Republicans haven't said "yes" to much of anything since President Obama took office. They have filibustered virtually everything (even things they appear to like), they have proposed virtually nothing (other than vague platitudes), and when Democrats give them what they demand, they often then criticize the Democrats for having complied.
Some of those charges aren't all that peculiar to this minority party. Under some unwritten political law, minority parties almost never offer solutions- the theory being that voters are quicker turned against something than they are persuaded to be for something. Democrats in 2006, for example, had astonishingly little to contribute to any policy discussions. It seems, though, that for some Republicans, pure obstructionism and saying "no," even at a record-breaking pace, isn't enough. Some want something more: fear.
A recent Republican National Committee fundraising memo, obtained by Politico, contains a slide (found here) which identifies two RNC target groups for contributions: "visceral givers" and "calculated givers." "Visceral givers" will be motivated through "fear" and "extreme negative feelings towards existing Administration." "Calculated givers" will be targeted through access, peer to peer pressure, and ego-building.
The very next slide asks, "What can you sell when you do not have the White House, House or Senate?" The answer: "Save the country from trending toward socialism!" Obama's picture then appears under the heading "Evil Empire" with his image modified so he appears like the Joker in Batman.
To his credit, the RNC's Chairman, Michael Steele, immediately disavowed the memorandum once Politico asked him about it, and he said he had no knowledge it had been created or used and that it would not be used in the future.
Unfortunately, whether or not the memorandum is circulated, much of the Republican leadership (and conservative media) has already gotten the message. Make people afraid, and even angry.
I don't know quite where the rage sentiment began (I suspect much of it started with Sean Hannity and conservative talk radio), but it was given a tremendous boost by Sarah Palin during the presidential campaign in 2008. You may recall such quotes from her as:
Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country
This is someone who sees America as 'imperfect enough' to work with a former domestic terrorist who targeted his own country
Not satisfied with calling the future president a terrorist sympathizer, Palin (and McCain) took to calling Obama "Barack Hussein Obama." The intent was clear- associate Obama with Sadaam Hussein and, by extension, Islamic extremism. It didn't take long for internet rumors to spread that Obama was a Muslim (wrong both because it assumes being Muslim is bad, and because it is totally false). Perhaps Obama was even someone who was secretly infiltrating the US government to destroy the nation from within. Soon it was rumored Obama wouldn't salute the flag (because he really hates America). And perhaps he wouldn't salute the flag because... he isn't even an American! At some point, McCain became concerned with the extremist rhetoric. Perhaps it was when someone, referring to Obama, shouted "kill him!" at a McCain rally. He somewhat worked to tamp down the emotions. In response, he was booed. Booed for refusing to agree with a questioner that Obama was an Arab.
Of course, extreme rhetoric didn't die with the campaign either. On health reform, Palin said in 2009:
The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.
With that statement, the "death panel" debate exploded into American society. Nevermind that the provision in Obama's health care plan giving rise to the "death panel" nonsense had been inserted at the request of a Republican (and only called for end of life counseling, which is perfectly reasonable), Obama was now painted as someone who wanted to kill off the elderly. If someone really believes Obama wants to kill the elderly, it isn't a long step from "Obama's system is downright evil" to "Obama is downright evil."
Conservative radio and Fox News have been heavy promoters of the fear agenda. Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and others are profiting handsomely from their fearmongering. They are fools if they think their profits don't come at a cost, however.
Americans are angry right now- at least a good portion of them. Unfortunately, many are angry based on totally irrational beliefs. Obama is a Muslim. Obama is an Arab. Obama isn't qualified to be president because he was born in Indonesia/Kenya/anywhere but America. Obama is a socialist. Obama is a Marxist. Obama hates grandma and wants her euthanized. Obama hates America. Obama hates kittens and puppies.
Is it any surprise that a Google search for "kill Obama" returns 31,000,000 hits (after 12 years of Bush presidencies, "kill Bush" returns 22,300,000)? "Obama hates America" returns 3,780,000 hits. Go to Google and type in the words "Obama is" and see what Google suggests (based on user searches) to auto-complete your search. You will find "the antichrist," "an idiot," "literally Hitler," "a Muslim," "a joke," "a liar," "the antichrist proof," "a socialist," and "a racist."
