Obama says Republicans practice "Social Darwinism"

[Pirate Smile]

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Republicans controlling the federal government practice Social Darwinism, a discredited philosophy that in economics and politics calls for survival of the fittest, according to a Democratic U.S. senator.

Sen. Barak Obama of Illinois, a fast-rising Democratic star, told Florida party members that only a philosophy among Republicans of sink or swim explains why some Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans still live in cars while Republicans in Washington prepare next week to enact $70 billion in tax breaks.

"It's called the 'Ownership society' in Washington. This isn't the first time this philosophy has appeared. It used to be called Social Darwinism," Obama said late Saturday at the Democrats meeting at Walt Disney World.

"They have a philosophy they have implemented and that is doing exactly what it was designed to do. They basically don't believe in government. They have a different philosophy that says, 'We're going to dismantle government'," Obama said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051211/pl_nm/florida_dc_1

:yourock:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Curious that a bunch of people who don't believe in biological Darwinism

so eagerly embrace social Darwinism. Of course, that might be only because they figure that people who don't make it under their regime -- the poor, the old, the disabled -- won't evolve into something stronger; they'll just die. Which is fine with the Republicans, apparently.

[Wordie]

16. A perfect irony, isn't it?

The idea of an "ownership society" sounds good in theory, because it means to give everyone a stake in the country. In practice though, it is accompanied by the decimation of programs that are the only things keeping many poor people afloat, without a corresponding increase in jobs and other opportunities for those people. How exactly are people supposed to step into the role of "owners", if they have no jobs to be able to pay for ownership?

All the while, Bush is busy rewarding the super-wealthy. Jeez.

[Shallah Kali]

45. It is an ownership society - Society is run by the haves and the have-more

You load 16 tons
What do you get?
Another day over and deeper in debt
St. Peter don't call me because I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

[Iowa]

33. True, if you accept the premise that it's about survival of the fittest...

But that's not really what it's about, is it? If it were, our lazy and mentally deficient president would be living out of a shopping cart and drinking Ripple out of a brown paper bag, and most of us here on DU would be running the world. ;-) I don't buy the premise that this has anything to do with the survival of the best, brightest, and strongest. No, this is about the establishment of a ruling class - and whether "the chosen" have the wherewithal to even survive, let alone rule, doesn't have a damned thing to do with it. There's an element of fairness in Darwinism that simply isn't present here, and Obama pushing the notion that this is about Social Darwinism gives the neocons too much credit, IMO.

[nickgutierrez]

40. Well, "survival of the fittest" is a misleading phrase, IMO

It implies a strength on the part of the surviving species that need not be there. The only thing a mutation needs to do in order to be passed on to offspring is not be detrimental. Unfortunately for us, *'s "mutation" is that he was lucky enough to be born into a rich family, and the people being killed off because of it weren't.

[Iowa]

54. Right. And in this context one could make a case that many...

of the "survivors" in the neocon world view would perhaps be the least fit among us. If this had anything to do with fitness, the Walton kids wouldn't be as wealthy as they are, and GW wouldn't be president. If the neocons were really serious about this phony notion that everyone should be able to pull themselves up by the bootstraps (or perish), they'd be pushing for a 100% inheritance tax. But they're pushing in the opposite direction. Old money ultimately breeds weakness. Most aristocrats can't survive unless perched on their velvet cushions, and the neocon agenda exists to keep them there.

I see what Obama is saying, and maybe what he's saying will strike a cord with the masses. I'd just prefer not to hear our guys saying the republicans are about survival of the fittest - because it's far worse than that, IMO.

[iconoclastNYC]

61. Survival of the richest.

Where rich people user thier money to get government to do thier biding and kill off any part of government that does good for anybody else.

[Mr_Spock]

2. Tell it like it is Obama.

These people would stab their own mothers for a dollar.

[Shallah Kali]

46. Remember Enron and Grandma Millie?

The dems should have used this in campaign ads then pointing out how close Dear Leader is with Kennyboy
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml

"They're f------g taking all the money back from you guys?" complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?"

"Yeah, grandma Millie, man"

"Yeah, now she wants her f------g money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her a------ for f------g $250 a megawatt hour."

