I have a confession: I have been guilty of extreme naiveté.
The ugly turn our country's political climate has taken lately, especially in the last few weeks, has been a cold slap in face for me. I knew things would get rough with a big issue like health care on the table. But the overall tone of our politics lately, most prominently on display in these town hall meetings--the sheer hysteria, these peoples' utter imperviousness to any factual information--has really bothered me. Under Obama, somehow I hoped things would be different this time.
During the 90s, I wondered a lot about the anger of the right toward the Clintons. Back then I thought that there must have been something about Bill and Hillary that just pissed these people off. The anger seemed so out of proportion to any policy differences. The Clintons were basically moderate and pro-business. Concessions to the right--support for the death penalty, welfare reform--never seemed to mollify them. Why did they hate them so much?
Maybe it was because Bill was able to politically out-smart his opponents, that "Slick Willy" beat them at their own game.
Or was it because of Monica? The Clinton health care plan? Was it gays in the military? What was it?
I never fully understood. Now I think I do.
When Obama was elected I thought, OK, now we have a president of intellect and compassion, a person with Bill Clinton's positive traits, but without his personal baggage. And someone who has a genuine desire to engage in respectful dialogue with the other side. Maybe this time it will be different.
How foolish of me.
Now it is all too clear. It was not the Clintons personally. It was not unique to that administration or unique to the 90s. Ultimately it had nothing to do with the Clintons at all, really. It was--and is--the right's need for an enemy to blame the world's problems on. The anger we are witnessing now--the teabag movement, the birthers, the mob rule at townhall meetings--reflects a reality of our political culture that I have always suspected but until now have been reluctant to fully accept: The hysteria of the right will be directed towards any and all Democratic administrations for the foreseeable future, no matter how moderate or conciliatory they may be.
This right-wing mob can't be persuaded by reason, because it feeds on anger. It needs a boogeyman to be the target of that anger. All that's required to bring that anger to a full blaze is the kindling happily supplied by Fox News, Rush, and the other thugs in the right-wing media. Any rumor or assertion feeds the fire, no matter how outlandish, how far removed from the facts. SOCIALISM!!! HITLER!!! EUTHANASIA!!! HE'S A RACIST!!! WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE??!! Soon the fire is out of control, and we've seen--and will continue to see--the results.
I know what a lot of you must be thinking: "Well, DUH! What took you so long to figure THAT out?"
A fair question.
In the back of my mind I have known this all along, but I guess I will plead guilty to wishful thinking. I had hoped that there was something unique about their reaction to the Clintons, that there might be a loyal opposition that could be reasoned with. I am an optimistic person, and I guess I allowed myself to get swept up in Obama's idea of a respectful dialogue.
No more. I now realize that the anger of the right will be our country's cross to bear for a long, long time. The hysteria will be like severe weather: destructive--and inevitable. And we will just have to figure out how to deal with it, to limit the damage, because it's not going away no matter what we do or say.
While the right can be discredited in the eyes of others who don't share their views, they themselves are beyond the reach of persuasion. They must be defeated in the court of public opinion by being shown for what they are. And those in the right-wing media who fan the flames of their hysteria must be held to account.
Please pardon my earlier naiveté. It won't happen again.
Thanks for reading. I'm a long-time lurker and this is my first diary.