The American Spectator

Political Hay

Democrats often portray themselves as a beacon to the poor and especially protectors of the sacred American middle class. They are prone at almost any time to break into song over the way Republicans "cater to the rich" by cutting taxes and "balance the budget on the backs of the poor."

The ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which has now become its dominant voice, is essentially made up of socialists, or those who endorse one of their main tenets: state-controlled distribution of wealth. They might couch these ideas in wholly American terms like workers' rights, or claim that it's really only "for the children," but make no mistake about it; they endorse the mantra of Papa Karl Marx.

Only they've developed a slightly different riff. While the ending of class warfare was a goal of Marx, its continuance is very much a tool of the American left. Its adherents despise the bourgeoisie just as much as he did and they are dedicated to ensuring that millions of Americans never join those ranks, thus remaining a dependable voting bank for them.

Their disdain of the American "ruling class" manifests itself in many ways; their anti-Capitalists team up with trial lawyers to bring down our industry, their environmentalist wing seeks to curb human progress, their "peace" activists would stop the spread of Democracy while their educational and media branches sugarcoat the above for those who don't know what's good for them.

In their efforts to save the poor and middle class from themselves and the evils of the American Dream, liberals have stepped up their crusade against Wal-Mart. In blue-state enclaves across the country, liberal big wigs have come out to disparage the nation's largest private employer on charges that it underpays workers and stiffs them on benefits.

While engaged in the worship of the most holy weapon of socialists everywhere -- labor unions -- leading Democrats sometimes give the game away. John Kerry summed this up nicely when he said of some un-insured Wal-Mart workers, "That's over 700,000 Americans and their families who have been told by their employer they're on their own."

They may not come out and say it (yet) but liberals will not rest until no American is "on their own." Such notions would have shocked the sensibilities of nearly every American only short years ago, but such is the efficiency of liberal propaganda; most folks now think that nanny-statism is actually good for them.

The direction of your children's education, your retirement, your constitutionally guaranteed freedom of worship, the way you conduct business on your own private property and even your right to that property must all come under the purview of the knowing eyes of the government.

But the forces of social-engineering may have over-reached this time by trying to regulate the way big business must compensate its employees. Their reasoning seems to be this: if they can't coerce privately owned companies to unionize voluntarily, they will use the power of legislation to force it on them, whether or not they or their workers like it.

And the sad part of this tale is that liberal hatred of companies like Wal-Mart keeps them from opening stores in inner city neighborhoods which would be most likely to benefit from their presence. Those of us who grew up in the days when most teenagers had part-time jobs know that working in a retail store is usually only a stepping-off point, yet more than three quarters of Wal-Mart managers joined the company as hourly employees.

Add to these job opportunities for under-educated or retired people, the lower prices which are said to free up $2,300 per average household per year -- possibly for investment or education -- and you can see why liberals quail at the mere mention of the W-word. It's hard to sustain an atmosphere of class warfare when one of the sides is in danger of disappearing.

Contrary to the way liberals treat them, more and more minority Americans refuse to be used as fodder in that war. They want and desire their share of the American dream, and if a job at Wal-Mart or the savings gained by shopping there will enable them to attain it, they will not be denied.

From all indications, liberals will continue to encourage their minority base to remain uneducated, abort their children, deny their religion and wallow in poverty. The more they do, the quicker those good people will assume their rightful place in American society -- a classless one.

topics:
Taxes, Education, Business, Religion, Environment, Constitution, Law, Unions