‘Forward!’

By Tom Tancredo

Obama has adopted “Forward” as a slogan for his re-election campaign. It is not very original. It has been used by other leftist movements throughout the world.

I can see why he chose it. After all, who can be against moving forward? Whatever the observer deems to be a desirable future will be what he or she assumes the slogan has in mind.

So what does “forward” mean to the Obama team? Well, we can only assume it reflects the continued effort to thoroughly “transform America” – a promised goal of the 2008 campaign.

Along those lines, Obama and his mentors long ago came to the realization that the old Marxian tactics based on the division of society into two competing camps – the bourgeoisie and the proletariat – failed to bring about the “transforming” revolution. These tactics were posited on the assumption that the plight of the working class would inexorably deteriorate and that, eventually, after the middle class had been wiped out by “big business” and after enough blood had been shed, the worker’s paradise would emerge.

The fact that capitalism proved to be the greatest mechanism ever devised to provide massive improvements in lifestyles – and life spans – has not stopped the left from seeking to kill the goose that has laid this remarkable golden egg.

They have come up with new strategies that seem to be working fairly well. Instead of trying to overthrow the capitalist system, they have determined they must work within it to seize control of the mechanisms of power and use them to transform society. New allies could be developed if the working class Obama says he has written off can’t be counted on to form the army of the proletariat. These new recruits now come from the ranks of the indoctrinated children of middle-class families (Occupy movement) and from the silk-stocking liberals who, apparently ashamed of their wealth, have agreed to bankroll the movement.

Of course, these groups combined don’t have what it takes to “thoroughly transform” a society. However, years of work to co-opt the major institutions of society – the educational establishment, the news and entertainment media and as many churches as could be motivated to join the cause of promoting “social justice” – are paying huge dividends.

Their influence has helped change a nation of rugged individuals into a “Nation of Moochers,” as the title of Charles Sykes’ new book describes contemporary America.

Now, I don’t believe that any of this was the result a few committed radicals meeting in dark cafes and directing the operation of cell groups throughout the country. The intellectual blueprint for this new strategy was spewed out by people like Saul Alinsky and lapped up by the Bill Ayerses of the world. Community organizers like Barack went forward to spread the gospel of identity politics. They recognized that a new proletariat could be built out of the creation of a host of “victimized” groups. These would not be made up only of race and gender specifications, but eco-terrorists, crony capitalists and an ever-expanding class of freeloaders who could deliver votes to remake society from within.

“When you rob Peter to pay Paul, you will always be able to count on Paul’s vote” is an adage as profound as any I have ever heard.

So the political flash mob is in place. They have their leader and their slogan. You will see “Forward” plastered everywhere and chanted by the Obamanistas at every rally. And every time you hear “Forward” in a commercial or see it on a bumper sticker, just add the words, “into the Abyss” in your own mind. It is the true message of the Obama campaign.

Tom Tancredo

Tom Tancredo is the founder of the Rocky Mountain Foundation and founder and co-chairman of Team America PAC. He is also a former five-term congressman and presidential candidate. Tancredo is the author of "In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security." Read more of Tom Tancredo's articles here.


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