WEBCommentary Contributor

Author: Michael J. Gaynor
Date:  July 30, 2010

Topic category:  Government/Politics

The Emerging Corruption in America Is Stealth Socialism


Six-time Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas realized that he would never be elected and consoled himself with the thought that his ideas ultimately would prevail.

Corruption is "a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct" (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corruption).

The United States of America is being corrupted by Big Government socialism zealously pursued by President Barack Obama's secular socialist machine. That corruption threatens America's greatness, posterity and status as a constitutional republic that respects the God-given and inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the rule of law with the United States Constitution as "the supreme law of the land." That machine is increasing being appreciated for what it really is. See "Michelle Malkin Exposes Obama's Culture of Corruption, Extols ACORN Whistleblower Anita MonCrief" (July 29, 2009) (http://www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=090729) and Ms. MonCrief's "Obama, ACORN and Stealth Socialism: Dire Domestic Threat" (May 27, 2010) (http://smartgirlnation.com/2010/05/obama-acorn-and-stealth-socialism-dire-domestic-threat/).

When then presidential candidate Obama called for America's "fundamental transformation" in 2008, his stealth socialist allies knew what he meant. To them, it meant taking power and doing as fast as feasible whatever could be done to transform the United States of America into a socialist state, so that "progressives" would retain power in perpetuity (with the help of legislators who would vote for "progressive" legislation against the will of the people and the addition to the federal judiciary of activists who would rubberstamp unconstitutional acts instead of honor sacred oaths to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;...bear true faith and allegiance to the same...[and] well and faithfully discharge the duties of...office," and "administer justice without respect to persons,...do equal right to the poor and to the rich...[and] faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties...under the Constitution and laws of the United States."

Obama's Supreme Court nominations tell us the truth about his intentions.

Six-time Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas realized that he would never be elected and consoled himself with the thought that his ideas ultimately would prevail.

Thomas (1948): "The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened."

Obama obviously appreciates the need to avoid the S word, but a rose by any other name...

Fact: Obama's first Supreme Court nominee, now Justice Sonia Sotomayor, selected that Thomas quotation for inclusion in her Princeton College yearbook.

Fact: The subject of the Princeton College senior thesis of Obama's second Supreme Court nominee, now his Solicitor General, Elena Kagan, is socialism. That thesis, titled "To the Final Conflict: Socialism in New York City, 1900-1933," is available at http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/SupremeCourt/upload/ElenaKagan-PrincetonThesis.pdf. In it, Kagan lamented (p. 127): "In our own times, a coherent socialist movement is nowhere to be found in the United States. Americans are more likely to speak of a golden past than of a golden future, of capitalism's glories than of socialism's greatness." See "Elena Kagan's Senior Thesis and Socialism" (May 19, 2010) (www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=100519) and "Read Elena Kagan's Princeton Senior Thesis Yourself" (May 20, 2010) (www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=100520).

"[S]ocialism's greatness"?

Obama cheerleader Newsweek seems to think so.

Emblazoned across the cover of the February 16, 2009 issue of Newsweek are the words "WE ARE ALL SOCIALISTS NOW: THE PERILS AND PROMISE OF THE NEW ERA OF BIG GOVERNMENT." Lest that not be enough, the index declared "Bring on the Era of Big Government." The theme of the cover story, by Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas, is that "[i]n many ways [America's] economy already resembles a European one and "[a]s boomers age and spending grows. we will become even more French." Meacham and Thomas warned: "If we fail to acknowledge the reality of the growing role of government in the economy, insisting instead on fighting 21st-century wars with 20th-century terms and tactics, then we are doomed to a fractitious and unedifying debate."

Defying reality to promote Obama seems to be Newsweek's forte. The cover of Newsweek's April 19, 2010 issue celebrated an article by Daniel Gross with the proclamation "AMERICA'S BACK! THE REMARKABLE TALE OF OUR ECONOMIC TURNAROUND." The article, titled "The Comeback Country: HOW AMERICA PULLED ITSELF BACK FROM THE BRINK--AND WHY IT'S DESTINED TO STAY ON TOP," concluded: "The last two expansions have been 120 months and 92 months, respectively. If the U.S. continues to adapt as it has, and if it produces a few more game changers like Google and Apple, there's no reason that the expansion that started in July 2009, against all the odds and predictions, can't last just as long."

Newsweek thinks socialism works.

As history has shown, it doesn't.

But stealth socialists were capable of conning enough voters to put Obama in the White House with 60 members of the Senate Democrat caucus and a substantial Democrat majority in the House of Representatives.

The people who ran ACORN back in 2004 are hardly surprised, as an article titled "Election Thoughts" on the combined Winter 2003-Spring 2004 issue of Social Policy demonstrates. Wade Rathke, ACORN founder and chief organizer for 38 years, is the publisher of Social Policy. Mike Miller is the editor of Social Policy and the author of the article.

