education, welfare reform, and a “workforce preparation strategy”. Public education requires equality in funding. It’s not that “money is the only solution to public education’s problems but it’s a start toward a solution… A true welfare system would provide for medical care, child care and job training. While Barack Obama did not use this term, it sounded very much like the “social wage” approach used by many social democratic labor parties.
‘The state government “can also play a role in redistribution, the allocation of wages and jobs. As Barack Obama noted, when someone gets paid $10 million to eliminate 4,000 jobs, the voters in his district know this is an issue of power not economics. The government can use as tools labor law reform, public works and contracts.””
I think it’s fair to say that anyone who talks about redistribution at a national socialists meeting can be considered a socialist.
But, that’s just me.
