Politics Decoded

President Obama is not Marxist

Contrary to what some conspiracy-theorist Republicans claim, President Obama is not a Marxist, Socialist or Communist.

Marxism is a theory/philosophy/political doctrine (by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels) that proposed early 1800 European bourgeois (middle class property owner) oppression of the proletariats (poor, working class majority) would eventually lead to class warfare and a utopian communist, classless society.  Marxism has had many interpretations because it is quite ambiguous, Marx changed the theory as European capitalism changed dramatically during the 19th century, and European social conditions are different than the social conditions of other countries.  

According to Marxism, class warfare is necessary to achieve a utopian, classless society where all means of production are commonly owned.   Socialism (based on Marxism) advocates collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and there is no private property.  Communism (based on Marxism) advocates elimination of private property, in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.  It is a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production.  

Some Republicans are accusing President Obama of class warfare, because the proposed “Buffet Rule” would require those making over $1 million per year to pay at least the same rate as middle income Americans.  But it is not class warfare to expect everybody to pay their fair share - to expect a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate as his secretary.  

It is just math try to end the “temporary” Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that were suppose to end in 2010.  They were temporarily put in place because when Bush took office in 2001, he inherited (from Clinton) a $236 billion budget surplus, with a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion.  These cuts that benefited Americans making more than $1 million per year the most were suppose to expire by the end of 2010.  By December 2007, Bush and the Republicans had driven our economy into the worst recession since the great depression with his tax cuts for the wealthy, the Iraq war, and the Afghanistan war.  When he ended his term, he left a $1.3 trillion deficit and a projected 10-year shortfall of $3 - $8 trillion.  Bush doubled our national debt in only 8 years, but we’re still giving these “temporary” tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. 

Meanwhile, corporations have been making out like bandits.  All Republicans refused to pass the President’s bill that would strip the oil and gas industry of billions in tax incentives.  Exxon had a $37.3 billion profit last year, but paid none of its $17.6 billion income tax to the U.S.  Chevron had a $18.5 billion profit last year,but only paid $200 million of its $8 billion income tax to the U.S. 

Other conspiracy-theory Republicans are accusing President Obama of being a Marxist, Socialist, and/or Communist despite the fact that he has never advocated or tried to create class warfare, a classless society, governmental ownership of businesses, or elimination of private property.  According to PolitiFact,  President Obama is not a Socialist.  Ron Paul also says President Obama is not a socialist.  Conservative economist Bruce Bartlett states: “Socialism means public ownership of the means of production. Obama does not believe this.”  And FOX news executive, Bill Sammon, admits (while on the Hillsdale College Mediterranean Cruise) he lied about President Obama being a socialist.   Even Socialists say President Obama is not a socialist.  And John McCain said “there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more in taxes when you reach a certain level of comfort.”

Allen West and others are trying to bring back the McCarthy era by claiming there are about  78 - 81 House Democrats in the Communist party, or as his office later stated  “The Congressman was referring to the 76 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Communist Party has publicly referred to the Progressive Caucus as its allies.”  But Community Party USA said there are no members of Congress who are members of the Communist Party – not even avowed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders.       

They accuse President Obama of being a Marxist/Socialist/Communist without any real facts.  They convict him of guilt by association, and even those associations are outright lies or greatly exaggerated.  But President Obama is not responsible for who supports him or what some people he knows does; only for what he does or says.  Obama is no more a Marxist, socialist, or communist because they support him; than a Republican is a fascist, neo-nazi, KKK member, or part of a militia group because they support Republicans. 

Here are just some of their claims and the facts:


CLAIM:  Frank Marshall Davis, a Communist Party USA member, was President Obama's mentor.   FACT:  Frank Marshall Davis was a friend of President Obama’s maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham.  Because the black Davis was married to a white woman and had mixed race children, and the black Obama was being raised in an all white household;  Obama's white grandfather introduced Obama to Davis and his children so Obama would have some connection to the African-American experience.  Later President Obama consulted with Davis about racial issues.  This was hardly being “almost like a son” to Davis, as the much quoted article “Is Barack Obama A Marxist Mole?” claims.  According to the Telegraph, Frank Marshall Davis was “suspected of being a member of the Communist Party in the 1950s.”  Note that the Telegraph says “suspected” not “publicly identified.”  Davis and Dunham lost touch in the 1980s, and Davis never mentioned Dunham or President Obama in any of his papers.   After citing President Obama’s Hawaiian childhood friend (Frank Davis) as reason he is a Marxist, and that the “record shows that Obama was in Hawaii from 1971-1979;” the “Is Obama a Marxist Mole?” article then contradicts itself by claiming that we should be concerned because President Obama came “out of virtually nowhere.”  They can’t have it both ways.  Either he was in Hawaii or not.   

