From AP, "Rove: GOP to use War on Terror As Campaign Issue"
Sounds like an old story. Rove says, "Republicans have a post-9/11 view of the world. And Democrats have a pre-9/11 view of the world." That form of argument was used by Bush to "reason" for the invasion of Iraq. Old Europe was against the war, Bush said with a smirk, implying their irrelevance and decay. Apparently the bold "New Europe" countries were patently pro-war, forward thinking, vital.
RNC speeches
Rove's remarks seek to place into the minds of voters that regardless of what democrats say about the increasingly degraded environment, the loss of liberty, the corporate scandals, the lobbying scandals, the trade deficit, healthcare, education, whatever the democrats say, the republicans will repeat, "We are in a war here," indicating to the voter that nothing else really matters accept winning the War on Terror.
As in the case for the invasion of Iraq the Bush Admin advocated that in spite of the international community's concern over the morality, legality, neccessity, budget, practicality of an invasion of Iraq, The United States was going to do invade Iraq anyway. The Bush Admin. proceeded to arrest any dissent by declaring dissent to not only be against The USA, dissent was also supporting the terrorists and at the same time America is a great nation because we can dissent. The Bush Admin. bolstered their position by evoking images of "mushroom clouds" and a threat to the end of the great experiment, democracy; invasion of Iraq was imperative to our way of life.
I'm reminded of the oft quoted Goering...
"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
In a historic twist to the tried and true methods of mass manipulation, Rove went on to say, "[Post 9/11 view] doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong -- deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong." This is the message of the Republican meme for the next 10 months.
Republican=always right, Democrat=always wrong.
Ken Mehlman and Rove used this throughout, another winning message equally meaningless, but simple enough for the population to understand? The RNC hailed their old god Reagan as the President that brought lightening bolts down on the evil empire while democrats whined. The RNC is now kneeling before Bush Junior as the President that began the noble work of eliminating the terrorists from the planet everywhere and for all time.
The Party of Reform, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Reagan and W. Bush (strange they didn't mention the corrupt Nixon or the milquetoast Bush Sr.) has been reforming the world, making america's economy sing, while keeping evil-doers at bay.
Roosevelt for example invaded Columbia (1903 USS Nashville), installed an "independent" government, created the nation of Panama, which promptly proceeded to create a US controlled zone surrounding what would become the Panama Canal. The justification of international aggression for the purpose of securing economic advantage is the Party of Reform, it is recycled old European imperialism draped with the stars and stripes, it is the same pre-US revolution thinking of monarchical imperialism.
What is a post 9/11 view? It has much more to do with confronting the problems we face as a human population than rallying giddy flag-waving patriotism and animosity to those who refuse to worship a flag. It's about a power that is higher than vapid USA, USA, USA chants. It is the view of The People, it is the hope that was post cold war, post WWII, post civil war, a view that has spanned human existence. It isn't about a country, or a political party, political leader, or a generation. It is about accepting the concept that all people are entitled to life and the right to live that life, it is an acknowledgement that life is all we have. Politically this equates to a government that helps to preserve the rights of all people everywhere.