WASHINGTON (CNN) - Another prominent Republican told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that the president’s spending plans are pushing the country to the brink of socialism.
Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, the only member of the senate to earn a perfect rating from the American Conservative Union, called President Obama “the world’s best salesman of socialism” on Friday in describing his prime time speech earlier this week.
DeMint, a fierce opponent of government expansion, told the CPAC crowd that conservatives might have to “take to the streets to stop America’s slide into socialism.”
His remarks comes a day after Mike Huckabee told the conference of conservative activists that “the Union of American Socialist Republics is being born” with the president’s stimulus package.
“Lenin and Stalin would love this stuff,” Huckabee said of the government bailing out financial institutions.
Ridiculous. The uneducated lap this stuff up. Consider social security, people. Socialist? Of course it is. Is DeMint opposed to social security? I doubt it.
This guy is just another Republican naysayer trying to protect his rich buddies from economic justice.
Keep up the good work - China will soon own us all.
SOUNDS LIKE SEN. DEMENTED WAS ASLEEP WHEN CAPITALISM WAS RUNNING AMOCK. NOW HE IS BLAMING SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS TRYING TO GET THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL. WHEN THE ECONOMY TURNS AROUND CAPITALISM WILL PREVAIL AND MAYBE SEN. DEMENTED WILL BE OUT OF OFFICE.
what choice do we have? letting everyone lose their jobs and make the recession even worse? i mean, what do these republicans plan on accomplishing by giving these criticisms without presenting a better option? at least the democrats are attempting to fix the problem!
That's a ridiculour statement, more rant than sense. If we did do the unlikely and turn to socialism it would be Republican arrogance and distain for the common man that would more likely be the cause.
It is socialism if the goverment works for the common man..
Anything new here after Palin and Mccain used this term?
Want to understand the complete bankruptcy of the Republican Party? Instead of offering ideas, all they can manage is calling people names.
Wake up America!......here in Canada we are a free democratic country with Health care..it isn't perfect, but we don't have to worry about paying medical bills ever!!...I would think that anyone with half a brain would want this for your children & grandchildren as well as for yourself...each province in the country has it's own healthcare , taken from taxes...It's not socialistic, it's progressive
The Republicans are absolutely ridiculous... and I would say the same to any Republican that called Bush a dictator or worse. Their ideology, with a small Clinton break, got us here and its 93' all over again.
The budget looks good; the Repubs need to get real.
Right......
Lets keep it the anarchy it has been for 8 years. That gotten us far......
Finally someone actually acknowledges it. But, of course, most liberals will get angry, say it isn't socialism, and go back to living in la-la-land.
If you're a socialist, why not accept it?
It's scary to see that people so high up in government can have absolutely no idea of the fundamentals of policies like socialism and communism, can see no difference between the two, and can stoop to using the names of Stalin and Lenin so loosely to instill fear in their constituents, rather than offering effective alternative choices to Obama's policies.
These Republican Conservatives are unreal. They really reaped the benefits while corporate america ripped off the American people under Bush. Their lack of regulation produced nothing, but ethics infringements and pushing this country to the brink of a depression with greed. When the US was bailing out their buddies on Wall Street, it was fine, but when the government helps the people that are suffering as a result, it is socialism. They sicken me and are desperate!
Rich people have always considered helping people instead of
taking advantage of their weaknesses socializism. President Obama
is so popular today because the majority of U.S. citizens today are homeless due to ungoverned capitalizing. It's your turn to take it.
Up here in "socialist" Canada (a thriving democracy based on capitalism and free markets, with prudent regulations) – we have health care for all our citizens, nobody is preyed upon by unscrupulous banks, and up until last month we were running a surplus.
And let me tell you, Obama is much farther to the right of centre with his ideas than Canadians are. He would be a conservative up here.
So the "socialist" label is smoke and mirrors guys.
Where were all you congressmen and womenwhen Obama was campaining? Where were the news and financial network anchors with the interviews during the campain?
The rabid right wingers risk sliding into a death spiral of irrelevance. Serious times call for serious measures. We tried it their way for the past eight years and look where we are today. Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
fear tactic
These Republican Conservatives are unreal. They really reaped the benefits while corporate america ripped off the American people under Bush. Their lack of regulation produced nothing, but ethics infringements and pushing this country to the brink of a depression with greed. When the US was bailing out their buddies on Wall Street, it was fine, but when the government helps the people that are suffering as a result, it is socialism. They sicken me and are desperate!
Its funny: When you help the American people you're a socialist, but when you dump trillions in sand your a great american, Hawk!
I'd rather live in Obama's world than in the former Bush/Republican death world!
This idiot senator seems to be stuck in his conservative hole without any idea of how dire is our economic crisis. Talk to any unbiased economist who will tell you that Obama's strategy is not to turn this country to a socialist one but to turn things around to establish prosperity once again.
Ronald Reagan and is cult-like following have just been insulting the electorate for 40 years, and people keep voting for these jokers.
If you think government is the problem, guess what ... in a democracy WE are the government.
The government is NOT the problem. Ultimately all responsibility falls to the electorate.
Insult the government all you like, ultimately it's just self-hatred.
Socialism. That's all the Republicans can do now is to continue to use scare tactics against the people of our country. Too bad so many are so ignorant that they believe them.
Socialism also includes, Schools, Police Dept., Fire Dept, roads, sewers, Social Security, Medicare, (and the list goes on), would these guys like to take ALL of these social services away from us?
It is the Republican party that needs to wake up. We, the people, are sick of your scare tactics.
this piece of garbarge senator should be tried foe seditition