Tag Archives: Democrats

Well, I couldn’t let a day go by without pointing out at least one example of The Absurd Disconnect, could I?? ;P

“Isn’t It Ironic?” from underpaidgenius:

The GOP has no self-awareness, and neither do their constituents.

Carl Hulse, G.O.P. Sees Mosque Near Ground Zero as Campaign Issue - NYTimes.com

Democratic campaign officials accused Republicans of exploiting the Sept. 11 attacks, noting that their outrage over the Islamic center came just weeks after many House Republicans opposed a new medical program to monitor and treat emergency workers and others suffering ill effects from exposure to hazardous materials at ground zero.

All the horseshit about ‘hallowed ground’ is posturing. The real story here is xenophobic hatred, not love of America and its ideals.

Sadly, I think it’s worse than that—it’s not about xenophobic hatred or “fear of the other” but about inspiring that xenophobic hatred/fear of the other in the American people. 

This is how you keep your citizens in line.  If you cite a threat and convince people it’s real, you look like someone who knows what’s going on, so those people who fall for the threat trust you to keep them safe.  This makes it much easier for Republicans and Democrats, alike, to keep their jobs and explains why the Democrats don’t pull out the metaphorical big guns to end the Republican party once and for all.  The Dems enjoy this kind of power, too.

Of course, how they’re all getting away with it is something I’ve wondered, too. I think it boils down to a media that has decided it doesn’t need to do it’s job.  Which is a shame since a free press is the most important tool to guarantee democracy.  I can’t find the quote now, but I think Ben Franklin once admitted that he’d rather have a strong independent press and no government at all, rather than the other way around.