Gregory challenges Boehner on whether he agrees with Steele's socialism charge against Obama, Boehner says "no"
September 20, 2009 1:23 pm ET
From the September 20 edition of NBC's Meet the Press:
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Media Matters: The Palin chronicles
The Friday Rush: A series of conflicts
Contrary to media hype, Sarah Palin is very unpopular
The weirdest part was near the end, where Huckabee tells the David v. Goliath story, and reminds his audience that David refused the armor offered him by the King-- "sometimes" Huckabee said, "we just need to say No to the King."
And the best hand-to-the-forehead moment came where Huckabee "quoted" a line from "our traditional foreign policy- Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick." Of course, the actual quote from Teddy Roosevelt was "SPEAK softly and carry a big stick"- but I guess Huckabee wasn't quoting TR, he was quoting his REAL GOP hero, Glenn Beck. Bizarre.
It is very dumb to refer to regulation as socialism. To those that are calling regulation, socialist: Please look up the definitions: Socialist, Socialism, Socialist Government, and Capitalism.
They are the very people who would be ground up in the wheels of this fictional free market capitalistic society they dream about.
They have their buzzwords and that's all they've got.
I've got a few of my own buzzwords to describe them but the net nanny will not permit me to post them.
Small correction. Out of France, Canada, and the UK, only France is a republic. Canada and the UK both have Parliamentary systems. Canada is a "parliamentary democracy/constitutional monarchy" and the UK is technically a "constitutional monarchy" but the power is really just in the House of Commons.
The main difference between Canada/UK and the U.S. is that there is no separate "executive branch"...the Prime Minister in both these countries is the head of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons--Stephen Harper in Canada, head of the Conservatives, and Gordon Brown in the UK, head of the Labour Party. Unlike our president, however, neither Mr. Harper nor Mr. Brown are the official heads of state of their countries--in the UK, it's Queen Elizabeth II, and in Canada, it's the Governor-General (technically the Queen's representative).
Now that today's Civics lesson is over, you are certainly correct in your assertion that neither France, Canada, or the UK are socialist nations. They certainly have some socialist policies and programs at both Federal and state/province level (like the US does--education, Medicare, unemployment insurance), but the economies and banking systems are completely free market.
Canada and the UK are democracies with constitutional monarchies. The Head of State is the ruling monarch, presently Queen Elizabeth II (who is represented by the Governor General in Canada). In both countries, the House of Commons is elected directly. Any party with a majority of seats in the Commons forms the government. If there is no majority, either a coalition of two (or more) parties is formed OR the largest party forms a minority government (this is the current situation in Canada). The House of Lords in the UK is a combination of hereditary members and appointees. The Senate in Canada is made up of appointees. Both act as a check on the power of the Commons.
You are correct that none of these are socialist states. There are, however, different views on the role and powers of the State.
Republicans should NEVER be in a position to lead this country again. Republicans are act like sore-losing children and they have no shame. What we are witnessing from them is who they really are. They have a problem with this black President and they no longer can function responsibly, in fact, they continue to talk like they haven't learned anything from the last eight years and losing the election. What does that tell you? It tells me they are not fit to be in a position of power. Not until they change their wicked way. I don't see that happening no time in the near future.