Stephen Moore Quotes
Too often, we say that the Left is wrong but well-intentioned. Some are. But most simply want government to control other people's lives, and they believe in Stalinistic methods to achieve that goal.
Moore, Stephen. "The Left's Ideology of Greed and Envy." Creators Syndicate, 14 Aug. 2018.
Hoover, a brilliant administrator before his presidency, was so ideological about the role of government that when the Great Depression came, he was unwilling to use government directly to cope with the new problems. He was turned out of office in favor of FDR and the New Deal which the voters ratified 4 times. Hoover was embarrassed by the New Deal successes and lashed out with many insults. In this case, he called the New Deal “fascist”. See {589568} for another quote where he labels the New Deal communistic. Ironically, Hoover is rated by most historians as one of the least effective Presidents in American history while Roosevelt is always rated among the top 3 presidents.
Despite the fact that many Americans saw communists and socialists as of the same ilk, socialists were very suspicious of communists—especially the “party discipline” and the lack of individual freedom, while the communists saw the socialists as just another form of fascism and attacked it violently. Later, the party line against socialists softened as Cold War communist strategy solicited assistance from the socialist, unaligned nations.
The NRA issued regulations making many forms of child labor illegal. Many opposed to the idea, saw it as an attack on the freedom of a parent to decide whether a child would or could work and under what considerations. A father could send his son to work in a dangerous coal mine 12 hours a day and boys grew up never seeing the sun shine. This point of view and “right” of the parent, actually prevailed and the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional. It took a Constitutional Amendment that passed with overwhelming popularity to allow the government to regulate sweatshops, coal mines and other conditions of child labor. Like most things conservatives opposed, the association of a program or reform with communism traditionally stirred opposition, even to something as benign as child labor regulation.
Hoover’s testimony not withstanding, communism in America never did spread like an epidemic.
Stephen "Steve" Moore is an American writer and television commentator on economic issues. He co-founded and served as president of the Club for Growth from 1999 to 2004. Moore is a former member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. He worked at the Heritage Foundation during the period from 1983 to 1987 and again since 2014. Moore advised Herman Cain's 2012 presidential campaign and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
