A group of members of the Republican National Committee has proposed a resolution "Recognizing the Democrats' March Toward Socialism." An excerpt from the full text, which is worth clicking through to and reading in full:
RESOLVED, that we the members of the Republican National Committee call on the Democratic Party to be truthful and honest with the American people by acknowledging that they have evolved from a party of tax and spend to a party of tax and nationalize and, therefore, should agree to rename themselves the Democrat Socialist Party.
When the New York Times, to its credit, asked President Obama whether he was a socialist, the president denied it, and suggested in effect that the real socialist was President George W. Bush. The Times story is here.
CNN reports that the Republican chairman, Michael Steele, opposes the proposed resolution, and quotes on of Mr. Steele's allies calling it "stupid" and "ridiculous." It's easy to dismiss the "socialism" argument as mere semantic silliness, and it'd be a mistake to get hung up on the word. But the underlying philosophical and pragmatic debate is going to be an important part of politics for the next few years, and the RNC members who proposed the resolution are on to something in sensing that.