Sometimes the lamestream media makes a big boo boo and actually asks the right questions.  They may ask the right question for the wrong reason but the results turn out the same.  This most recent serendipitous event occurred twice in the last week, at the hands of, Democrat apologists, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and NBC’s Chuck Todd.

National Democrat Party Chairman Debra Wasserman Schultz was asked what the difference was between socialists and the Democrat Party and she refused to answer the direct questions.  Her refusal to answer the question led me to take an in depth look at the political platforms of both the Democrat Party and the American Socialist Party.

In order to make this an informational and fun experience, I thought that I’d turn this into a game.  I’ve taken key planks out of both party’s platform.  It’s your job to try and determine which planks belong to which party.

Here goes:

• We demand the immediate withdrawal of the United States from NAFTA
• We call for a minimum wage of $15 per hour, indexed to the cost of living
• We call for a full employment policy with a guaranteed living wage
• We call for re-regulation of the banking and insurance industry
• We call for a steeply graduated income and capital gains tax
• We call for a luxury tax
• We call for a National Pension Authority to hold the assets of private pension funds
• We call for increased and expanded welfare assistance
• We call for expanded unemployment compensation for the full period of unemployment
• We support a program of massive federal investment for infrastructure reconstruction
• We support tax benefits for renters equal to those for homeowners
• We oppose the court-created precedent of “corporate personhood”
• We call for withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan
• We call for an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank
• We call for an end of U.S. arms sales throughout the world
• We support the right of soldiers to form unions
• We call for the closing of Guantanamo
• We support the right of public sector employees to strike
• We support unionization by card check
• We call for the repeal of the Hatch Act
• We call for increased health and safety regulation of business
• We call for a 30 hour work week and six weeks of vacation
• We call for reparations from the federal government for its role in the slave trade and the genocide of the American Indian
• We oppose efforts to declare English an official language
• We call for the right to retirement at age 55
• We call for jobs and training for seniors who do not wish to retire
• We support every woman’s right to choose when, if and how to have children
• We call for public funded abortions
• We call for 16 months paid leave to be shared by new parents
• We oppose measures that increase responsibilities and penalties on youth to curb crime
• We call for the end of parent consent and notification laws for reproductive health services
• We call for lowering the voting age to 15
• We support guaranteed incomes and grants for artists and performers
• We call for full funding of community and school arts programs for people of all ages
• We call for full and equal funding of public education
• We call for an end to public funding of private schools
• We call for forgiveness of all outstanding federal student loans
• We support public childcare
• We call for vigorous affirmative action programs in education
• We believe in universal health care with revenues derived from a graduated income tax
• We call for a healthcare system that emphasizes preventive care
• We support the right to choose or refuse medical treatment, the right to die and assisted suicide
• We call for extensive public transportation
• We call for fully funded high speed rail services
• We support publicly funded development of renewable fuels
• We oppose all forms of censorship
• We believe in the free movement of people across borders
• We support the rights of all immigrants to education, health care and full civil and legal rights
• We support unconditional amnesty for all undocumented people
• We support the public funding of all candidates
• We support voting rights for all prisoners
• We call for moratorium on new prison construction and elimination of privately run prisons
• We call for an end to all “3 strikes” laws
• We call for immediate implementation of the Kyoto Protocol
• We call for public ownership of all natural resources
• We call for the elimination of property foreclosures
• We recognize that animals have rights

Okay, test finished.  Put your pencils down.

Did you find a balance between the Socialist Party and the Democrat Party?  Well, I played a trick on you.  Each of these planks is directly from the American Socialist Party Platform.  But wait!  You say that you’ve heard each of these planks advocated by Democrats on the National, State or local level.  You say that our President has openly advocated most of these platforms.  Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid include these talking points in their fundraising speeches as they shear the Hollywood donors at fundraising sheepfests.

It is confusing.  Debra Wasserman Schultz has every reason to try and avoid answering the very simple question of what is the difference between socialism and the Democrat Party.  She knows that if she says that there are differences, she will lose the support of the openly socialist wing of Democrat Party.  If she says that there are no differences, she will lose the support of most of the American public.  She can’t win with any answer that she gives.

What is the answer to the question, “What is the difference between the American Socialist and Democrat Party?  The Democrat Party Platform dances around many of these issues and you have to read between the lines and look for nuances to determine what is being said.  The American Socialist Party Platform deserves kudos for being amazingly transparent.

Therefore, my very humble and understated opinion is that, the difference between socialists and the Democrat Party is the lack of specificity of Democrats.  Remember that difference as you are asked to choose between Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton.