Dear Mr. Mataconis at 'Outside the Beltway': I eagerly await your apology to Rep. Allen West

Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway is outraged -- outraged! -- that so few Republicans have condemned Allen West's linkage of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) to Communism.

Just to recap, last week Rep. Allen West (R-FL) -- one of the rising stars in Congress -- publicly tied the CPC to the Communist agenda:

He had the intestinal fortitude to call the Congressional Progressive Caucus Communists...

...The cries from the Democrats can be heard far and wide – calling West irresponsible for calling patriots Communists. Just one small problem – the Congressional Progressive Caucus was founded in 1991 by Bernie Sanders, who is an avowed Socialist and a Congressman from Vermont; Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the radical Washington DC based “think tank,” Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

...Except all of [the media's] video clips are very carefully edited to cut out the next thing West said. Here is the quote in full, with the omitted part presented in boldface:

It’s a good question. I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Which is completely accurate.

It doesn't take much work to prove West right:

• According to The Weekly Worker (the Communist Party newsletter of Britain), "...The [Congressional Progressive Caucus] CPC is ‘organised around the principles of social and economic justice’, a ‘non-discriminatory society’ and ‘national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful’.” ... the CPC platform is “strongly supported by the Communist Party of the United States of America... The CPUSA has served in effect as a loyal tendency inside the Democratic Party for over half a century."

• According to the Democrat Socialists of America, "We work with [various radical] movements to strengthen the party’s left wing, represented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus."

In fact, the agenda of the CPC is virtually indistinguishable from Karl Marx' 10-point Communist Manifesto:

According to Karl Marx, the following ten elements were requisite conditions for "a transition from capitalism to communism."

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. Washington Examiner: The great Obama land grab: "White House officials have been meeting quietly with environmental groups to map out government plans for acquiring untold millions of acres of both public and private land... The federal government, as the memo boasted, is the nation's 'largest land manager.' It already owns roughly one of every three acres in the United States... This is apparently not enough."

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. National Taxpayer Union: The top 1% of taxpayers already pay 40% of all income taxes. The top 5% pay 61% of all income taxes. And the top 25% pay 87%. The bottom 50% pay 3% of all income taxes.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. USA Today: "Estate tax to return in 2011, and it could hurt ordinary folks."

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants [those leaving the country] and rebels. New York Post: The President's new jobs-killer: "...President Obama explicitly targeted the industry for two massive tax hikes. First, he'd ban oil and gas companies from using the 'Section 199' tax credit, a measure for domestic manufacturers enacted in 2004 to boost US employment... Second, he wants to end 'dual capacity' protection for US energy firms... Without this shield against double taxation on foreign revenues, American companies would be competing on an uneven global playing field... Yet, by the federal government's own economic model, these tax hikes would lead to huge, immediate job losses."

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. New York Post: Democrats, Fannie Mae still issuing subprime loans, even after meltdown. And CNS News: Obama to Nationalize Student Lending with Pending Budget Bill.

6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. Tom's Hardware: "Bill Allows Obama Power to Shut Down Internet." And "Advertisers on talk radio targeted by Congressional investigations." And "In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, President Obama made the extraordinary claim that Fox News is 'destructive to [America's] long-term growth.'."

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. National Legal and Policy Center: "Obama Arranges Takeover of GM and Chrysler; Auto Workers Union Gets Huge Stake." And Discover: "New EPA Rules Clamp Down on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining." And News 9 Oklahoma: "EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust."

8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. Wall Street Journal: "SEIU’s Stern Tops White House Visitor List." More recently: "The AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka talks to the White House every day." And "Obama’s OFA, Churches Join Democratic Socialists for Saturday March in Washington."

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country. Heritage: "The Clean Water Restoration Act Means Troubled Waters For Property Owners": "...The Waxman-Markey global warming bill is far and away the most worrisome environmental measure currently working its way through Congress, but it is certainly not the only cause for concern... S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA)... would do much more harm than good, especially for farmers, ranchers, developers, energy producers, and other property owners."

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.: Reuters: "Obama says public employees should not be vilified." New York Sun: "Obama Tells Teachers Union He Opposes Vouchers." And Big Hollywood: "[Teachers' Union] NEA: Obama’s Ministry of Propaganda."

In short, the CPC represents a radical Marxist vision for America. It represents Communism. The CPC is antithetical to the United States Constitution, the very document that these Leftists took an oath to uphold! Put simply, they lied under oath.

I encourage you to read the mission statement of the CPC, which represents a laundry list of Utopian dreams that can only be compelled by a massive, centralized, authoritarian federal government. And, that, of course, was something this country's founders feared.

Progressivism is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. I sincerely hope that, in the not too distant future, any self-admitted "progressive" will be ineligible to hold public office. Because you can't be a progressive and honestly take an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Hey, Mataconis: I'll be looking forward to your next post, which should be a well-written apology to Lt. Col. West.