[Hoot Gibson]

We are having, Hoot, a debate about the role of government in this democracy,. A Federalist is not a socialist. It was, in days gone by, not necessary for thinking people to resort to tossing around propoganda type phrases and words in order to have a debate about the role of government in a free society. I believe the federal government needs to be strong enough to integrate the University of Mississippi. Your stance? I believe the federal government needs to be strong enough to pass the Clean Air and Water Act, which saved a lot of our choking rivers and streams. Your stance? I believe in a federal government strong enough to check the outrageous abuses of human dignity within the corporate power structures. Your stance? I am not saying I agree with Barack Obama every time, in each instance. Nor am I saying that I am always comfortable with each and every decision made by the government. However, I stand by my position. Period.

A "federalist" president does not seize control of publicly traded companies, slash executive salaries, or fire their CEOs. The seizure of corporations by the federal government has nothing to do with the notion of the division of power between our national, state, and local governments. Every US president has been a federalist. Obama is arguably this nation's first socialist president. Hopefully he will also be our last one but I am skeptical that will be the case. As for the red herrings that you have thrown out in an attempt to confuse federalism with socialism, those are topics for another time and another thread.