DC

Thomas Peterffy Had Us …

… RIGHT UP UNTIL THAT “REPUBLICAN” THING Thomas Peterffy is a Hungarian-born entrepreneur who made billions of dollars in America as the founder of Interactive Brokers, an online discount brokerage service.  Legend has it he was born in Budapest in 1944 during a Russian air raid and emigrated to this…

… RIGHT UP UNTIL THAT “REPUBLICAN” THING

Thomas Peterffy is a Hungarian-born entrepreneur who made billions of dollars in America as the founder of Interactive Brokers, an online discount brokerage service.  Legend has it he was born in Budapest in 1944 during a Russian air raid and emigrated to this country at the age of 21 unable to speak English.

He’s the definition of the “American dream,” in other words.

Peterffy is now spending some of his vast fortune on a political advertisement that makes a very important point:  That the United States of America is on a “slippery slope” toward full-blown socialism.

“I grew up in a socialist country,” the thick-accented billionaire says in his ad.  “I have seen what that does to people.”

We know nothing about Peterffy or his past, but standing on its own this is a compelling spot … especially he powerful line “in socialism the rich will be poorer – but the poor will also be poorer.”

Take a look …

(Click to play)

In fact there’s scarcely a word in Peterffy’s 60-second commercial that we object to … except its last line, in which Peterffy concludes that America’s ongoing descent into socialism is “why I’m voting Republican.”

Um … really, dude?

You don’t think the GOP slays capitalism on a daily basis, too?  We assume Peterffy is a smart guy, so surely he knows that Republicans in Washington, D.C. are materially (if not equally) responsible for our nation’s rising poverty, receding wealth, soaring liabilities, incentivization of dependency, erosion of individual liberty, declining academics and overall lack of economic competitiveness.

To pretend the GOP is part of the solution for all of these ills as opposed to being a (major) part of the problem is intellectually dishonest.

Now … had Peterffy said he was “voting Libertarian,” then his ad might have had some credibility.

***

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48 comments

Colin October 11, 2012 at 2:45 pm

The idea that Republicans are for smaller government is one of the biggest lies of the past 60 years

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Frank Pytel October 12, 2012 at 12:45 pm

Spot on.

Frank Pytel :)

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Common Sense October 15, 2012 at 11:44 am

Truth.

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B October 24, 2012 at 5:02 pm

Bull crap. We hate large government. And we hate government programs. It is against the constitution and against our freedom and the free market.

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He is goal oriented, not an idealogue at this point in the election October 11, 2012 at 3:56 pm

Fits- I know you know this, but, there is a difference between voting Republican and being a Republican.

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Smirks October 11, 2012 at 4:39 pm

Apparently he was born in Hungary, which was for a long time under the communist rule of the Soviet Union. Unless you’re Big(o)T, there’s a huge difference between Communism and what Democrats claim to be supporting.

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Smirks October 11, 2012 at 4:41 pm

And by “claim to be supporting” I mean all of that shit they say they are going to do and then somehow forget about until the next election.

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Maria-Erlinda Martinez October 12, 2012 at 4:00 pm

Neither the Soviet Union nor any of its satellites were communist systems; although ruled by the local Communist Party, each of them were actually socialist systems, they claimed, “…in the glorious path to communism…”, which Marx himself defined as “the ultimate aim”, and which is a chimeric stateless society where not even he notion of propriety exists. It is more or less the type of way of living of million years ago hominids.

The Democrats haven’t made America fully Socialist…yet; but they are well advanced in that direction, and, in the process, the Democrat high hierarchs are getting opulently rich via the fascist policies Obama in many case imposes (e.g., Biden in believed to be now “worth” more than $200 million, from “investments” in “green-tech” companies that received hundreds of millions of “stimulus” money. Al Gore is said to be “worth” $400 million from his “green-tech” pirouettes at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byars –www.KPCB.com, the most powerful venture-capital firm in the world).