[Pirate Smile]

3. More

"Republicans running the federal government believe, "You are on your own to buy your own health care, to buy your own retirement security ... to buy your own roads and levees," Obama said, referring to flood barriers that gave way in New Orleans during Katrina last August.

-snip-
Social Darwinism applies Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection from biology to human culture. Popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the theory advocates free competition and a minimalist role for government in society. Darwin himself rejected the application of natural selection to human society."

[Mr_Spock]

4. The live and let die nature of the Republican savage is coming out again

These Republicans want an anti-social and hateful society - getting rid of government removes all barriers to people who want to excercize social domination through fear, corruption and violence. We can already see the results of Republican corruption - the worst in many years - and it only took them 5 years to lower themselves this far. These people will destroy society as we know it if given a chance.

[Pirate Smile]

8. I love his taking one of Bush and the Republicans favorite new little

catch-phrases - "Ownership Society" and renaming it Social Darwinism. The Dems should pound that hard.

I'm sick of their Frank Luntz, focus group phrases getting accepted by the media and Democrats - such as "Death Tax".

We need to fight back.

They win by PR. We need to stop it.

[MissWaverly]

14. yet the interesting thing is that they expect a total free ride

Don't the traffic cops in DC have to memorize all the congressman's faces so that they never have to wait at a light. Aren't they constantly funneling campaign contributions to
their own private accounts and cronies. Aren't they continually on the lookout for a lobbyist to bankroll their way thru life. What is survival of the fittest in Washington, DC.

[AzDar]

58. ...and don't forget the Congressional fitness club and barber shop,

or the magnificent health-care plan, and oh-so-generous pension plan...all TAXPAYER funded, of course.

[MissWaverly]

79. of course they're against welfare except corporate welfare

for their PACS

[Rich Hunt]

29. bravo!

And bravo to Senator Obama. We need to be more assertive in expressing REAL Democratic Party values.

[undergroundpanther]

5. Obama Nailed It

Fuck social darwinism.And the true believers in it.

[patrice]

6. Yeah, and the "Fittest" are Fattened on Corporate Welfare and by

crippling Labor.

And on the other hand, There is no such thing as the "Free Market", so these aren't the real "Fittest", they are not the Worthy Nobles they want you to think they are.

[brentspeak]

21. Survival of the Fittest Poster Child: Paris Hilton

A real "raise yourself up by the bootstraps" role model. :sarcasm:

[iconoclastNYC]

63. Hey

It's hard getting f'd on camera.

[trogdor]

64. That's the other Republican philosophy.

The "lucky sperm" theory.

[speedoo]

7. (Future) President Obama speaks truth to power. n/t

[OKNancy]

9. I like him!

No matter what the nattering nabobs of negativism say around here.

(They'll be showing up soon.)

[Pithy Cherub]

15. I *heart* Obama!

Obama is destined for great things! First, he needs to amass national political experience that matches the awesome power of his oratory. I am very willing to wait while he learns!

Obama is a Dem to be proud of! :loveya:

[shenmue]

10. Exactly

He knows what they're doing, they do, we all do.

:applause:

[Warpy]

11. The post Katrina fallout seems to have penetrated

a brick wall of DLC conditioning. When Obama first got into office, I marveled at the change. He'd looked so good on paper, sounded so good when he was campaigning, then he sounded like a protege of Lieberman for months.

I guess the callous disregard for human beings has penetrated a lot of fog out there. I'm glad Obama's coming back.

[rodeodance]

32. yes, he was pretty lame for a long time.

[dogfacedboy]

62. He was never lame. He just got there less than a year ago. n/t

[melody]

12. He's absolutely right

Bush once said that the elite were as different from the rest of the people as modern humans are from chimps.
They believe in Darwinism -- they had decent educations -- they merely use that to manipulate the
less educated masses.

Bush's family friends include several people who are big in the "don't teach the poor children" concept, since
"someone has to take out the garbage".

It's always been amazing to me that George Bush -- poster boy for resting on the laurels of others -- should
embrace social Darwinism. If anyone is an example (in their sick viewpoint) of a breed that should die away, it is
him.

What it is essentially is they don't want the compassionate to ascend in society. The poor seem to develop
compassion as a necessity. These bastards consider compassion to be weakness.