The article prophesied the Age of Obama. It closed by quoting an length from Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democrat National convention and the revelation that "most of the people [Miller] kn[e]w said, 'There's the first black president of the United States.'"

Miller naturally lauded the "Anybody-But-Bush sentiment," but stressed that "something new and very important is happening on the American political scene" and that even if President Bush was re-elected, "[t]hose concerned about the country's future should look toward '08 and beyond."

Miller cited three signs of hope from the 2004 Democrat Convention: (1) "[t]he 'progressive message'...got the biggest response from delegates"; (2) delegate diversity; and (3) "African-Americans [as well as other people of color and women] can be leaders of all the American people."

Miller realized that Obama, then a second-term Illinois state senator running for a United States Senate seat, contrasted sufficiently with previous African-American presidential hopefuls (Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Shaprton) to be electable, because people like Sharpton would faithfully support him.

Miller: "The messages of Barack Obama and Rev. Al Sharpton are illustrative. In 1968 or 1972, and perhaps as recently as 1996, Obama might have been called 'conservative' by radical and militant blacks--despite his history and clearly progressive point of view--because part of his speech could be categorized as 'blaming the victims'.... For this reason, Sharpton might have been marching outside the Convention--perhaps leading the charge against Obama. Today, both recognize that to defeat the political right a broad-based coalition that reaches out to the disenfranchised and alienated is necessary."

People like Miller realized that 2004 Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry "may end up defeating himself by playing to the very narrow base of undecided voters" and a stealth socialist like Obama (Miller preferred to describe him as "clearly progressive") was the key to attaining power and implementing the progressive or stealth socialist agenda (including "Big Government," massive federal borrowing to spend beyond the government's income, higher taxes on those who pay taxes, Obamacare and amnesty).

The stealth socialists took the long view. Miller explained that Kerry was "not defining the campaign conducted by either the labor movement, other older progressive forces or the new groups energized by [Anybody-But-Bush]" and they could "build a new political center in the U.S." with "[t]heir sophisticated combined use of the [I]nternet, direct mail, phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, house meetings and other voter education, registration and get-out-the-vote approaches."

Miller obviously was pleased that "[t]he poll-driven Democratic National Committee or Democratic Leadership Council aren't necessary to build...new relationships" and "new grassroots forces are being organized outside the framework of the [Democrat] Party."

Miller described the progressive political strategy: "A 'one-foot in, one-foot out' strategy to build a national progressive coalition is possible. It would recognize the Democratic Party as the likely vehicle for progressive reform, but not exclude non-partisan, independent, Green or even Republican possibilities." (Having a Republican or two would permit the bi-partisanship claim!)

In an article by Laura Barrett and Todd Swanstrom titled "The Road to Jobs: The Fight for Transportation Equity" and published in the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of Social Policy, then United States Senator Obama was lauded for delivering for his old friends at the radical Gamaliel Foundation.

Barrett and Swanstrom:

"As Congress went back to the drawing board in 2005, it appeared the community workforce provision was dead.....UCM had good relations with two elected officials who could help: Congressman Jerry Costello...and Illinois Senator Barack Obama....

"Elected to the Senate in November 2004, Obama had a particularly close relationship with Gamaliel. A former organizer for Gamaliel in Chicago, Obama had worked under Mike Kruglik, the political director of Gamaliel. Kruglik's son now served on Obama's staff. Obama attended one of their public meetings in Chicago. Obama also recognized that he needed political connections in East St. louis and certain African American clergy who were members of UCM also were heavily involved in turning out the black vote. He agreed to champion the workforce development provision."

Obama delivered.

Barrett and Swanstrom: "TEN's supporters in Congress were able to get Section 1920 inserted into the final bill that came out of conference committee and was passed by the House and the Senate. Strangely enough, however, when Rich Stolz of CCC and Laura Barrett of Gamaliel read through the bill they could not find Section 1920. It had literally fallen out of the bill onto the floor of the Senate. Todd Atkinson, an aide to Senator Obama, insisted to the leadership that it be put back into the bill, citing Obama's special relationship with Gamaliel. Leadership agreed."

That relationship was special. See David Moberg, "Obama's Third Way," in the Spring 2007 issue of NHI's Shelterforce Online (www.nhi.org/online/issues/149/obama.html): "Gerald Kellman, who first recruited Obama, taught him the basics, and he also learned from organizing trainers associated with the Gamaliel Foundation and the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). Both organize community groups, primarily religious congregations, and trace their lineage to Saul Alinsky."

America's problem is Obama's political agenda.

Obama's problem is that America remains a center-right country and more and more people realize that the change he was hoping for was not what they wanted.

Michael J. Gaynor


Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.


Copyright © 2010 by Michael J. Gaynor
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