Comedienne and actress Sarah Silverman (shown) revealed in a Tweet on July 2 that her understanding of socialism is so lacking that she might be better off sticking to comedy and leaving serious political analysis to those better qualified. Silverman took it upon herself to lecture former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino, who stated on Fox & Friends earlier that day, “Socialism is a disaster. The only people who support socialism are people who don’t know what it is or people who want to win elections.”
In response to Bongino’s statement, Silverman tweeted: “Forgive me but you are daft. Socialist democrats are for socialized programs within our democracy. Like, education &health care available 4all, making sure all@kids have the same opportunities.. u don’t like socialized programs? Do you like the police dept? The fire department?”
Aside from the fact that Silverman is unaware that our Founders established the United States as a republic, not a democracy, she is woefully ignorant about the differences between socialism and its philosophical opposite — free market capitalism. While free market capitalism leaves property and the means of production in private hands, socialism places those things under government control and ownership.
Constitutionalists and libertarians believe that the redistribution of resources favored by socialists is not merely unconstitutional, but is also little more than legalized theft. They believe government exists, principally, to protect life and property. And which government agencies do this? Why, our fire and police departments. Furthermore under proper separation of powers, these functions should be carried out at the state and local level, not the federal level. Socialism eventually leads to near-universal failure and impoverishment, not success and wealth — look at Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc. Look at the disasters that are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (they’re broke). Look at the massive costs and lousy service of the VA and Indian Health Services, public schools, and more.
Silverman has a track record of supporting socialist or socialist-leaning candidates for public office. In 2015, she endorsed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders for president and spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in support of Hillary Clinton, urging other supporters of Sanders to back Clinton.
Photo of Sarah Silverman: Gage Skidmore
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