Next on Fox News: Liberals conspire to poison military water supply; smuggle plutonium to bin Ladin; sacrifice disabled Christian babies to Allah.
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June 20, 2005
Looking for a Scapegoat II
Comments
What is the relationship between increased Christian evangelism in the U.S. Government and abuse of Muslims and the Qur’an?
Accidents Happen–in a Context
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 20 2005 22:25 utc | 1
Of course the repugs will try this shit if they can . The real question is has their credibility been so seriously dented that most ‘ordinary’ US citizens recognise they can’t lie straight in bed?
The Spanish experience is salutary here as the conservatives should have had no trouble winning the last Spanish general election. The people had tired of the scandal and corruption of the Socialists and even though the conservatives hadn’t shown themselves to be any better, they were different. However the obvious lies around the perpetartors of the Madrid bombing angered and alienated voters so much they turned to the Socialists.
One can’t stretch parallels too far but the US voters attitude to the combed-over, bouffanted and blow dried dems is pretty similar to spanish distrust of self proclaimed ‘leftists’. The worm has turned and the repugs will continue to play the same tunes but it is probably just too late. People have been cowed as far as they can be by the politics of fear and deception. Even if there was a major incident in the US and despite the best efforts of the administration to blame the left, as they did in Spain, there is a good chance that finger pointing by BushCo will be seen for what it is. In those circumstances playing an opportunistic riff in the face of some tragedy would definitely backfire.
C’mon people we need to be aware to the possibilities but lets also open ourselves up to the possibility the tide has turned.
Posted by: Debs is dead | Jun 20 2005 23:30 utc | 2
Would someone please ask Rush, or Donald, or Dick or really just anybody, “How does a Suspected Terrorist who has been in confinement at Gitmo (and God knows where else) for THREE YEARS have anything USEFUL in the way of information TODAY??
Posted by: Mary | Jun 20 2005 23:54 utc | 3
It’s the dolchstoss. We saw it coming, and here it is. Beware of your impure thoughts; they can sink the nation! It’s not going to work. It only works if it can be personalized. If there is any logic to the sell-outs by the current leading Democratic contenders for the Democratic nomination for President who voted for the war resolution, it is that they immunized themselves against the ‘stab in the back’ attack. Generic ‘liberals’ are not running for office. Plus, they aren’t identifiable like Jews or Arabs or Blacks, and they keep changing their minds, and some used to be (shudder) Republicans. It’s not going to work. Limbaugh can rant all he wants, but if he picks on any significant group of listeners, he is history. The simple minds need someone they can identify as the ‘evil one’. Clinton has kept his mouth shut; Jane Fonda’s retired; Noam Chomsky, well who listens to him any more? And Dean, it would probably not behoove Mr. Limbaugh to take the Doctor on.
There’s another problem. Towards the end of the Terror, a number of Robespierre’s hitherto loyal supporters began to think they were next on the list of the cutting edge, and they voted their necks. The suite was not pretty, but it ended the Terror. Some Republicans are coming out of the closet; more are lurking there. The first time Hannity or O’Reilly or Limbaugh or Gingrich go after somebody like Hagel will be the last time. Too many necks are on the line.
Posted by: Knut Wicksell | Jun 21 2005 1:38 utc | 4
Mary,
I think you’re thinking outside the “box”. That’s beyond mass comprehension. We can’t go there!! 🙂
Posted by: Bollox Ref | Jun 21 2005 1:39 utc | 5
Yawn. They’re turning up the volume, sure— but that’s all they have the stomach for doing. The fiery rhetoric is meant to cover their cowardice. Let them try to put their words into action— they don’t have the strength, let alone the will to do more than bray at the moon.
Posted by: s9 | Jun 21 2005 1:40 utc | 6
Can anyone actually point to something that the liberals have done that has had an effect on the war? Have we denied Bush a single dollar? Held back a single soldier? Refused Bush a single mandate? The wounds here seem to be self-inflicted. I mean, it’s not just the liberals beginning to think that the US must begin serious withdrawals by mid next year. It’s the generals beginning to say it out loud, because they don’t have the troops to rotate in to keep the war going that much longer. I opposed this war not out of some grand principle of international sovereignty, I hate to say, but because I wasn’t hearing any description of how much it would cost and how long it would last, and what our aims truly were. Not hearing that, and knowing the complexity of the Middle East, I was suspicious that we were being sold a bill of goods. We all discoverd that the bill was empty, except for loads of incompetence. That’s not my fault. And, frankly, who’ve we prevented from being tortured? Is it us that kisses Bandar’s ass?
By the way, this is logical, which means it’s worthless against these ideologues. However, if Iraq really is spiralling out of control, it’s Rush’s credibilty that will falter.
Posted by: Brian C.B. | Jun 21 2005 2:02 utc | 7