Inside the Bizarre Right-Wing Panic over Ebola Virus Coming to the US

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/inside-bizarre-right-wing-panic-over-ebola-virus-coming-us

Of all the issues that you would think would by non-partisan, ebola should be at the top of the list. The disease is just a mindless germ that doesn’t check your race, gender, social class, sexual orientation or party identification before it strikes, suggesting both liberals and conservatives have a stake in treating people exposed to the disease with compassion and care. And yet, to flip on Fox News or turn on any conservative media at all, you’d think that ebola was some kind of plague designed by the Democratic party in order to wipe out Republicans.

Blowing the threat of ebola out of proportion and trying to link it to Obama has been a constant theme on the right in recent days. Elisabeth Hasselbeck of Fox News literally demanded that we put the country on lockdown, banning all travel in and out. In a bit of race-baiting, Andrea Tantaros of Fox suggested that people who travel to the country and show symptoms of ebola will “seek treatment from a witch doctor” instead of go to the hospital. Fox host Steve Doocy suggested the CDC is lying about ebola because they’re “part of the administration”. Fox also promoted a conspiracy theorist who is trying to claim the CDC is lying when they caution people not to panic.

Other right wing media joined in. Tammy Bruce blamed ebola on the “Obama legacy”. Laura Ingraham said Obama was prevented from doing more to stop the disease because of his “core ties to the African continent”. Rush Limbaugh even went as far as to accuse Obama of letting the disease spread because he supposes liberals believe “we kind of deserve a little bit of this”.

Even politicians are getting in on the act. Former South Carolina Republican Party executive director Todd Kincannon tweeted, “The protocol for a positive Ebola test should be immediate humane execution and sanitization of the whole area.” Republican presidential hopefuls stopped short of wishing death on people who have the disease, but are nonetheless crawling all over each other to make a bigger deal out of ebola than it really is. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan and Bobby Jindal have all suggested that we ban travel in and out of the country, at least some travel, in order to keep a lid on ebola.

[cali]

1. this isn't panic. it's a calculated attack on President Obama.

there would be more of an excuse for it if it were panic.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. I actually think it is panic

I've noticed that many of the folks panicking about ebola tend to lean to the right of the political spectrum. This is because conservatives are very frightened people by nature. Everything from Ebola to ISIS has them scared shitless.

[cali]

8. could be, but it looks much more like a concerted attack on the President

less than a month from an election. I don't buy that these gated community people are scared so much as they'll do anything to damage the President and dems.

[HereSince1628]

15. Fear motivates conservative cognition...all people are subject to that

According to Jost et al 2003, it's more prevalent in persons who are more conservative. So your observation is consistent with the findings of that research.

But, conservative reaction to fear is a trait of the human character, given an identified risk, liberals and progressives are also motivated to advocate conservative behavior. Fear causes us to increase our awareness of risk and heightens our perceptions of it and motivates behaviors that reduce the exposure to the risk.

On the low side we are familiar with how fear elicits caution...as in walking more slowly in the dark, and perhaps reaching out to 'feel your way', or slowing down your driving in the rain or fog. Stopping when you hear the ice on the pond crack under your feet.

[Marrah_G]

2. If only they were so concerned about actual things killing Americans.

[theHandpuppet]

7. +1000!

[Barack_America]

11. Yes, but this is a threat carried by foreign black people!

And the threat of (foreign) black people is at the core of Republican politics. How can they not be freaking out about this? They've spent decades panicking about the dangerous black man.

[Marrah_G]

14. I know- and for a bunch of self proclaimed tough guys, they sure are cowards.

[drm604]

3. Conservatives are often very fearful people.

Many of them are driven by fear rather than intellect (for example, feeling the need to be constantly armed). Others cynically take advantage of this.

[newfie11]

4. WTH

Is there something in the water?
How can so many people go insane in one country?
What are repugs drinking!

[BeyondGeography]

6. Surprised they aren't calling it Obola

Give it time.

[cali]

12. they are.

[Gothmog]

9. The over reaction of the conservatives is very telling

Conservatives are over reacting to the news about this virus

[Barack_America]

10. Alan Grayson is right there with them.

So it's bipartisan in that sense. No to mention the multitudes on DU who are echoing FoxNews, but consider themselves Democrats.

[jen63]

13. It's all about the President.

They will find a way to denigrate and blame him for everything, whether good or bad.

[MineralMan]

16. It's not just the right-wingers, I'm afraid.

Panic about Ebola seems to be happening in all political varieties. Even on DU.

[MisterP]

17. structurally speaking, they're an isolated, self-indulgent network of the type of people that

whips itself into a frenzy at the touch of any shit-stirrer that comes by (these are actually pretty transient--where's Dennis Prager or even Glenn Beck today?)

it's actually a toxic variant of sentimentalism--but it wouldn't be listened to (let alone *encouraged*) if it wasn't profitable: before 1976-80 the GOP hadn't handed the asylum keys to the inmates--not because the country was more sensible, but because they had other ways to demagogue voters