Socialism We Can Believe In

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In all these cases, one is left with the impression his is merely a meandering historical argument of refined legal theory, using highly specified language that does not mean what it sounds like. Normal people like Joe the Plumber cannot possibly comprehend it. However, all these media reports distort the facts and leave a false impression that covers up the explosive revelation contained in his own words: Barack Obama believes the Constitution embodies a "fundamental flaw" in the fabric of America "that continues to this day," has pined for "economic justice" for at least a decade, seeks political power to implement "wealth redistribution" with the aid of Congress, implies the Supreme Court should "break free" from the "constraints" of the Founders, believes public financing of abortion is an "important" aspect of the struggle, and has promised an "activist" Executive Branch to enforce his socialistic vision.

 

Obama begins, as his media backers note, by discussing "the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the Court." Among its successes he counts the High Court's vesting blacks with "formal rights," such as the right to vote. "But," he rapidly pivots, "the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society." This he plainly counts among the movement's "failures," indeed "tragedies."

 

This indicates he intends more than mere adequate funding for Tuscaloosa elementaries but the fundamental economic life of the nation. He illustrated the success of "formal rights" by saying under the Court's rulings, "I would now be able to sit at a lunch counter and order, and as long as I could pay for it, I'd be OK." He later answered a caller's question about whether it was "too late" for nationwide "reparative economic work." (See below.) Later yet, when fellow panelist Susan Bandes broached the topic of the Supreme Court's upholding lawmakers' right to prohibit the federal funding of abortion, Obama replied that the justices did not order funding, as they would if they were activists. They decided whether it was "a legitimate prohibition," adding, "I think those are very important battles that have to be fought, and they do have a distributive aspect to them." (Media Matters dropped this phrase from later press releases.) Barack Obama's comments clearly touched upon a broad view of redistribution of wealth, encompassing everything from minority income to abortion subsidies, all viewed favorably. (In fact, Obama still supports taxpayer funding for abortion and has vowed to restore it.)