Is the rhetoric starting to bother anyone else??

[converted_democrat]

I read, listen, and watch alot of news from alot of different sources..(4-6 hours a day) About six months ago, for the first time, I heard a person compare the left to terrorists.. Since then I've heard it nearly everyday from one source or another.. This is really starting to bug me.. Why are they doing this? Why is it happening more and more frequently? What is their ultimate goal in spreading these lies?? I don't think they would start this "campaign" unless they have some goal in mind that they wish to accomplish.. Why do you think they are doing it, and what are they trying to gain by doing it?

[ComerPerro]

1. Its becoming harder and harder to scare people, so they have to

keep upping the ante.

During the election it was "The terrorists support the Democrats", now its "The terrorists and the Democrats have the same message", and soon it could be "The Democrats and liberals support terror" or "The liberals are terrorists".

Its a dual purpose. They need to terrify people enough to keep them voting Republican, and they need to demonize their enemies.

Soon, they may be able to arrest and detain indefinately any political opponents.

[converted_democrat]

3. That's exactly what is bothering me..

"Soon, they may be able to arrest and detain indefinitely any political opponents."

I really don't think many have any clue to just how serious this situation is getting..

[atommom]

12. They may indeed be planning detention.

KBR did just get a fat contract to build more detention space here. I hope, though, that the country can put on the brakes before that happens.

[mrcheerful]

2. Because they hope to win 06 and what better way paint us as terrotists

fear takes over.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. What I find the most interesting is that it is an attempt to

marginalize the majority. Poll after poll tells us that the majority of people believe we were lied into war, think the country is headed in the wrong direction, don't trust Bush, etc. etc. Yet all these talking heads and media shows espouse the opposite! That's why choosing the moderate, unexciting, Tim Kaine for the Democratic response was exactly the wrong choice. A real fire-breather would have been perfect.

[Hubert Flottz]

16. Al Gore would have been the best choice to expose Bush's lies.

And to run against the next Pubby in 2008. If I were Al I'd start campaigning TODAY!

[converted_democrat]

21. I find it strange too..

I mean, the majority clearly isn't buying what's being sold, but the newsjockies don't care.. It's almost as if they are trying to make everyone (the majority) believe that they in fact hold a minority view..

[adigal]

23. They are trying to chase people back

into Bush's camp. If they call us evil, the enemy, giving comfort to the enemy, many Americans who oppose the war would be horrified to be called those names, so they would run back to comfort and safety with Dear Leader.

Because you are absolutely correct - WE are now the majority.

[BlueEyedSon]

5. Which is funny, because the right are allied with them (bush & his saudi

pals), the terra-ists strengthen the right (terra terra terra!), the right does what the terra-ists want (getting rid of Saddam, for example) and the right creates more recruitment for the terra-ists!

You gotta learn this about the right's M.O.:

Deny everything.

Accuse the opposition of doing exactly what YOU are doing.

[oasis]

6. I'd refuse to be defensive about it being said in my presence. That's

the time to come on strong with righteous indignation.

[Cobalt Violet]

7. Check this post. See what's being built for "new programs".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2085433

I don't believe they are building these detention centers for an "unexpected influx of immigrants".


I'm really getting fightened now. With Democrats = terrorist I'm very scared. It's not even Liberals = terrorist any more. Now it's Democrats.

[converted_democrat]

11. I think you and I are on the same page...

I don't think they are just doing this blindly with no real goal in sight.. That being said, there are only a few things this could end up accomplishing for them, and I don't see any of them being good for the left..

[Warpy]

8. It's bothered me for a very long time

since far right fringe wackos like Coulter and SavageWeiner started it some ten years ago. You see, a lot of people will gladly hate anyone they've been given permission to hate, even when that someone is a neighbor they've known and liked for ten years. The mess in the Balkans should tell us that. So should the genocide in Rwanda.

Words have power, and unopposed hate on the airwaves has led to genocide more than once in our recent history.

I don't know what we can do to stop this vomiting of rage and hate and craven manipulation of the stupid by the far right (and now, increasingly, the mainstream right). Clearly, the worst thing Reagan ever did was veto the renewed Fairness Doctrine, allowing right wing hate to be unanswered. Something has to be done, however, unless we want to end up like so many other countries that looked peaceful and civilized until the haters whipped up the stupid and all hell broke loose and they woke up to find themselves surrounded by pieces of the dead and wondering what had happened to them.