A recent Research 2000 poll also uncovered some disturbing beliefs among Republicans (info on Research 2000 available here). According to the poll of 2,003 self-identified Republicans (sampled at random nationwide), 31% believe Obama is a racist who hates white people (33% don't know). 24% believe Obama wants the terrorists to win (33% aren't sure). 63% believe Obama is a socialist. 36% don't believe Obama was born in the US (22% aren't sure). 39% think Obama should be impeached (29% aren't sure). Those results are, frankly, crazy.
The National Review responded to the poll numbers, noting that many of the results weren't "that surprising or even that troubling." In responding to the question of whether Obama is a racist who hates white people, for example, Jim Geraghty noted:
"Maybe these respondents are just "acting stupidly" — obviously Obama doesn't hate William Ayers or Michael Pfleger — but they could very well be drawing conclusions based on who gets cut slack from Obama (those who preach the unimaginable from the pulpit for 20 years) and those who are judged in an instant (Cambridge cops)."
Did you get that? Obama doesn't hate all white people. He LOVES some- the ones like William Ayers and Michael Pfleger. It is whites who aren't terrorists or racists that Obama hates. Look at Rev. Wright and the Cambridge cops for example. Sheesh. It's pretty easy to see how 64% of Republicans might think Obama is a racist or not be sure if this is how they get their news.
In explaining why 24% of Republicans want the terrorists to win, Geraghty said:
"This probably is related to the "he's really a Muslim" conspiracy theory. It's nonsense, of course, but it's not that hard to imagine what facts lead one down that path."
No, it isn't that hard to imagine- it is nonsense like Geraghty's article that that leads people down that path.
I don't pretend to know what Obama personally believes on anything, but I do have a good sense of what he has proposed to do while President, and thus far his actions do not mesh with the labels of "terrorist sympathizer," "socialist," Marxist," "America hater," or "racist." To the contrary, much to the chagrin of many on the left Obama's policies to date have been decidedly moderate.
On health care, the bill being proposed right now looks quite a bit like what Republicans proposed in 1994 under Gingrich and much like what Mitt Romney passed in Massachusetts. What it definitely doesn't look like is a single-payer system, which was strongly pushed by liberals. There is no public option either. There isn't even a Medicare buy-in. Instead, the bill has exchanges to increase competition among private insurers, subsidies to help those who can't afford insurance, modest tort reform, and options for states to waive out of the bill's requirements if they think they can do better. All of those proposals have been demanded by Republicans in the past (and oddly are still demanded now, even though they have already been included). Responding to Republican criticisms that the bill still doesn't include enough Republican ideas, Obama just announced he would include even more.
On national security, Obama's promises to close Guantanamo Bay have not yet come to fruition (he has cited difficulties in compiling case records against detainees and problems in ensuring dangerous terrorists aren't prematurely released from prison). While he has largely withdrawn from Iraq (which even Republicans seem to think is a good idea now), he has escalated US involvement in Afghanistan significantly and seems to have secured the assistance of Pakistan in tracking terrorists within Pakistani borders.
On the economy, he continued using TARP (implemented under Bush) and passed a stimulus bill as promised, but the size of the stimulus bill was significantly lower than what liberal economists favored. A year later, he then implemented a spending freeze (a bit of a misnomer, as much of federal spending is exempted from the freeze, but this is hardly a "liberal" move under current circumstances).
On gay rights, he has promised he would repeal "don't ask, "don't tell," but has largely deferred to military leaders to determine when and how it is implemented.
Obama's first year in office has been highlighted by centrism and attempts at bipartisanship at the expense of liberal policies and constituencies. This isn't necessarily wrong. Indeed, I get the sense that his moderation has been founded in pragmatism, but that isn't much consolation to many liberal voters who feel let down. And yet, despite the lack of a significant turn to the left during his presidency, many on the right continue to insist that the nation is on the verge of destruction. Fear and anger are pushing facts out of the way.
Conservative media and some Republican politicians are creating a monster they can no longer control. Ironically, they are now finding much of the rage directed at Republicans which certainly wasn't their intent. That's the problem with rage- it isn't easily controllable, and its uncontrolled effects can be devastating.
Somehow, some way, Republican leaders and pundits need to walk this back from the ledge. The fear and anger spreading throughout America cannot continue to grow at this pace without something tragic occurring. This isn't "just politics," and it isn't responsible. This is screaming "FIRE!" in a crowded theater and it needs to stop.
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