[bobalu]

17. Wow...That's really horrible...

"Bush once said that the elite were as different from the rest of the people as modern humans are from chimps".

Do you have any links for that?...I would love to get a hold of that.

As to Social Darwinism..all you have to do is look at the difference between a Bill Clinton..truly gifted, though born into a very non-advantaged background..and Dumbya..who with all the privileges money and connections could offer, still turned out to be a life-long failure...simply lucky enough to be born into wealth.

[melody]

18. second hand but direct testimony

My friend Freddie was working (in a service-oriented capacity) at a Republican fundraiser and overheard Bush say these very
words -- word for word. Freddie ran into the bathroom and wrote them down on a napkin, so he wouldn't forget the exact wording.
Naturally, they don't say that stuff in public.

[bobalu]

23. I believe it...

too bad no one had a video camera..it might have shown up in "Farenheit" Two.

[Thom Little]

13. We need to pin this label on them and make it stick. KEEP REPEATING IT!

This is a perfect description of what they do. I'm going to pass this message on everywhere I go, and all good Dems should do the same.

[unpossibles]

22. sadly

they're proud of that label. Most social darwinists I know are convinced they worked harder than everyone else and ignore the leg up they had.

[ecstatic]

78. no we need simple phrases

"Social Darwinism" is a term most Americans will not understand. It just won't resonate. Republicans have learned to keep their phrases short and memorable.

[brentspeak]

19. Republicans distort Adam Smith's writings

Smith would be horrified at the "every man for himself" style of economics practiced by today's Machiavellian Republicans.

[Child_Of_Isis]

20. He gives me hope. eom

[Chicago Democrat]

24. Well done Obama... you may be salvagable...

not bad at all.

[pstans]

76. Salvagable?

Aren't we being a little harsh on his first year in the Senate? He might have not lived up to your expectations, but remember that Obama is pretty young and needs some time to learn on the job. I think he has done some very good things and this speech just shows his promise for the future.

[ecstatic]

77. I look at some of the veteran Dem Senators w/ 20+ yrs of service

and I wonder when on earth they are going to try to do something. We have no right to be harsh towards Obama when there are folks who've been in power for that long and still don't stand up for us. If anything, he's just following in their footsteps!

[CatholicEdHead]

25. Yep, "everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others"

[Kat45]

26. The Republicans philosophy: Every man for himself.

I've got mine, and fuck you!

[Charles19]

28. It is make the rich richer, and the rest fight for the scraps if

you really want them, if not then F-U.

But it is hardly each rich man for themselves. They are taking very good care of each other the last time I checked.

[Kat45]

30. You're right, they are. But they don't THINK they are.

Each thinks it's his own hard work/virtue/whatever. You know, they think they hit a triple when they were born on third base.

[kineneb]

38. rather like the world of c. 1900

the world Jacob Ries photographed in his famous work "How the Other Half Lives" which depicted the extreme poverty of New York City. The book sparked off a number of reform movements to help the poor. Dover publishes the reprint. Perhaps what is needed is a new J. Ries to photograph the poverty in America in 2005.

[wiley]

27. Wrong

Republicans actively seek and often succeed at aboslishing or preventing access to resources that might make it Social Darwinism. Their premise is that, regardless of race, they belong to a superior ruling class that makes sure whites get these resources irregardless of their ability to compete in society. It's also a joke since the Pukes use government to deny the "weak", i.e., poor, non-white, or non-family or caste related individuals the shared resources of the government, while using these same resources to direct to the ruling white caste. The only irony here is that the rise of corporate power has led to otherwise entitled individuals to be judged and given access to competitive resources based on health status, age, lifestyle choices such as smoking, and genetic predisposition towards disease. They try to make it appear as those of other races or financial status or sexual orientation are advocating for some special rights.

[Thom Little]

31. Freepers react predictably. Check out this link.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1538508/posts

[William Seger]

41. Funny stuff ;-)

Some of them seem to think that "Obama said, so it must be wrong" is sufficient rebuttal; some of 'em think "we're not Social Darwinists, we just think people shouldn't have health care if they can't afford it"; some of 'em go with "we can't be Social Darwinists if we don't know what it means"; and some are, like, "so what's the problem?"

