Over There

I've always been a fan of Chriss Angel. For those who aren't familiar with him or with his tv show, Mindfreak, Angel is an illusionist who performs acts that will blow your mind, such as walking on water, getting impaled on a wrought-iron fence, levitating from building to building, lighting up and floating light bulbs,  or making a girl disappear. He work is entertaining, and he's established himself as a master of illusion and misdirection.

Which brings us to modern day Republicans, the political mindfreaks of our time.

On the merits, the GOP knows full well that it has lost its audience.  Poll after poll shows that when it comes to issues, Americans overwhelmingly support the Democratic agenda.  Political survival then depends on misdirection from this fact.  At any cost.

The most common form of misdirection employed by the idea-barren Republican Party is to avoid talking about ideas altogether.  And the most common method used to accomplish this goal? Deflecting attention from the policy to the personal.

And oh, what masters of deflection Republicans have become.  A debate about whether to invade Iraq becomes a debate about whether Joe Wilson's undercover CIA wife hooked him up with a sweet junket overseas.  A debate on stem cell research becomes a debate about whether Michael J. Fox exaggerates his symptoms.  A debate about the right to privacy becomes a debate about whether Terri's blinks were voluntary.  A debate on Iraq policy becomes a debate about how mean people are to General Petraeus.  A debate about health care becomes a full-blown investigation into the lifestyles of 12 year old Graeme Frost and 2 year old Bethany Wilkerson.  A debate about curbing global climate change becomes a debate about how many compact fluorescent light bulbs Al Gore has in his house.  A debate about the shameful level of poverty in this country becomes a debate about how much money John Edwards spent on a haircut.  A debate about who's qualified to be president becomes a debate about who does or does not wear a lapel pin. A debate about executive accountability becomes a debate about whether Representative Stark hurt Mr. Bush's feelings.

Knowing that they cannot emerge victoriously out of a battle of ideas, Republicans latch on to individuals instead.  Public figures and private citizens alike are fair game as the right-wing noise machine turns its cacophony-creating media apparatus in non-discriminating fashion upon any individual, any prey that can serve to distract even for one minute from the utter vapidity of the Republican platform today.

It's a tried and true method of deception, for this version of political smoke and mirrors benefits from an already distracted and busy electorate.  And it is so much easier to attack individuals rather than ideas.  It is so much easier to appear grand when you're standing on the head of a pin rather than standing against the dwarfing backdrop of a real policy debate.  

And so, this army of magicians trained in misrepresentation launches into action.  At the first sight that the truth may actually seep into American living rooms, they propel themselves into action.  Drudge, Malkin & Co., the RNC, elected Republicans and the Faux News apparatus lower their heads and begin their work.  They send out press releases, which, in typical GOP style, use every formatting option available.  Caps, bold, underline, italics. It's all there as if they don't know which lie to emphasize the most.  Online, the members of Republican hate sites slither into action, latching on to the target of the day and obliterating any sense of privacy and decency in the debate.  Meanwhile, conservative commentators and pundits take to the air and demand with red-faced indignation that liberals apologize for whatever faux outrage they've decided to shove down American throats this time around.

Piece by piece, they toss out any hollowed out fact, any twisted piece of data, any dry opinion, piling the bullshit higher and higher and lighting it on fire.

And thus a conservative firestorm is born.

The pillar of flaming lies consumes the media landscape.  Over here, in the blazing light of burning controversy, in a simulated world where shadows dance and distract and where the smoke clouds judgment and reason, there are no ideas.  The individual sacrificed at the feet of Republican survival writhes in pain as Limbaugh and Coulter and the rest of the representatives of this modern Republican Party smirk and laugh and delight in the disastrous distraction of it all.

And over there, in the distance, in the darkness, is the reality.  Ignored by those who are transfixed on the conservative conflagration before them.

The inevitable Democratic response?  As we have witnessed time and time again, instead of starving the fire, they fan the flames with "rebukes" and resolutions of "condemnation" and "apologies."  Instead of starving a story of oxygen, they breathe out sputtering explanations and clarifications and fact sheets, which are, at this point in the game, futile.

We know how this show ends.  Over here, the illusion of political "debate" leaves behind a smoldering pile of ashen facts as the smell of singed progress hangs limply in the air. And over there remain issues unsolved and truths untold.  

The politics of distraction are the politics of destruction, for the Republican Party can only build itself up by tearing people down.

For Democrats, countering this deception and keeping the focus on the issues is difficult.  But often, it requires nothing more than letting the faux outrage die a natural death. Because the sooner the distracting firestorm dies down, the sooner Democrats can shift from debating individuals to defending Democratic ideas.  

And when that choice is made to engage in the battle of ideas instead of feeding a distraction, Republicans will be unable to sell their failed policies to the American people. Because over here, away from individualized distractions, is the truth that Democratic ideas are those which are the best for our nation. Over here, where all eyes should be focused, is the truth that any claim of competence and morality by today's Republican Party is nothing more than illusion.