The case is that fascism is half-baked socialism and can be used as a convenient steppingstone toward full-fledged socialism, which is what Obama and the Democrats do, see next how this works:

First let’s look at socialism:

Marx masterfully encapsulated the essence of socialism in his dictum: “From each, according to his abilities; to each, according to his needs”. The taker from “each”, being government, and the definer of the needs of and the giver to “each”, being government as well.

To that effect, Clodomiro Almeyda, the Chilean Marxist-Leninist the foreign relations minister in the cabinet of the equally Marxist-Leninist president of Chile Salvador Allende, candidly defined that “…to take Marx’s dictum to realization, the central government must own ALL the ways and ALL the means of ALL the production and ALL the distribution of ALL the goods and ALL the services in society, so that government becomes the only proprietor and the only employer in society” And exactly it is there where the Democrats, now exacerbated by Obama, are pushing America towards. As just one example in many, see how Obama made the federal government own the Student Loan Program.

In fascism (i.e.,”half-baked socialism) the government must co-own or cozy up to –or control tightly to either boost or bust them– SELECT ways and SELECT means of SELECT production and SELECT distribution of SELECT goods and SELECT services in society, so that the government becomes the most prominent owner and employer and, at the same time, the kingmaker and the Grim Reaper of private sector enterprises. Obama made the government co-own GM and Chrysler and won’t let go, despite that, at least GM, wants out of the co-ownership. Why? Because co-ownership is a very convenient steppingstone towards total ownership, that is to a socialist paradigm, which Oabama and the DemocRats know well.

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Common Sense October 12, 2012 at 5:36 pm

Maria..you need to just loosen a bit the tin foil cap that apparently is stopping some much needed oxygen. Cheers.

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Charles Bernard October 11, 2012 at 5:24 pm

Mr Peterffy is rich. He worked his butt off to make it in America like ALL Americans do. This country is a Democratic country. We are not a socialist country like Peterffy would like you to believe. Obama is a hard core capitalist just like 99.999999% of Americans. He grew up in a Communist country with no voting allowed. We live in a very different world than he fears. He should just SHUT UP and enjoy his cash. What a dick!

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Greg October 12, 2012 at 11:48 am

Charles,
You obviously did grow up somewhere else because you don’t understand America at all. “We the people” consented to be governed by a Constitution in 1783. We are not a “Democracy” but a “Democratic Republic” – a nation of Law. The State has usurped their powers over the last 100 years. Now the “collective” in Washington and elsewhere have centralized their control and currently dictate our education system, freedom to travel (TSA), property rights (eminent domain), privacy (Patriot Act), etc. Please don’t stand on a soap box and screech about Obama being a capitalist or how we don’t live in a socialist country. It seems you have come out of the “darkness” of totalitarian communism and think any light should be appreciated. Wrong. In America individual freedom is the light and any who try to diminish it should be stood against. If you are going to live here learn our history, and quit calling people names, it makes the rest of your discourse look shabby.

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Frank Pytel October 12, 2012 at 12:46 pm

“hardcore capitalist” ?!?

BWWAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHZ

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Maria-Erlinda Martinez October 12, 2012 at 4:29 pm

Obama a capitalist? What a joke!!! Or rather: What a deceptive a statement!!!!!!

Obama: “…spread the wealth around…” a paraphrase of Marx’s “From each,according to his abilities; to each, according to his needs.

Obama: “To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully…. The Marxist professors and structural feminists.” As for the Marxist professors, no explanation is needed. But regarding “structural feminists”, referring to “structural” sectors of society is a term encompassing a notion of the deepest and most authentic Marxist cut. I would need to explain Hegelian Dialectic, and then, Marxian Dialectic but there is no room here.

Obama has never abjured those tenets of his; on the contrary, he has put them to work at the slightest chance he had.

You who claim that Obama is a capitalist either do not know the facts or are attempting to deceive people with a falsehood. In any event, were you living in any country of the Soviet Bloc and said the same of, say, Stalin, Bulganin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Fidel Castro, Ceausescu, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-Il, Ho Chi Minh or Honecker, or Mao in China or you would have been shot for denigrating The Dear Leader. Lucky you are in not-yet completely Fundamentally-transformed States of America.