[Uncle Joe]

69. After reading the posts in Freeper land, I noticed

that many of them are so scared of big government restricting their rights or freedom and yet are oblivious to what big corporations are doing to them. They also seem oblivious to the fact that Bush has increased the size and cost of government from Clinton/Gore adding an entirely new bureaucracy all because he was too incompetent to work with the existing structure, and to put another shield between himself and accountability.

[wordpix]

72. good point, post it in Freeper land and see their response

[Uncle Joe]

74. What if I get cooties? n/t

[usregimechange]

34. The future of the Democratic party!

[jsamuel]

35. Nice Obama

:applause:

[gorbal]

36. I prefer "Altruism" myself

Not that I practice it as much as I should, but there is a reason it exists. The so-called "fittest" will always be outnumbered by the less fit.

[Voltaire99]

37. Surprising! First baby steps toward economic populism?

The larger idea broached by Obama here is that the society should stop cannibalizing its many for its few. Elites have created a politics whereby they are enriched, we are losing ground, and those brutally victimized by American wealth are growing in number.

Thinkers from Thomas Frank to Barbara Ehrenreich and Ralph Nader to Michael Moore have urged the party in this direction for years. The party's steadfast refusal to budge is one reason it's out of office, suffering very poor approval ratings, and will likely remain irrelevant for many years to come.

Obama, who has taken weak centrist positions on the war and corporations, isn't, frankly, someone I expect much from. He's likable, all right. But his current usefulness to the party's corporate leadership is to be wheeled out to make nice speeches for activists' benefit while the actual policies advanced by the party--tax breaks for corporations, more military spending, expansion of empire, belief in outsourcing--belie his nice words.

Obama won't be allowed to go far with this populist message unless he intends to weather massive scorn and resistance. That's always dangerous. Just witness the emasculated Howard Dean, briefly a firebrand. Today he's kept on a leash and allowed to raise money. Whenever he speaks out, scared Democratic office holders rush forward to declare that "Dean doesn't speak for me!"

I, for one, hope Obama bucks them. First thing he has to do, though, if he's serious and not merely a rhetorical sideshow: change the language. Speeches about social darwinism are geared toward the chattering classes. They mean zip, nada, nothing to the overworked, underpaid, poorly-educated TV-fed people who are most savaged by the economic policies in our nation and whose disaffection from its politics is nearly complete. Speak to the people in simple, plain language, Obama, about who is cheating them and what can be done.

If you dare.

[Lorien]

84. I truly hope that he will, but I'm not holding my breath

He's been given the DLC stamp of approval, and that worries me. This speech is a step in the right (or rather left) direction though.

[Polemonium]

39. Hope this continues, very well said...

Certainly the first good news I've heard about the DNC convention's golden senator.

[novak goes postal]

42. Obama Rocks for sure

[upi402]

43. Rethugs practice what they deny

- fascio bastardi-
deny natural selection then practice it economically, rather than improve our community and engage in a civil society.

[William Seger]

66. Problem is....

... they don't really "practice it economically." There's nothing "natural" about the "selection" that stratifies society, or the equation "wealth = power = more wealth." Calling it Social Darwinism was just an attempt to rationalize the privileges of the upper class and the disadvantages of the lower class as being a reflection of natural superiority and inferiority. "Conservatives" may deny being Social Darwinists, but I never met one who didn't believe to one extent or another that the higher social status that comes from wealth implied superiority over other people, and that being poor implied inferiority.

[Shallah Kali]

44. DU The AOL Poll On This Now Please!

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051211144909990016

Do you agree with Senator Obama's statements?

Yes 72%

No 28%

Total Votes: 11,473

[cry baby]

47. done

[imperial jedi]

49. done

n/t

[Jamison]

50. I voted! n/t

[dogfacedboy]

65. Done. 71%/29%. 19,000 votes. eom

[Shallah Kali]

81. 71% Agree with Obama

Do you agree with Senator Obama's statements?
Yes 71%
No 29%
Total Votes: 20,248
Note on Poll Results

[Qibing Zero]

48. Every now and then Obama lets his enlightenment slip.

And really, he needs to keep it up!

Seriously, sometimes you can just tell he knows better, but that whole first term scare makes him play politics.



