The Next Battle: Stop Socialism

THE NEXT BATTLE: STOP SOCIALISM

By Dick Morris
DickMorris.com

After Obama succeeds in jamming health care changes down the collective throats of his embattled constituents, his next move will be to bring overt socialism to the United States in the guise of regulatory reform.

The legislation he seeks to pilot through the Senate (it already passed the House) literally gives the Secretary of the Treasury the power to seize any company in any sector which, in his judgment, is in danger of insolvency and whose failure would cause systemic damage to the national economy (aka - too big to fail).

Once the government has seized a private business under this horrific law, the Secretary of the Treasury is empowered to fire its management, replace its board of directors, wipe out the equity of its shareholders, and close any divisions or parts of it he wishes. Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez would envy such power.

Exploiting concerns that another global meltdown might be around the corner, the Obama legislation effectively brings socialism to the United States.

There's no other term for it.

Even the existence of such enormous power will have a chilling effect on economic decisions and political freedom.

CEOs of large companies will be constantly looking over their shoulders, worried about government seizure. Since there is no objective standard built into the bill - such as bankruptcy - they will never know when the feds will swoop down and lock the doors. This policy of economic terrorism will influence investment decisions, lead to companies scaling down their size just to avoid seizure, and refusing to take risks which, while good for job creation, might mark them as potentially insolvent.

Politically, corporate executives will have to think long and hard before they donate funds to Obama's political opponents or antagonize the Administration. The standards for government seizure are so flexible and judgmental that a political conflict can easily escalate into a corporate seizure.

This bill is Obama's plan to bring socialism to America. He will use the power this legislation confers widely and ruthlessly to force corporations to do his bidding, follow his policies, or face the prospect of seizure.

Corporate executives, in particular, will come to feel - rightly - that their jobs are on the line if they don't keep their relations with the Administration calm and smooth. Imagine if JFK had had this power when he balked at steel price increases in 1962. Or, if LBJ had used this power to coerce support for the War in Vietnam. Of if Nixon was able to use this kind of power in pursuit of those on his list of enemies.

This legislation, while cloaked in obscure language and replete with bureaucratic gobbledygook, is a dire threat to our freedom.

It is part of the socialist trio that animates Obama's program: regulatory "reform", cap and trade, and health care. Among them, these bills will give him power over all major businesses, all utilities, all manufacturing industries, and all health care providers. There's not much left.

If Massachusetts delivers for democracy and elects Scott Brown to the Senate, we have a good chance of stopping the two legs of this triad that are still pending - regulatory reform and cap and trade.

Parts of the regulatory reform bill are OK. The consumer agency it contemplates could do good things. But one suspects that these provisions are just window dressing to disguise the massive power grab behind the bill. Never before has our government had the power to seize corporations at will. And it certainly has never before been based on such subjective criteria.

But these issues may not excite the massive public opposition that health care reform did. The average American may not realize how dangerous these bills are. But we must mobilize and stop them from passing.

To preserve our freedom.