Billy Wharton

Who is Billy Wharton?

Billy Wharton is an American democratic socialist politician and co-chair of the Socialist Party USA. He is also the former editor of The Socialist and the current editor of the Socialist WebZine. Wharton is best known for his March 15, 2009 article entitled "Obama's No Socialist. I Should Know." In it, he sought to debunk right-wing commentators who claimed that President Barack Obama was a secret socialist. Wharton wrote: "The funny thing is, of course, that socialists know that Barack Obama is not one of us. Not only is he not a socialist, he may in fact not even be a liberal. Socialists understand him more as a hedge-fund Democrat."

The article led to increased media attention that resulted in multiple appearances on Fox Business News and a series of radio interviews including a segment on the CBC. Since then, Wharton's articles have consistently been published in on-line left-wing publications such as "Counterpunch," the "MRZine," "Dissident Voice," "In These Times," "Counter Currents" and "The Indypendent." Wharton writes a regular column for the Bronx Independent Examiner. He currently lives in Pelham Bay of The Bronx in New York City.