The Politics of Fear – New York Times editorial

The New York Times is running an editorial today entitled The Politics of Fear in which the editorial board takes the GOP to task for running a mean spirited, fantasy based ‘politics of fear’ throughout the country as an almost trademark example of how that party operates.  But even the Times notes, the problem here is that fear mongering works.  And it works all the time.

The fact is that any hope of reviving a GOP intention to govern in this election year is dead.

To be honest with you, the Republican National Committee has hit upon a wonderful way to win big in this election year, simply scare the hell out of everyone in the electorate.  In the end, the fear will win them votes.

Not a bad plan if I may say so myself.

It is simple, effective, does not demand any real proof and basically plays to people’s lower characteristics and it works like a charm as our history shows over and over again.  That has been proven in American politics so many times in the past 234 years that it needs no further comment.

The GOP may very well win very big in this upcoming election cycle in the Fall of 2010.  All the polls seem to indicate that this is where the country is heading again, i.e., handing national leadership back to the Republicans.  It looks like it is going to happen.  In fact, it looks as if there is no stopping this swing back to the right by the electorate.

Right now all the GOP leadership must do to maintain its fairly hefty lead among Americans who vote is to dig in its feet and continue to refuse to cooperate in governing America.  The Party of No is about to win big again, all the polls show that. 

There is no sense in taking a chance at governing if the GOP can win big again by not governing.  What a sweet plan.  These people are no fools.  My hat is off to the strategists at the RNC.  They know what they are doing, that is obvious.

But of course, Americans themsleves are caught in the squeeze here, whether they know it or not.  Social and physical infrastructure improvements stand still and cannot move foward without GOP cooperation.

Wars that make no sense on any level and waste precious financial resources by the mountain-sized load continue to move forward robbing Americans of any real future.  This is to say nothing of the working class soldiers that are killed, maimed, injured, driven crazy or have their lives disrupted by the Bankster Wars.

Refusal to cooperate in regulating Wall Street and the banksters simply ensures that soon, perhaps very soon, we will have another financial meltdown and Wall Street will once again impoverish Main Street.  But who cares?  Certainly not the GOP.

And then of course, there is the signature refusal to cooperate in amending health care for Americans that the GOP proudly displays as “true American independence” from government.

I fear for my country.  I really do. 

Mental health has broken down all over the nation and unfounded fears based on regional hatreds and distrust of change have made us all something very close to a dysfunctional family sitting around the dinner table watching each other starve in order to spite the family members who keep insisting that we eat so that we can maintain our strength.

In a word, our national mental health has broken.  That much must be obvious to even the typical American family dog.

And the Democrats’ answer to this refusal to govern by the GOP is to…..is to….is to what?  I am not sure.  They are frozen in place apparently.  If the GOP will not govern, then govern without them.  It seems simple enough to me.

But then, what do I know? 

Like I said, I fear for my country.  Sometimes things just don’t make the kind of sense that I can understand.  I have had to learn to live my life like this…and it is not pleasant.

CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)