Years ago, Republicans would at least acknowledge that liberals cared about America--- they would merely suggest we were just going about it in the wrong way. Yet somewhere in the late 80s, the GOP abandoned that position and went all out on demonization, claiming that Democrats, Liberals and Progressives were not just misguided—they were actively and knowledgably working toward the decline and destruction of our own communities and the country as a whole. This allegation was advanced relentlessly for two decades by Fox News, Right Wing columnists, talk radio, talking points from GOP leadership, and wingnut welfare think tanks.
We thought we couldn’t possibly see anything worse than the GOP demonization of triple-amputee and Vietnam War Hero Max Cleland in the 2002 Georgia Senate race. That was when Republicans ran TV commercials that morphed Cleland’s face into Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein in order to elect draft-dodging Saxby Chambliss (he had a bad knee from injuries playing golf) to the seat.
This sort of inflamed, Good vs. Evil rhetoric can never be dialed back. It can only escalate. In this climate, every issue becomes intensely partisan, because to continue to portray Democrats and Progressives as actively malicious and evil REQUIRES that they oppose whatever Democrats favor. Every time there is a contentious issue, the motivations and effects of their Evil Genius/Naïve Dupe Grand Theory must therefore become more stark, more insidious, more diabolical. When race is injected, it becomes even more hysterical.
Last fall, Sarah Palin claimed that Barack Obama was "palling around with terrorists." This spring, the Republicans suggested that Democratic plans for Health Insurance Reform would include "Death Panels" that would exterminate your Grandmother. Ongoing Teabagger protests funded by corporate interests allege Socialism, Fascism, Communism, Eugenics, and all sorts of other sinister designs. Michelle Bachmann suggests on national TV that congress should be investigated to determine who is pro-American. The Birther movement demands that the results of the election—the largest mandate of any election in 20 years—be invalidated because no one (even the Republican Governor of Hawaii) and no evidence can be trusted that Barack Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States.
Dig Your Own Grave—And SAVE!
As the GOP doubles down on the "KRAZEE!," splits their hand, and then doubles down again, most Americans have caught on. In case nobody has noticed, Republicans have not fared very well in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Fewer than 25% of the American people identify themselves as Republicans. Although approval of Democrats like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi is below 40%, approval of their Republican counterparts is half of what the these Democratic congressional leaders are experiencing. Generic approvals of Democrats and Republicans in congress show the same margin. The Public Option in Health Insurance Reform has a solid majority in even the most obtusely-worded polls. A small minority fraction believes that Sarah Palin is qualified to be President of the United States, while a majority expresses approval of Barack Obama.
So why do I keep reading on DailyKos that Democrats should ignore Republican hysterics and hyperbole? Doesn’t anyone remember how John Kerry’s 2004 campaign didn’t address the Swift Boat allegations until it was part of every story? Doesn’t anyone remember the weak responses by Dukakis to the Willie Horton ads? Doesn’t anyone realize that if your rival sticks his foot in his mouth or is revealed as a batshit crazy loon it should be highlighted, not ignored?
I think there is a mistaken belief around here that answering insane allegations from the Republicans will reinforce or give credence to their insanity. I believe that if it achieves a certain level of nuttiness—which is now virtually required by the GOP strategy-- the damage is inflicted not on the target, but the source. And more than ever, the allegations coming from the Republicans are Super-Nutty, and the American people have become attuned to their relentless pattern of falsehoods and hysteria.
Point out the insanity. Publicly encourage Republicans to get help. Let the American people know that a vote for a Republican is a vote to put a mentally-unbalanced person with a tenuous connection to reality in charge of their interests. Maybe when Health Insurance Reform is passed, the underlying problem will be diagnosed and treated.