[ktlyon]

18. I will have to take exception to your statement

"Clearly, the worst thing Reagan ever did was veto the renewed Fairness Doctrine,"

Reagan did many bad things including Iran Contra, the hostage thing, invading countries. If he had not made a deal with Iran before the election he might not have beaten Carter and we would not of had Bush1 which means we wouldn't have Bush2 and the world would be a better place.

[Warpy]

25. We wouldn't have all 3 branches of government

under fascist control had the news networks been forced to tell people the truth, either.

The loss of the Fairness Doctrine was the worst, hands down. He knew what he was doing when he abolished it. The biggest enemy of fascism is TRUTH.

[mtnsnake]

9. We do it, too, although we're a lot closer to the truth than they are

You know what I mean. We call Bush things like Hitler, a terrorist, a murderer, etc, all of which are all pretty true, btw. The other side takes exception to it, so the only thing they know how to do is call the left terrorists in return. It's just their dumb way of trying to stifle our message of truth out by covering it up with lies.

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. It really just goes back to the Goering quote from...

the Nuremberg trials. Google "Goering"+"It works the same in every country." and you should have it.

He was correct. For my part, I pretty much don't watch/listen to electronic media anymore 'cause emotionally I can no longer tolerate that.

No disrespect.... 4-6 hrs of that bilge would drive me OVER the edge.

OTOH, someone's got to keep an eye on this stuff. So thanks for doing your part.

Also check-out mediamatters.org if you don't already know about them.

[Smarmie Doofus]

13. And at the risk of belaboring the obvious....

there is *phenomenal* political capital to be had by keeping this pot boiling. Best recent example: NYC's republican Mayor... ahead by 12 pts in late Sept... hyped up phony subway bomb plot ( after the fact, the FBI said there "was no plot".) and zoomed to a thirty eight point lead in OCT and won by 19 pts in NOV.

Rove, et al are counting heavily on this 'red-light-greenlight orange-light' hysteria to perpetually keep the 'debate' on what they perceive to be their strength issues. In this case, the havoc created by their own foreign policy mismanagement.

[converted_democrat]

14. I get the "capital" game..

My fear is what level they will take it to.. There are only a few goals that could be accomplished by what they are doing.. I'm just worried about the level they are going to take this to..

[bliss_eternal]

15. This was used a great deal during the last election.

Yes, it bothers me a great deal. Prior to the last election was my first exposure to it. I always thought 'liberal' and 'conservative' were just ways of identifying an individual's political belief system. I wasn't aware that liberal was a dirty, reviled word and identification. The first time someone accused me of being liberal--as if it were synonymous with being a criminal, I was shocked.

As others here have said, it is part of the scare tactic. I had conversations with people prior to the '04 election that parroted comments from fox news regularly. One of the more popular comments was 'A vote for Kerry, is a vote for terrorism.' I especially hated that one.

Comments like that encourage people to not think or analyze issues for themselves. It paints a narrow picture and allows people to group all of the left as "the enemy." This method seemed to start during the Reagan administration, when liberals were villified publicly in speeches. I personally believe it's part of the brainwashing the extremist in their party utilize. It's effective because so many in the party are mindless followers, uncomfortable with the concept of thinking for themselves. Those that are mentally lazy, appreciate having their ideas packaged for them.

Scary isn't it?

:hi:

[converted_democrat]

17. Yea, it is scary..

My big fear is that the extremists on the right are going to start acting on this.. Right now they are just parroting, but what happens when that turns into action?
:hi:

[ktlyon]

20. believe me when I say they are acting on it

I live in rural America, my neighbors know my liberal position and I pay the price in little ways every day. My wife may have lost her job because of no liberal allowed and my property has been violated on numerous occasions but nothing can be proven against any particular person.

[converted_democrat]

24. We've had similar issues..

I used to be a puke, and shortly after my hubby and I changed our party affiliation we started losing county contracts (we live in an extremely red area, where the good ole' boy system thrives) that our company had held for years, with no explanation given for why.. I've tried on three occasions to put anti-war signs up in our yard, and every time they have been stolen and our house egged.. On one occasion they egged us and stole our mail box.. I completely understand where you're coming from.. That's why I started this thread in the first place.. Right about the time we changed our party affiliation I joined a Friends group (peace group) and now much of our mail come to us already opened (I wrote about it here on DU back in Aug. before we even knew that the spying was happening).. I'm starting to get worried about how far this will go..

[spanone]

19. To discourage and do away with ANY opposition to the King.

[adigal]

22. I agree with you 100% and wrote an open letter

to Hannity on here last week. I worry that they are behaving like the Germans did in the 1930s, using some of the same words, too.