He's 100% right on this one. Glad someone else beside me is saying it!

[newspeak]

51. well, actually it could be called

survival of the most corrupt (those that can steal creativity and labor while ridding themselves of there competition). Yep, they sound kind of Neanderthal to me. Sorry if I insulted any Neanderthals.

[Chicago Democrat]

52. Hey! I'm a Merovingian Neanderthal descended from Christ and

I resemble that remark!

[newspeak]

53. of course, you know

they have become extinct--or so I thought!!! It must have been survival of the fittest?:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Chicago Democrat]

55. Did you ever hear that the Basques have Neanderthal Blood?

Some crazy theory, I am not endorsing, but anyway, yeah, the 'modern'man killed all the Neanderthal they think now.. (genetic origin of racism?) anyway some guy says...

that the Basques are Neanderthal - ish.. no offense on my part intended.. just a theory..


Please don't bomb me Mr ETA guy!

[bleedingheart]

56. I have said this for years...

[wildwww2]

57. 71% yes at 8:27 am Monday. Freepers must be sleeping late.

Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[texanshatingbush]

59. What happens, historically, to two-class societies?

I am trying to become a "student of history", in order to place US society as it is evolving now into some historical context--to predict some possible outcomes of the current evolution. Perhaps someone on DU could help me??

I often wonder about 19th-20th century England. Was there a point when the endpoints of their society (the haves versus have-nots) grew so far apart that the result was the entire ship foundered--or perhaps simply lost its "great power" status? If so, is there an analogy with the current US dichotomy between the haves (more and more tax breaks) and the have-nots (offshoring of jobs, unaffordability of health insurance, etc)--has the distance between the two endpoints become so great, the load so unbalanced, that OUR ship-of-state is about to founder?

And, also, once the disparity between the haves and have-nots becomes so great, is there any evidence in history that that the disparity can ever be rectified? Must it be rectified by revolution (eg, French Revolution)? Is survival really possible for a society consisting of haves and have-nots, with very little middle class to join the two endpoints. Or is this part of the pattern by which nations form, develop greatness, and slide back into the depths from whence they came--until the next cycle?

RANT: Legislators should have the very same retirement programs and health insurance programs as the rest of us. Perhaps that would encourage them to make the system work better. (Thanks, I needed that)

[rmgustaf]

60. I Heart Obama! (nim)

[YOY]

67. If that man keep it up and stays true

I hope he may be our first black president.

[Nimrod2005]

68. Love the Seantor. Mr. Obama is GOD!!!!

:toast: :toast: :toast:

[wordpix]

70. a different philosophy that says, 'We're going to dismantle government'"

Obama really knows the score. Only thing is, Repukes DO like government, as long as it's enriching THEM.

<snip>

"They have a philosophy they have implemented and that is doing exactly what it was designed to do. They basically don't believe in government. They have a different philosophy that says, 'We're going to dismantle government'," Obama said.

Republicans running the federal government believe, "You are on your own to buy your own health care, to buy your own retirement security ... to buy your own roads and levees," Obama said, referring to flood barriers that gave way in New Orleans during Katrina last August.

[Uncle Joe]

71. Most excellent speech! I also thought of another

interesting correlation between the era of Social Darwinism or the Gilded Age and our present time, both gave rise to Yellow Journalism. We went to war with Spain and took over the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico all because a boiler on the U.S.S. Maine blew up and sank her in Havana Harbor and the MSM,(if I remember correctly, I think it was Pulitzer that said "he would supply the war") of the day decided it was the thing to do.

[tledford]

73. It was William Randolph Hearst...

or was it Charles Foster Kane?

Okay, okay, I'll go away now...

[Uncle Joe]

75. Thank you for the correction. n/t

[ClassWarrior]

80. The Distinguished Senator from Illinois has been taking his Lakoff pills.

Go Barak!! B-):thumbsup:

NGU.

[fishwax]

82. how can it be newsworthy to point out the obvious?

I mean, props to obama, I'm glad he's saying it, but I find it kind of shocking that ten to fifteen years ago the GOP made no effort to hide that they relied on social darwinism, and now the press seems somehow surprised :shrug:

[oc2002]

83. I do not trust Obama, I think he is just DLCer in disguies.

The real Obama has not been revealed.