Nationalize This

"We can't drill our way out of the problem," goes the Democratic mantra on oil. So what would Democrats do? Some in the party have the worst possible answer: "Nationalize the oil industry."

This week, responding to President Bush's call for more drilling, Democrat Maurice Hinchey said "We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets into the market."

This is what it's about: "control." And it's extremely dangerous for our democracy because once government controls the economy, it controls you, too. Then the Constitution, which guarantees your rights as a citizen of our republic, becomes a dead letter.

What's especially shocking is these two extremists no longer seem out of step with what used to be a centrist Party.

Don't take our word for it. A Rasmussen Poll released Tuesday showed that 37% of Democrats think nationalizing the oil companies is a good idea. Only 32% disagreed with that.

Which makes us wonder: Do they even know that socialism — state ownership of the means of production — has been completely discredited by history?

READ MORE