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Eva October 12, 2012 at 4:34 pm

You are right on the money, Greg. Americans today have always had freedom. They have no clue what is is like to lose that. My parents came to this country as Thomas did. Our freedom can and will be taken right under our noses if we do not protect it.

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B October 24, 2012 at 5:04 pm

We are a democracy. Democratic is a party. Democracy is the way we vote. Please do not vote nov. 6th. You are obviously not qualified.

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Tommy G. Bailey October 11, 2012 at 9:58 pm

I saw Mr. Petterffy’s statement on CNBC “Kudlow” earlier this evening, and am impressed with his statement. I looked for the sponsor, and saw it was paid for by this great patriot. Thank you for your efforts to awaken the American people. May you be blessed by Almighty God for your service to our country.

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A October 13, 2012 at 10:57 am

nicely said,, he has enuff dough he could just hush and go some where else.. but he choose to put himself out there and warn our country..when he hear a rep. from the current admin. state that middle class is any one under 250 thousand dollars a year has just made two class the rich and the poor.. folks who make 45 thousand a year don’t live like folks like al gore who @400million,,simple

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This just in. . . October 12, 2012 at 12:36 am

Poll: By Wide Margin, Democrats Want Biden in All Remaining Debates

DANVILLE, KY (The Borowitz Report) -— In a poll of Democratic voters taken immediately following Thursday night’s Vice-Presidential debate, a wide majority said they wanted Vice-President Joe Biden to appear in all remaining 2012 debates.

According to the constitutional scholar Davis Logsdon, of the University of Minnesota, the scenario of Mr. Biden appearing in all the remaining debates, while surely unorthodox, is within the realm of possibility: “According to the Constitution, the Vice-President steps in when the President is unable to fulfill his duties. Based on the first debate, that seems to be the case.”

Mr. Biden got off to a strong start in the debate, which began with moderator Martha Raddatz asking him and Rep. Paul Ryan, “Gentlemen, first question: To the best of your ability, smirk sarcastically at your opponent.”

The Vice-President rose to that challenge, smiling broadly and snickering throughout all of Mr. Ryan’s answers, and characterizing them with virtually every Irish synonym for shit.

Mr. Biden’s performance clearly wowed the Democratic voters in the post-debate poll, as ninety per cent of them “strongly agreed” with the statement, “Obama should crush a little bit of Joe Biden into a joint and smoke it.”

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BigT October 12, 2012 at 6:09 am

So, FITS says: Republicans = Socialism…

This clown ain’t just Bat-$&!t Crazy…he gone BIDEN on us…

FITS your constant attacks on the GOP are entertaining at times…but you are totally going off the deep end now…

Haley has rebounded, Scott Walker kicked your @$$ and then there was the 2010 elections…and Now Obama is NOSEDIVING…

Face it: You got your @$$ kicked…And if you would have just listened to EVERYTHING I Told you…you would have looked like a genius…

PS: MoRon had turned into the editor of Spurs and Feathers and Spurrier is soaring…

And you look like a Dumb@$$…

Hang in there, pal…it’ll get better for you…in about 20 years (because that’s how muxh Obama set back the democrat party..Hahahahaha)…..

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Common Sense October 12, 2012 at 12:31 pm

I think Big T forgot that it is his “Joe” identity that uses the word “Pal” all the time and not his Big T identity..got to keep those names in order Sarah.

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BigT October 12, 2012 at 12:44 pm

A Boogey-man hiding under every grassy knoll..if you are radical leftwing nutjob….

I can’t wait to see the idiot crap you come up w/ after the election…that will be funny…

But remeber: What did I tell you…and when did I say it???…

That ought to make you crap your pants…

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Recovering Lobbyist October 12, 2012 at 1:31 pm

BigTwat, you might have more credibility if you would properly construct a sentence.

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Common Sense October 12, 2012 at 1:34 pm

what is it with your obsession of either a. anal sex b. defecation c. Reaming or your favorite d.. all combined. Is that your ideal of a great Friday night or something?