CLAIM:  Obama believes in spreading the wealth around, nationally and internationally, at great expense to taxpayers.  FACT:  According to FactCheck.org, “What Obama was saying is that giving tax breaks that have disproportionately benefited upper-income taxpayers leaves those further down the scale “pinched,” with the result that “business is bad for everybody.”  “Spreading the wealth around” with a progressive tax rate was in place way before Obama got in office.   PolitiFact states that foreign aid is only about 1% of our budget.  Although President Obama does want to double the amount of foreign aid to “protect our people, interests and values,” it hasn’t happened.  Here are the foreign aid budgets:  2008: $19.216 billion, 2009: $20.294 billion, 2010: $25.445 billion, 2011: estimated at  $22.924 billion, 2012: proposed $23.292 billion.    

CLAIM: As a Chicago community organizer, President Obama worked closely with ACORN, the Democratic Socialists of America, the New Party and other socialist groups;  who later endorsed him in 1996.  FACT:  FactCheck says the claims that ACORN  committed “massive voter fraud” and that Obama has “long and deep” ties to the group are exaggerated.  And PolitFact says the claim that the White House Political Director worked for ACORN is false.  The Democratic Socialists of America say they are "committed not only to extending political democracy but to demanding democratic empowerment in the economy, in gender relations, and in the culture."  Since Republicans are all about more profits for the wealthy,  it makes sense that the Democratic Socialists of America would endorse President Obama.  According to a Republican website, the New Party was a Marxist third party who endorsed leftist public officials (most often Democrats)  from 1992 - 1998.   Many groups endorse President Obama, but that doesn’t make him a member of their group.  Just like when the Libertarian party endorses a Republican, it doesn’t make that Republican a Libertarian.  

CLAIM: Bill Ayers and Carl Davidson are President Obama's friends.  FACT:  FactCheck and PolitiFact both say President Obama and Bill Ayers are not connected.   Carl Davidson said that “if Obama even remembers my name, it’s because I was on a team bugging him to spend more money on inner-city after-school programs.”  

CLAIM: President Obama attended Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ.  Wright is a racist, anti-American socialist.    FactCheck  says President  Obama’s former church does not have a “non-negotiable commitment to Africa”, is not covertly Muslim and does not excludes non-blacks.  I don't know if he is a socialist or not, but that doesn't make President Obama guilty by association.

CLAIM: Obama takes his cues from Saul Alinsky, author of "Rules for Radicals."   FACT:  Forbes says that President Obama is no Saul Alinsky, they never met.  Alinsky died when Obama was 11, and Obama has never even referenced him.

CLAIM:  Obama has promoted an open-borders agenda.  FACT:  PolitiFact says that U.S. Border Patrol has "doubled the number of agents since 2004, and we have more agents than ever patrolling the border.  

CLAIM: Obama has radically reduced the size and power of the U.S. military.  FACT:  Under President Obama's leadership, Osama bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda has been severely weakened.   

CLAIM: Obama has steadfastly promoted a progressive income tax.   FACT:  PolitiFact says that "Obama's tax policy relies on the same progressive approach that has been the cornerstone of American tax policy since the federal government first collected an income tax in 1863."  Even John McCain said “there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more in taxes when you reach a certain level of comfort.”

CLAIM:  Stanley Anne Dunham, President Obama’s mother, was a socialist.  FACT:  His mother was an anthropologist from Kansas, and a lengthy book review of “A SINGULAR WOMAN: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother” doesn’t mention her political leanings.  Even if she was a socialist, it doesn’t prove President Obama is a socialist.

CLAIM:  Obama attended Socialist conferences and read Marxist literature while in college.  FACT:  True or not, having an open mind and attending various conferences and reading various material while in college does not make one a socialist.  

CLAIM: Obama believes every person has a “right” to health care and housing. The Communist Party and the Socialist Party agree.   FACT:  I bet even Christians would agree with that.  At least Jesus would.