Another lost GOP issue: Domestic Terrorism

[sofa king]

Since at least the McCarthy Era, the Republican Party's bread and butter has been fear, and particularly fear of some sort of shadowy subversive violence: commies, militant hippies, drug lords, and, particularly of late, TERRA TERRA TERRA!

Studies show that threat and uncertainty are among the strongest motivators for political conservatives.

So it should be a no-brainer for Republicans to attempt to separate President Obama's sterling record in fighting international terrorism from his less successful record in fighting domestic terrorism.

Some notable examples of domestic terror incidents in President Obama's term:

The assassination of Dr. George Tiller;

The Holocaust Museum shooting;

The prominent mass murderer of this week.

There is no doubt that the perpetrators in these incidents were politically motivated and/or politically active, which qualifies them all for consideration as genuine domestic terrorist incidents (the FBI already considers the first two above to be so).

This latest fellow, J.T. Ready, was already under investigation before he popped off.

One would expect the GOP media sharks to smell blood in the water and commence to frenzying. "Terrorism failure!" "We are not safe!" And so on.

Except for one thing: the perpetrators were all conservatives.

Scott Roeder was a regular listener of Bill O'Reilly's radio show, and even attempted to use that as a defense.

James von Brunn was a regular poster on Democratic Underground's alter-ego, which need not be named.

And over the past 24 hours, it has emerged that the "man in body armor" who shot up his family was Arizona Republican J. T. Ready.

It is Ready who has permanently wiped domestic terrorism from the Presidential debate because unlike the previous two incidents, which could be safely ignored by the media, Ready spelled it all out for everyone to see to a reputable news source which, rather than scrubbing the monologue, has re-visited it for all to see. Ready was an unapologetic racist, an unapologetic neo-Nazi, and an unapologetic Republican candidate for Congress.

Oh, and he was also court-martialed for going AWOL, which pretty much seals is Republican credentials, doesn't it?

Republicans have screwed themselves again. They can't point the finger at President Obama without conceding that they are the political leaders of the terrorists themselves. If they try to rhetorically side-step their complicity and go after it anyway, this President might just go back and take a look at some suspicious goings on which were studiously ignored during the years 2001-2009....

No Republican, or the media outlets they control, will dare to touch this issue again this year. Which means that one of the most important motivators of Republican voters is off the table entirely.

[Scuba]

1. Thanks. You should probably acknowledge the Ft. Hood shootings, then add....

Gabby Giffords

Planned Parenthood firebombed in Grand Chute, Wisconsin

Texas Democratic lawmaker's office firebombed.



etc.


Again, thanks.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. Unfounded Fear gave us the ' Patriot Act '

and Shrub for second term.To bad the fear isn't unfunded ,as the NDDA proves and with corporations becoming people ,it's hard to say security at any level .

[dragonlady]

3. Very important observation!

This will come up only if the clueless Mitt decides to start lying about it.

[UTUSN]

4. Am piggybacking another of their lost issues: "American exceptionalism" lost by loving Torture

(Since my thread on a related loss of theirs sunk like a rock.)


A key Wingnut meme has been “American exceptionalism.” On its face the gloating, bragging, pridefulness, haughtiness is off putting. Restated it’s “I’m better than you,” spat at the rest of all the cultures of the world. The smallness of the purveyors’ frame of reference would be shown by a brief philosophical look up at the firmament. Yet somewhat of a pass might be granted if examples of “American exceptionalism” were things like LINCOLN’s “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” Or FDR’s grace (from the ROOSEVELT Institute: “Winston Churchill once said that Franklin Roosevelt was the greatest man he had ever known. His life, Churchill said, ‘must be regarded as one of the commanding events of human destiny.’ " ) or the MARSHALL Plan. Things like that. But those who tout American exceptionalism, with their smallness of vision, mean something like material accomplishments, their settling for a small definition of freedom, perhaps the greed of amassing for its own sake. Just, amassing. Oh, they cite their version of American charity to others. Instead of an interpretation of idealism, things like humane treatment as opposed to torture. But Wingnuts decided to adopt torture into their tool chest. Previously, one worthy example of American exceptionalism would have been the professing, at least, of abhorrence of torture. Now the Wingnuts have been balleyhooing a torture goon named Jose RODRIGUEZ, their loving it that he claims PELOSI lied about having been briefed about the new torture scheme of things. That’s rich; they choose to believe somebody to whom deception is one of his minimal stocks in trade, understandably because of their petty view of things in general. So much for American exceptionalism, since what might have made Americans exceptional was professing the abhorrence of torture. Wingnuts now have to face how unexceptional they are after all. They lost by not being better than anybody else.