Cassidy GT,
Thanks for this article:
(QUOTE - Re-paragraphed & bold added by Dennis)
To view this item online, visit
www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_chastain/20000717_xcjch_more_democ.shtml
Monday, July 17, 2000
More Democrats for Congress?
by Jane Chastain
Do you ever look at what has happened since Republicans took over
Congress in 1994 and wonder why there haven't been more changes?
Do you ever wonder why Republicans, who now control both the House and
the Senate, have not, to any extent, reduced the size of our behemoth
government?
In 1995, these new leaders simply lost their nerve after they tried to control
spending and
Bill Clinton shut down the government, not once but
twice. They took all the heat and never received credit for their early
efforts to control spending. As a result, they have been coasting ever since.
Unfortunately, when you coast there is only one way to go, downhill.
However, if you are tempted to think that it really doesn't matter who controls
Congress, visit the website of the
Democratic Socialists of America. The
Socialist Party is alive and well here in the United States. In fact, it
functions as a party within the Democrat Party.
You can find out who the self-identified socialists are in Congress by logging
on at
www.DSAUSA.org . Just follow the link to the "Progressive Caucus."
[Then check out "legislative" and "sponsors"! - Dennis]
There you will find a list of
54 current House members, 53 Democrats
and one independent, Bernie Sanders of Vermont. It is not a coincidence that
in December of 1999, House Democrat leader Dick Gephardt offered Mr.
Sanders one of his seats on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Now, the word "socialist" doesn't sit very well with voters, even in the most
liberal districts, thus the euphemism "progressive." Please don't be fooled.
There is nothing progressive about the Progressive Caucus.
The Democratic
Socialists of America is an affiliate of Socialist International, whose roots
go all the way back to 1864.
And, don't be fooled by the use of the word "democratic." The group explains,
"At the root of our socialism is a profound commitment to democracy, as
means and end." The end to the DSA is economic redistribution in order to
achieve social and environmental justice.
If the Democrats recaptured the House of Representatives, these socialists
would be in charge of six committees:
· Henry Waxman, D-Calif., would be chairman of the Committee on
Government Reform and Oversight;
· John Conyers, D-Mich., would be chairman of the Judiciary;
· George Miller, D-Calif., would become chairman of the House Resources
Committee;
· Julian Dixon, D-Calif. would be in charge of the Select Committee on
Intelligence;
· Lane Evans of Illinois would assume control of Veterans Affairs;
· Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., would be chairman of the all-important Ways
and Means Committee, which controls the government's ability to tax.
If that weren't scary enough for you, the socialists on the Progressive Caucus
also would chair 22 subcommittees:
· Under the House Appropriations Committee, Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio,
would chair Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration and Related Agencies; Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., would control
Legislative; Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would head Foreign Operations and
Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary, and
John Olver, D-Mass., Military Construction.
· Under Banking and Financial Services, Barney Frank, D-Mass., would
control Housing and Community Opportunity and Maxine Waters,
D-Calif., would head Domestic and International Monetary Policy.
· Under the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Major Owens,
D-N.Y., would control Workforce protection.
· Under the Committee on Government Reform & Oversight, Chaka
Fattah, D-Pa., would chair Postal Services, Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio,
would head National Economic Growth, Natural Resources and
Regulatory Affairs and Eleanor Holmes Norton would control the District
of Columbia.
· Under the Committee of International Relations, Cynthia McKinney,
D-Ga., would chair International Operations and Human Rights and
Donald Payne, D-N.J., would control Africa.
· Under the Committee on the Judiciary, Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., would
chair Commercial and Administrative Law, and Mel Watt, D-N.C., would
control the Constitution.
· Under the Committee on Resources, Eni Faleomavaega, D-American
Samoa, would chair Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
· Under the Committee on Small Business, Danny Davis, D-Ill., would
chair Government Programs and Oversight.
· Under the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Peter
DeFazio, D-Ore., would chair Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
· Under the Committee on Veterans Affairs, Bob Filner, D-Calif., would
chair Benefits and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., would control Health.
· Under Ways and Means, William Coyne, D-Pa., would chair Oversight
and Pete Stark, D-Calif., would control Health.
The members of
the Progressive Caucus in Congress seem to have
concentrated on three areas: money, government oversight and
education.
The Progressive Caucus has 12 members on Banking and Financial Services;
nine members on Appropriations; eight members each on the Committee on
Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight and six members each on Resources, Transportation and
Infrastructure; Ways and Means and International Relations.
Furthermore, three of the seven Democrats on the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence come from the Progressive Caucus and five of the
16 Democrat seats on the Judiciary Committee are held by self-identified PC
members.
Dr. Balint Vazsonyi, the director of the Center for American Founding, was the
first to call attention to the Progressive Caucus. A couple of years ago, the
Hungarian-born historian and world-renowned concert pianist was doing some
research and stumbled on the Democratic Socialist of America website. "It just
popped up," Dr. Vazsonyi explained, "and my eyes popped out of my head."
Vazsonyi has lived under several different versions of socialism. Growing up
under German National Socialist and later, after World War II, under the
Russian Soviet Socialists occupation, he learned to recognize it in all its evil
forms. "After the war, the agents of Stalinist Russia were charged with
establishing absolute rule by reigning terror. They were feigning democratic
elections in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and all the countries that were caught
under Soviet occupation.
They held elections because Western troops were there, but when those
troops went home, they killed or arrested all the leaders of the opposition
parties. The Communist Party talked a lot about democracy then and, when
the deed was done, they actually proclaimed it the 'people's democracy.'"
Vazsonyi believes that
the term Democratic Socialist is an oxymoron.
"There is absolutely no difference between liberalism, socialism,
communism, and progressivism. The end result is to establish 'social
justice,' but the only system that has been established under that belief
system is
communism, where everybody has the same of everything."
When Dr. Vazsonyi fled Hungary after the 1956 uprising and came to the
United States, there wasn't a dime's worth of difference in the goals and
objectives of the two major political parties in this country, but that has
changed. Although the Democrat Party still contains many loyal Americans, in
this post-McCarthy era they are silent, afraid to speak up. It is the members
of the Progressive Caucus who are speaking out and who have taken the
leadership positions. That is one of the biggest reasons why
more than 400
Democrats, who were elected at the local, state and national level, have
switched to the Republican Party since the election of Bill Clinton, who
many believe is the most "progressive" Democrat ever to gain control of the
White House.
It is important to remember that democracy and socialism cannot be
combined. It's like trying to mix oil and water. Socialists believe that man can
be perfected. God is unnecessary. Therefore, an all-powerful government,
which represents all the people, must be established until man no longer is
capable of evil and utopia is reached. To the socialist, the United States with
her free enterprise system is the root of all evil.
On the other hand, a democracy is based on the idea that we are created
equal, but imperfect. Perfection is the business of God. Therefore, this country
has laws and checks and balances to protect us from each other and the
government. For over a century, the United States has stood in the way of
socialism sweeping the world.
Make no mistake, we need two strong political parties, but
we need two
parties dedicated to the principles upon which this country was founded.
The good citizens of the United States have an opportunity to reject these
socialists, who now control the Democrat Party, in the upcoming election, and
reject the party until it rids itself of this undemocratic socialist element.
To read more articles like this one, visit
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
(UNQUOTE)
------------------
Either you believe in the Second Amendment or you don't.
Stick it to 'em!
RKBA!
[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited July 17, 2000).]
, so let's move it to the Legal/Political Forum.