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Touring his Birmingham-area district today, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus started the day in Trussville, where he treated a breakfast of municipal and county leaders to his thoughts on guns, socialists and the federal budget.

As for President Barack Obama, the Vestavia Hills Republican said he has "some hope."

"He's a better listener than George W. Bush," Bachus said. "He tries to get ideas from people."

But he said he is worried that he is being steered too far by the Congress: "Some of the men and women I work with in Congress are socialists."

Asked to clarify his comments after the breakfast speech at the Trussville Civic Center, Bachus said 17 members of the U.S. House are socialists.

Bachus did not support small city officials who asked if he would oppose all gun bans. Instead, he said, it may be necessary to support some assault weapon bans in order to keep all guns from being outlawed.

I'm not even sure what he's smoking on the AWB; that didn't even manage to ban all of what most would call 'assault weapons'. But the Socialists bit amuses me.

There's a Socialist in the Senate, of course, who openly runs such a ticket. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. But not much evidence in the House.

And I finalize with some amusing irony; a study released by Rasmussen. Link

I'll go straight to the ironic part.

Which is a better system - capitalism or socialism?

Capitalism
53%

Socialism
20%

Not sure
27%

That's pretty historic, lately.

(For those who'd like to ponder the implications, it IS important to note the caveat that the report brings up, as 'Free Markets' garnered 70% support quite recently. As they note, it might indicate belief that Capitalism isn't delivering free markets.)

The caveat there is the important part. That is a useless poll, and I'm frankly disappointed that Rasmussen (one of the more reputable polling agencies) would run it. "Socialism" and "Capitalism" can be defined however the poll-taker wants, or based on absurd notions that individuals can have for those two terms. Not to mention that nearly a third of respondents said they did not know.

Regardless, Representative Bachus is an idiot. Neither he, nor the 17 mythical house members he speaks of, nor his constituents, nor the answerers of that poll have the first idea what socialism actually is. It's used as a generic "bad word" thrown about at anything the Republicans dislike, the way Liberal was and may still be. There is nothing whatsoever in the proposals of either party, of the White House, of Congress, of anything in the US government that any reasonable educated person could possibly construe as Socialism.

*gives into temptation*

[Gollum]Nasty, tricksy socialistses.... they want to take THE PRECIOUS! WE HATES THEM! WE WILL STABS THEIR EYESES OUT![/Gollum]

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I await a Gibbs-smack to the head.

Steve wrote:Sorry, couldn't help myself. I await a Gibbs-smack to the head.

DeNozo? *smacks*

LadyTevar wrote:

Steve wrote:Sorry, couldn't help myself. I await a Gibbs-smack to the head.

DeNozo? *smacks*

Yes boss! Thank you boss!


(And to be a nitpicker, it's apparently spelled DiNozzo. *hides*)