Opinion of Barack Obama

[BradyNH]

Okay dude, "one of the worst"?

Did you see the 28 years before Obama?

Still pretty horrible though

Basically this. Good man, pretty awful leader. Still better than McCain and Romney.

[BradyNH]

TNF showing off his True Leftist credentials.

Yeah, because we all know it's crazy to call one's self a left-winger and not support a man who wants to turn public education into nothing more than a parasitic "charter school" system, who continues to push austerity in the face of economic reality, and who's healthcare law requires everyone to buy insurance from the parasitic insurance industry.

One for the silver mine, I think.

[BradyNH]

True Leftist Fallacy

1) An FF is someone who largely or entirely shares my political views
2) I, a socialist teenager, entirely share my own political views, therefore I am an FF
2) To be an FF the President should therefore be as politically close to me as possible
3) The President does not share the political views of a socialist teenager
4) The President is thus not an FF

Or it might be because Obama has had a tendency to bend over backwards to appease the Republicans and implement blindingly statist policy in the meantime.

(Signed: a socialist non-teenager.)

[BradyNH]

True Leftist Fallacy

1) An FF is someone who largely or entirely shares my political views
2) I, a socialist teenager, entirely share my own political views, therefore I am an FF
2) To be an FF the President should therefore be as politically close to me as possible
3) The President does not share the political views of a socialist teenager
4) The President is thus not an FF

Or it might be because Obama has had a tendency to bend over backwards to appease the Republicans and implement blindingly statist policy in the meantime.

(Signed: a socialist non-teenager.)

Only libertarians use the word "statist"

You haven't been around many socialists, have you.

[BradyNH]

@Lief and Oakvale: The two of you must not be very familiar with libertarian socialism as an ideology. Socialism is based in economics, at any rate, and statism to me refers to barefaced restrictions placed upon actual individual autonomy and privacy rights, ergo the PATRIOT Act and the NDAA and the recent epidemic of legislation like SOPA.

[BradyNH]

Because it's a fictional ideology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism

I beg to differ, my friend.

As to the remainder of your points, yes, I'll contend that there's a bit more to socialism than just the economics. It's just my tendency to see them as less an aspect of socialism specifically and more a core piece of left-wing philosophy in general. As to my use of terms, well, statism is easier to constantly type than authoritarianism. I'll be the first to admit to my own laziness.

@Lief and Oakvale: The two of you must not be very familiar with libertarian socialism as an ideology. Socialism as an ideology is based in economics, at any rate, and statism to me refers to barefaced restrictions placed upon actual individual autonomy and privacy rights, ergo the PATRIOT Act and the NDAA and the recent epidemic of legislation like SOPA.

I'm curious, do you believe that individuals have a right to own private property?

As in their own personal affects - house etc. - and ownership of land tracts? If so, of course. I consider them to be personal property and thus exempt from socialist(or at least libertarian socialist) policy.

[BradyNH]

Because it's a fictional ideology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism

I beg to differ, my friend.

I know its on Wikipedia but,

Any theory of "non-statist" socialism is basically inherently a naive teenager's excuse for an ideology

Its not in the history books.

Well, call it what you want. The fact of the matter is, that's about the sum of my ideology and always has been - socialism with respect retained for privacy rights and freedom of speech and religion, as per the First Amendment. I certainly don't think it's an implausible belief, but perhaps that's just me.

[BradyNH]

Because it's a fictional ideology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism

I beg to differ, my friend.

I know its on Wikipedia but,

Any theory of "non-statist" socialism is basically inherently a naive teenager's excuse for an ideology

Its not in the history books.

Well, call it what you want. The fact of the matter is, that's about the sum of my ideology and always has been - socialism with respect retained for privacy rights and freedom of speech and religion, as per the First Amendment. I certainly don't think it's an implausible belief, but perhaps that's just me.

I just don't see what's "libertarian" about that, that's normal democratic socialism- much more Bernie Sanders than Joseph Stalin.

Fair point.