Democrats must take back the word socialism, which has been conceded as to the Republicans for over a century as a scare tactic.
Some ad ideas/themes.
1) Convey what socialism is--public or collective ownership of factories and businesses.
2) Democrats oppose socialism
3) Explaining that the following is not socialism: Child care…
Democrats must take back the word socialism, which has been conceded as to the Republicans for over a century as a scare tactic.
Some ad ideas/themes.
1) Convey what socialism is--public or collective ownership of factories and businesses.
2) Democrats oppose socialism
3) Explaining that the following is not socialism: Child care, Health care for all, paid parental leave, negotiating drug prices, strong consumer protection laws, CFPB, etc
4) Note which of the above are available in other nations and that having such in the US will make America as great as other nations.
Have ads in which citizens from other nations mock the US for not having these things
5) Have real people from other countries appear in ads extol the non-socialist items above.
Not entirely sure about this. Democratic socialism can be a very good thing. It works in Scandinavia. Bernie Sanders and AOC are both democratic socialists. If you try to demonize the word you could end up demonizing them. Better to point out the good things about democratic socialism, i.e., an effective safety net.
Every person using the terms "democratic socialism" and/or "socialism" have their own definition.
As Harry Truman explained in an October 1952 speech:
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"Republicans have been misusing the word socialism for decades to characterize anything they oppose:
"Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years. Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan Down With Socialism on the banner of his 'great crusade,' that is really not what he means at all.
What he really means is, 'Down with Progress down with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal,' and 'down with Harry Truman's fair Deal.' That is what he means."
Once again be careful with any textbook definition of socialism. The unresolved battle in the US has always been between a social Democratic form of state capitalism and laissez-faire classical capitalism.
Okay so don’t get socialism confused with social democracy. The latter is what progressives were aiming for in the Roosevelt administration. It was a combination of Keynesian economics with State planning. See Roosevelt’s 1944 State of the Union speech. This was also the basis of Bernie’s platform. It isn’t socialism which is something that has never been realized because it involves a different method for allocating capital, it was a form of state capitalism and was not what we have now as a result of all the post WW2 Republican red baiting.
Democrats must take back the word socialism, which has been conceded as to the Republicans for over a century as a scare tactic.
Some ad ideas/themes.
1) Convey what socialism is--public or collective ownership of factories and businesses.
2) Democrats oppose socialism
3) Explaining that the following is not socialism: Child care, Health care for all, paid parental leave, negotiating drug prices, strong consumer protection laws, CFPB, etc
4) Note which of the above are available in other nations and that having such in the US will make America as great as other nations.
Have ads in which citizens from other nations mock the US for not having these things
5) Have real people from other countries appear in ads extol the non-socialist items above.
Not entirely sure about this. Democratic socialism can be a very good thing. It works in Scandinavia. Bernie Sanders and AOC are both democratic socialists. If you try to demonize the word you could end up demonizing them. Better to point out the good things about democratic socialism, i.e., an effective safety net.
Every person using the terms "democratic socialism" and/or "socialism" have their own definition.
As Harry Truman explained in an October 1952 speech:
----
"Republicans have been misusing the word socialism for decades to characterize anything they oppose:
"Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years. Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan Down With Socialism on the banner of his 'great crusade,' that is really not what he means at all.
What he really means is, 'Down with Progress down with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal,' and 'down with Harry Truman's fair Deal.' That is what he means."
----
Source (one of several) :
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/truman-socialism-scare-word/
This article explains what socialism is, and how the word has been misused to the detriment of all Americans: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/07/what-is-socialism-socialist
Once again be careful with any textbook definition of socialism. The unresolved battle in the US has always been between a social Democratic form of state capitalism and laissez-faire classical capitalism.
Thank you!
Okay so don’t get socialism confused with social democracy. The latter is what progressives were aiming for in the Roosevelt administration. It was a combination of Keynesian economics with State planning. See Roosevelt’s 1944 State of the Union speech. This was also the basis of Bernie’s platform. It isn’t socialism which is something that has never been realized because it involves a different method for allocating capital, it was a form of state capitalism and was not what we have now as a result of all the post WW2 Republican red baiting.
The accepted "official" definitions lack relevance. Republicans are using their invented definition to their advantage