There’s been a debate in local politics about whether a few local bloggers, George Rebane and Russ Steele, are right to refer to President Obama’s policies as “socialist” in nature.

Jonah Goldberg addresses the issue in today’s local newspaper:

The government effectively owns General Motors and controls Chrysler, and the president is deciding what kind of cars they can make. Uncle Sam owns majority stakes in American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and controls large chunks of the banking industry. Also, President Obama wants government to take over the business of student loans. And he’s pushing for nationalized health care. Meanwhile, his Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that it reserves the right to regulate any economic activity that has a “carbon footprint.” Just last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said climate change requires that “every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory.” Rep. Barney Frank, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, has his eye on regulating executive pay.

Of course, nationalization of industry is only one kind of socialism; another approach is to simply redistribute the nation’s income as economic planners see fit. But wait, Obama believes in that, too. That’s why he said during the campaign that he wants to “spread the wealth” and that’s why he did exactly that when he got elected. (He spread the debt, too.)

And yet, for conservatives to suggest in any way, shape or form that there’s something “socialistic” about any of this is the cause of knee-slapping hilarity for liberal pundits and bloggers everywhere.

» Read the Entire Column