Please stop using the term "conspiracy theory" as a short cut to denigrate arguments you disagree with. This tactic comes directly out of the right-wing playbook. In fact, this is Tucker Carlson's favorite way to dismiss opposing arguments that require more than three verbs and two nouns to explain. If you wrote a diary critical of speculation that the latest terror alert was hyped or manufactured, please print this out and tape it to your monitor:
1) While threats of terrorism certainly exist, the Bush Administration has a solid track record of hyping supposed threats at politically convenient times. This was
confirmed by none other than former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge.
2) The mainstream media has proven itself to be a gullible enabler of Bush Administration fear-mongering. Skepticism about new terror alerts is a sensible reaction.
3) The Bush Administration uses terror alerts to gain domestic political advantage. Assuming they won't is naive at best.
I've read any number of comments today about how absurd the idea is that the Cheney-Blair Administation would hype a terror theat to distract (or, more accurately, contextualize) the Connecticut primary results. Implied in this argument is the notion that the little Connecticut primary isn't nearly important enough for this kind of manipulation. Really? I've been reading stories for two days about how the world was watching, waiting to see if the American people would begin taking back their country from the blood thirsty madmen who are setting the planet aflame. I watched a full-court press by the White House and GOP to tell us how significant the primary was -- beginning with Tony Snow, then Ken Mehlman, and finally Dick Cheney last night, speaking darkly about how Lieberman's loss may "embolden Al-Qaeda types."
So enough already with the "conspiracy theory" put downs. If you want to make a substantive argument explaining why we should ignore the Administration's history of hyping theats and timing terror alerts around domestic politics, then go ahead. But don't insult our intelligence using GOP tactics.