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Smirks October 15, 2012 at 8:44 am

Is that your ideal of a great Friday night or something?

Are you suggesting Big(o)T limits his fantasies to one night of the week?

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BigT October 12, 2012 at 2:12 pm

My obsession is Exposing you A-Holes for the liars and idiots you are…

So far I’m hitting a Grand Slam.

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A October 12, 2012 at 5:14 pm

Maria Martinez, well said. When our fg wants their hands in everything that is a problem. Fg regulates themselves and who watches them? When fg controls all everything you live by the rules and regulations they regulate for all, with no matter anything,,you all eat the same cheese,but its moldy. There will be no one to tell and no where to go. It will be illegal.you all drink the same powdered milk,but it has bugs in it when I mix.Who will help, no one. you all eat the same rotten meat.they say your 100% free but your paying 68%.

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Common Sense October 12, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Is it crazy day at fits..?

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9" October 12, 2012 at 6:53 pm

American nightmare is more like it.Would you want that scary motherfucker babysitting your kids?

Get out the garlic!

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William Randolph October 12, 2012 at 8:04 pm

Common Sense … it is clear that the ‘tin hat’ is yours

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Common Sense October 13, 2012 at 10:18 am

wow snappy come back Willy. Thanks for playing corky..better luck next time.

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Take heed October 12, 2012 at 8:14 pm

Thank you Maria-Erlinda. I hope you are not too put off by the name callers as they are slow to connect the dots. Please visit again.

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Common Sense October 13, 2012 at 10:18 am

and don’t forget your tinfoil..you can share it with your fellow conspiracy nuts.

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9" October 13, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Who’s worried about ‘socialism’? We’re already living in a fascist theocracy.Eat shit,Maria.

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andrew October 14, 2012 at 11:41 am

people have a huge lack of knowledge regarding political ideologies in america. the omment here and his d demonstrate that

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Diane October 14, 2012 at 12:46 pm

Wait – Thomas forgot to mention that he is a Billionaire In terms of Forbes wealth he is ranked as #189 in the world. # 60 in the United States. and one of the richest men in Connecticut. So who is Thomas – he has made himself fair game for examination. His early history was part of Wasn’t he part of the Boston Option Exchange the people who brought you Morgan Stanley JPMorgan. And he testified against Banking and Securities regulation.
Hmmm. maybe it’s not socialism that we need to be worried about Thomas – maybe Thomas you need to be worried about the rampant deregulation of the very industry you have made BILLIONS on. and caused the collapse of Wall Street.

Thomas’s background makes me not want to join him in voting Republican. Sorry Thomsa – your wealth makes you far different then me or the rest of the middle class I know. I will not vote Republican.

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William Randolph October 14, 2012 at 1:53 pm

No, he did not forget to mention that he is a billionaire–try actually reading the article next time.

It is typical Leftist crap when you say he is ‘different’ from me so I won’t trust him.

Wow.. maybe you should stop you bigotry and class warfare long enough to take a look at the world around you–you may learn something.

It was not lack or regulation that caused issues in the U.S. I was the lack of constistent enforcement of laws we have combined with the selective enforcement or many others.

It is stupid to hold his success despite the odds against him as a reason not to trust his opinion related to something he has lived with all his life.

Your bias keeps you from learning and seeing clearly. It may be time to take a look at the facts of history rather than mindlessly swallowing the pap that comes out of a Regressive ‘education’ system.

This applies to Phyllis Stewart also .. the whole point is to keep the U.S. from following down the path that delusional and evil people like Obama want to take the country down. Those who want to take your Freedom from you in the guise of ‘protection’–they want a Politboro here in the U.S.

It is time you wake up and actually LOOK at history and stop parroting the nonsense that comes out of Regressive handbooks.

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Common Sense October 14, 2012 at 5:22 pm

William you are truly a fucking idiot..with statements like “that delusional and evil people like Obama want to take the country down.” you lose all validity and just come across as another small minded partisian hack..im sure your party is god like and every one else is Evil…roflmao. Seriously keep to foxnation where others of your small minded ability meet to share small minded views.

