XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: nancy.pelosi@ustraitors.com   
      
   Comrades flocked to New York City two weeks ago for the 29th   
   national convention of the Communist Party USA. While reviewing   
   materials from the event, we had a sudden sense of déjà vu: the   
   feeling that we had heard these talking points before. Maybe you   
   have as well — they’re espoused, in near identical form, by the   
   president and his fellow Democrats. Take the quiz below, and try   
   to determine which quotes were uttered by Democratic leadership,   
   and which are excerpts from the communists’ recent convention.   
      
   The point isn’t that Obama’s a communist (though it’s amusing to   
   watch Sam Webb, chairman of the CPUSA, deny such a charge while   
   arguing with Glenn Beck about the redistribution of marshmallow   
   peeps). It’s useful, though, to compare the substance of   
   Democratic and communist rhetoric, which differs mainly in   
   degree. You may conclude — especially if you lean left — that   
   the Communist Party USA is more moderate and mainstream than you   
   thought. Or something.   
      
   ———————————–   
   TAKE THE QUIZ — Which quotes come from Democrats, and which from   
   CPUSA?   
   (scroll down for answers)   
      
   1. “This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that   
   open markets have created, and share its benefits more   
   equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global   
   development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if   
   it favors the few, and not the many.”   
      
   2. “Rebuilding the social infrastructure will generate 11   
   million jobs. At least 3 million could be at work within 6   
   months — if the funds were available from Congress.”   
      
   3. “Moving toward a productive green economy must be based on   
   federal financing and a national industrial policy.“   
      
   4. “Only government can break the vicious cycles that are   
   crippling our economy — where a lack of spending leads to lost   
   jobs which leads to even less spending.”   
      
   5. “For nearly half a century the nation’s working people   
   embraced and took comfort in the American dream — a dream whose   
   promissory note read that if you work hard and do the right   
   things, a good and secure life is attainable. I wouldn’t say   
   that dream is dead, but more and more people have less and less   
   hope that it is within reach. Forces beyond their control have   
   snatched it from them.”   
      
   6. “While some have prospered beyond imagination in this global   
   economy, middle-class Americans — as well as those working hard   
   to become middle class — are seeing the American dream slip   
   further and further away.”   
      
   7. “Recent victories in Congress such as passage of Health Care   
   Reform legislation with not a single Republican yes vote exposes   
   the Republicans as the ‘Party of NO.’”   
      
   8. “Because our individual salvation depends on collective   
   salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your   
   immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition.   
   Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger   
   than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover   
   the role that you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in   
   the American story.”   
      
   9. “The Tea Party was birthed by media extremists and racist   
   elements to break up the unity of 2008. They were able to change   
   the debate and peel off some Democratic votes, but they were not   
   able to stop the legislation.”   
      
   10. “I think the American people have to make a judgment about   
   the obstructionism of the Republican senators.”   
      
   11. “Only majority movements can skin the rightwing cat, the   
   neoliberal dog, and the globalizing rat.”   
      
   ———————————–   
   ANSWERS   
      
   1. Obama said this during a speech in Berlin on July 24, 2008.   
   Presumably, Europe’s democratic socialists responded with a   
   hearty, “Jawohl!”   
      
   2. Excerpted from the Communist Party USA’s “21st Century Jobs   
   Program,” which aims to create 22 million jobs through direct   
   government spending of $1 trillion per year on public services,   
   including a five-year plan for rebuilding infrastructure.   
   Communists advocating a five-year plan — what could possibly go   
   wrong?   
      
   3. Excerpted from the Communist Party USA’s “21st Century Jobs   
   Program,” although with Obama’s focus on government subsidy for   
   green jobs and weatherization, we don’t blame you if you got   
   this one wrong.   
      
   4. Obama said this on Jan. 8, 2009 while advocating for what   
   would eventually become the American Recovery and Reinvestment   
   Act, also known as the stimulus, or the Democrats’ belated   
   Valentine’s Day gift to themselves.   
      
   5. Excerpted from remarks made by CPUSA Chairman Sam Webb at the   
   recent national convention. Mr. Webb would have us know that   
   while the American dream is fading, the Soviet dream remains as   
   strong as ever.   
      
   6. Candidate Obama said this in November, 2008. Who could have   
   known then that the biggest group prospering “beyond   
   imagination” in 2010 would be government workers, who accounted   
   for 95 percent of the job growth in May.   
      
   7. Excerpted from the resolution “All hands on deck for the 2010   
   midterm elections,” adopted at the recent CPUSA convention. It’s   
   unclear how many hands the party has to call, but it does have   
   over 3,000 Facebook fans.   
      
   8. Candidate Obama said this in a 2008 commencement address to   
   Wesleyan University. No doubt the college’s economics faculty   
   appreciated hearing the self-interest of Adam Smith’s invisible   
   hand described as a “poverty of ambition.”   
      
   9. Joelle Fishman, chair of the CPUSA’s Political Action   
   Commission, made this remark during a speech titled “2010   
   elections — unity can win” at the recent national convention.   
   The biggest question we have for Ms. Fishman is whether stumping   
   for Democrats makes her a CINO — Communist In Name Only.   
      
   10. Pelosi said this in an interview with Rachel Maddow. It’s   
   easy to yell “obstructionism” when you’re in power, but it   
   requires more cajones to accuse concerned citizens of carrying   
   swastikas. Pelosi did that too.   
      
   11. Democratic leaders (cough Joe Biden cough) have said some   
   pretty absurd things, but nothing quite this bizarre. This quote   
   is excerpted from remarks made by CPUSA Chairman Sam Webb at the   
   recent national convention.   
      
   ———————————–   
   HOW DID YOU DO?   
      
   9-11 correct — Bona-fide Bolshevik: Congrats comrade, your   
   understanding of leftist dogma is nuanced and complete! Now get   
   to the Politburo — you’re needed.   
      
   4-8 correct — Yuppie: You’re on the right path, but more effort   
   is required. Put on your best Che shirt, and prepare to fight   
   the man by protesting the global system.   
      
   0-3 correct — Capitalist Swine: You have been deceived by the   
   propaganda of the bourgeoisie. Reform yourself, put down that   
   copy of “Atlas Shrugged” and practice your doublethink.   
      
   Tags: Barack Obama, Communism, Democratic Party, Joe Biden,   
   Marxism, Nancy Pelosi, Politics, Socialism   
      
          
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)