As President Donald Trump and his allies ramp up criticism of socialism, most of the Democrats running for president in 2020 are going out of their way to clarify that they are not socialists. But despite distancing themselves from the label, at least four of the leading candidates are running on platforms largely consisting of socialist policies.
Of the five, all but Sanders have officially rejected the socialist label. None are on the record describing “Medicare for All” and the “Green New Deal” as socialist policies even though both measures rely on government expansion, wealth redistribution through heavy taxation, and state encroachment on private property and enterprise.
“[The Democratic candidates] are playing a very delicate game because they have to appeal to their progressive socialist base, the people who get out and campaign for them, but they also don’t want to frighten middle America into the hands of the Republicans,” said author and Epoch Times contributor Trevor Loudon, who has spent 30 years researching radical left, Marxist, and terrorist movements.
“They know enough to say the right words to middle America so as to not frighten them, but to promote the exact same policies that have been promoted by the Communist Party USA and the Democratic Socialists of America, which are both Marxist-communist groups.”
In an example of how people react to socialist policies once they learn more about them, only 13 percent of Americans told Harris in February that they would support “Medicare for All” if it meant the end of private health insurance. In its current form, Medicare for All would eliminate the private health insurance industry with niche exceptions for covering procedures like cosmetic surgery.
The universal healthcare goal of Medicare for All is part of the Green New Deal.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested that the Federal Reserve issue credit to cover the costs. Sanders, Harris, Booker, Warren, and Gillibrand will need to provide voters with a better plan than merely printing more money.
Trump appears well aware of the socialist agendas of the Democratic 2020 candidates. The president said on March 11 that socialism is easy to campaign on, but leads to empty promises.
“When you tell people free medical, free education, no more student loans—all of the different things that you say—it’s a great thing to campaign on, but then, 10 years later, the country is down the tubes. It’s gone,” Trump said.
“So, you always have to be careful with it, because you know you talk about single-payer, it sounds very seductive,” he added. “But it means you’re not going to have good healthcare, it means the country is not going to be able to afford it.”
Since taking office, Trump has lambasted socialism and communism on the world stage. His criticism of socialism shifted to the domestic front this year. At the State of the Union address, the president said that “America will never be a socialist country.”
“Under the guise of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, Democrats are embracing the same tired economic theories that have impoverished nations and stifled the liberties of millions over the past century. That system is socialism,” Pence said.
“What Medicare for All really means is quality health care for none,” he added. “The only thing green about the so-called Green New Deal is how much green it’s going to cost taxpayers if these people ever pass it into law.”
To the conservatives gathered, the message was particularly poignant. The Green New Deal calls for massive government expansion into energy, housing, farming, transportation, and other industries. The resolution also calls for the removal of all gas-engine cars in favor of electric vehicles and the refurbishment or replacement of every building in America, an encroachment on private property unprecedented in American history. If implemented in its current form, Medicare for All would hand government officials a monopoly over the healthcare industry.
Shortly after Sanders entered the 2020 race, the Trump campaign pointed out in a statement that “Sanders has already won the debate in the Democrat primary because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism.”
“But the American people will reject an agenda of sky-high tax rates, government-run health care, and coddling dictators like those in Venezuela," Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said.