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Common Sense October 14, 2012 at 5:24 pm

oh and please explain or show one..just one example of this handbook you describe..no insults..jsut proof of this handbook you mention..ill wait.

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Phyllis Stewart October 14, 2012 at 1:12 pm

To Thomas Peterffy: The USA is certainly not going to become a socialist country under President Obama or any other politician. The government will not control the means of production or any businesses. We do run a health care system for our military but that is not socialism. You may have grown up with the evils of a devastated post-WWII economy and you regret that your people did not have enough gumption to work to restore their country without being bribed. What you are missing is an experience living in a plutocracy. The rich get richer and more powerful, everyone else is left to sink into poverty. This country has had that experience from the Civil War to the 1930s. The right-wing forgets this hard lesson – at their own peril. You are not the person to speak to America about economic control systems. Your experience is not an American experience, the Hungarians are not Americans. You have no experience with equates to that of America. You need to study our history first and not just try to conflate your un-American experience with our republic.

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Phyllis Stewart October 14, 2012 at 7:27 pm

Many of you may not understand politics or history as well as you think you do. How can a U.S. president change our country into a socialist or communist country (please keep the two straight). He would have to have the active cooperation of the congress, the supreme court and two-thirds of the states. Does this sound reasonable to you? Really? Stop worrying about President Obama and start worrying about what you can do if you get your head out of the right-wing blogs and into fully participating in our country’s active citizenship.

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William Randolph October 14, 2012 at 11:17 pm

I think this site has proven that the Obama Campaign pursues the Moron vote.

I don’t think I will waste any more time on those who refuse to learn remember lessons learned long past.. perhaps they will study the events of 1917?

Probably not…

They are apt to choose to wallow in their ignorance as they bask in their gullibility.

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Common Sense October 15, 2012 at 10:48 am

so does that mean you cannot provide proof to back up your statement about this handbook? So in other words you are full of shit. Got it.

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This just in. . . October 15, 2012 at 7:59 pm

Obama’s New Debate Strategy

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — With his polite and well-mannered performance widely panned in the first Presidential debate, President Barack Obama is under mounting pressure to prove that he can act like an asshole in the second debate tomorrow night, a campaign aide confirmed.

“In America, we demand that our President remain cool and calm in a crisis but go batshit in a debate,” the aide said. “Tuesday night is all about that second piece.”

Rather than unspooling a laundry list of facts and numbers as he did in the first debate, this time Mr. Obama will focus on tearing Mr. Romney a new one.

Unfortunately, the aide acknowledged, such classic dick moves as dismissively interrupting an opponent and laughing over his answers do not come naturally to Mr. Obama: “That’s why we’re having Joe Biden work with him.”

But even as Mr. Obama worked around the clock to practice being a douche, Mitt Romney’s campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, doubted his efforts would succeed.

“Being an asshole isn’t a skill that you can just pick up overnight,” Mr. Rhoades said. “Mitt Romney’s been working on it all his life.”

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William Randolph October 15, 2012 at 8:32 pm

Confirms that Mr. Rhoades is a Moron

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tomstickler October 15, 2012 at 8:58 pm

It’s a joke, son.

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Common Sense October 15, 2012 at 10:05 pm

willy isnt the sharpest tool in the shed tom..perhaps a chalk board would help him?

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Carole October 25, 2012 at 11:54 am

The sad part about this guy is that he came to the USA when top marginal tax rates were 70%, investment in education was high and unions ensured a high standard of living for the middle class.

That’s why he became a billionaire, folks. Lots of well-educated people to work for him, lots of people with extra money or pension funds to invest with him.

Just another bozo who doesn’t get it, or a selfish SOB who wants to haul up the ladder and block anyone else from achieving.

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Suzy November 1, 2012 at 11:07 pm

I wonder home many of the people on the East Coast who are looking for the government to come feed, clothe and care for them say they want small government and uber-low taxes? Can’t have it both ways people!

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