Trump’s ‘socialist’ smear campaign against Harris & Walz is actually a badge of honor

Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), have been trying to label Kamala Harris and her new vice presidential nominee, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), with an accusation that will gain traction. So far, they’ve thrown spaghetti at the wall — no pun intended — but so far it’s all fallen to the floor in a fungal mass.

Now Trump and mini-Trump have portrayed the Democratic duo as left-wing socialists, in an attempt to cast doubt on their political record and proposals.

Even before the Cold War and the so-called “McCarthy Period” (named after Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin), individuals and groups on the political and theocratic right have metaphorically hurled the term “socialist” in the faces of their political opponents to discredit their characters and repudiate their political ideas and policies, and to influence the electorate toward a conservative agenda. This has continued, as evidenced by the right-wing representations of President Barack Obama and various progressive politicians to this day.

As destructive and freedom-killing as right-wing ideology would have us believe, socialism is “a theory or system of social organization advocating the allocation of ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., to the community as a whole,” with each of us having a stake in and contributing to the success of our collective economy.

Today, there is no country in the world that is completely socialist. Some of the most successful economies combine elements of capitalism with socialism to create greater equality and reduce the gap between rich, poor, and people in between.

So I would like to say to those who use the term “socialist” as a slur: If a socialist is someone who advocates for a government-sponsored, single-payer, universal health care system that includes medical procedures and safe, reasonably priced prescription and over-the-counter medications, including contraceptives and the freedom to make one’s own reproductive decisions, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who demands that our country protect and improve the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid safety nets, and implement school breakfasts and lunches, paid parental leave, child care subsidies, child allowances, and other assistance programs, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who advocates further nationalization of our parks, forests, mountains, rivers, streams, shorelines and coastal waters, rather than granting more rights to big corporations for mining, drilling and logging, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who advocates for free, quality education, not just up to grade 12, but throughout higher education and beyond, for all who want and strive to reach their full potential, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who advocates a government-sponsored program that guarantees our seniors a retirement system that provides a high quality of life, free from economic burdens, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who stands up for the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions, and who guarantees equal pay for equal work, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who fights to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and wider societal inequalities based on race, nationality, language background, citizenship status, age, marital status, gender, sexual identity, gender identity and expression, disability, socioeconomic status, religion and other social identities, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who works to ensure that everyone has a comfortable and safe place to live, someone who protects against a banking system that forecloses on people’s homes through scandalous business practices, and someone who tightens regulations on Wall Street and the banks to limit the risks of future crises, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who supports effective government regulation of food producers to secure our food supply and prevent animal cruelty, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who imposes reasonable regulations on businesses, corporations and individuals to protect our environment, supports the development and distribution of clean and renewable energy sources, and spends the necessary funds to improve and maintain the country’s infrastructure, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who supports reasonable and fair restrictions on the political process to prevent individuals and corporations from making huge contributions to politicians to influence government policy, while excluding individuals and groups who cannot raise large political funds, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who challenges a military-industrial complex that marches to the beat of industry, and a prison-industrial complex that perpetuates racial and socio-economic class inequality throughout society, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who guarantees quality and timely health care and other programs for our war veterans, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who stands up for and advocates for effective restrictions on the so-called ‘free market’ economic system that allows the creation and strengthening of mega-monopolies, the outsourcing of jobs, the production of defective products, and the exploitation of destructive fossil fuels, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who imposes sensible regulations on the ownership of all firearms to protect the public from attack, injury and death, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who advocates an end and reversal of all current and past attempts to oppress minority groups, young people, the elderly and working class voters, and who strives for guaranteed equal access to the ballot box, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who promotes and implements compassionate and fair immigration, naturalization, and refugee reception laws, and works with other countries to protect their citizens from gang violence and stifling poverty, which if left unchecked will force people to flee to survive, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who considers corporations as companies instead of “as people my friends”, and forces these companies to follow the laws of corporate enterprises – and not as religious institutions – then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who builds and maintains a “strict wall of separation” between religion and government, then I am a proud socialist!

If a socialist is someone who demands a truly progressive tax structure where everyone pays their fair share, one that curbs the massive inequalities in the overwhelming accumulation of wealth by the top one-tenth of one percent of the nation, as is currently the case in the United States, then I am a VERY proud socialist! The list goes on….

Last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development conducted its “Better Life Index” to determine the “happiest countries in the world,” according to their citizens. Based on a survey of 11 measures assessing quality of life, including housing, income, jobs, community, education, the environment, health, work-life balance and life satisfaction, all of the Nordic countries, plus the Netherlands and Austria, Canada, Australia and Israel all made the top 10.

Therefore, we would do well to look to these countries for some of their ‘socialist’ policies that maintain a high quality of life for their citizens.

So I will always challenge those who wish to perpetuate the economic and social status quo when they use the term “socialist” as a tool of intimidation, hurled as a slur. But rather I welcome and embrace the term as a statement of empowerment, pride and hope for a better social structure in a better future.

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