Billboards of Hate

[Swede]

As the leaked GOP PowerPoint prompts outrage, its scare tactics are field-tested on America's highways. John Avlon—author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America, available from Beast Books—on the grassroots campaign to poison the president.

The stunningly cynical and stupid Republican National Committee PowerPoint pulled the curtain back on the sleazy culture of hyper-partisanship that is at the root of Washington’s dysfunction. But its impact extends beyond the Beltway.

One slide clearly showed the RNC’s faith in the effectiveness of fear-mongering to the grassroots—it wasn’t even subtle. Under the slide marked “motivation to give,” the RNC targeted “true believers” with a “front-line mentality” (like theocratic soldiers in a war). The low-end donors on the spectrum were to be courted with “visceral” appeals, and among these were “fear,” “extreme negative feelings toward existing administration” and “reactionary.” I’ve got to wonder whether the staffer typing those out felt a hint of guilt—or maybe the honesty was refreshing.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-03-04/billboards-of-hate/?cid=hp:mainpromo2#